ESTEVAN — Hockey fans in southeast Saskatchewan and across the province will have another high-level hockey option to enjoy this season.
The Southeast Saints, based in Midale, will be charter members of the new Saskatchewan Senior Women’s Hockey League. Megan LeBlanc, an Estevan woman who is the founder of the Saints and a co-founder of the league alongside Jenna Merk, said they have been working on the league for some time.
LeBlanc has played hockey her entire life and said she always strived to get to the next level. She wants to keep playing competitive hockey.
“All of a sudden you age out of university years, and then you’re just done. There’s definitely a gap there, and I think moving back to Saskatchewan and seeing all of the boys and all of the men have their senior leagues and senior teams, it came to light the gap ... in women’s hockey,” she told SaskToday.
Midale is the best place to host the southeast entry, she said. LeBlanc has been in many rinks in her life, and she said Midale stands out for its support of women’s hockey. The South East U18 AA Gold Wings, who play out of Midale, won the provincial and South Saskatchewan Female Hockey League titles last season.
“I’m hoping in the future, definitely the girls who play Gold Wings will be able to carry onto our senior teams. All around, Midale is just a great rink, great community and hockey team. When the question was asked where are we going to host this team, without hesitation the first rink I thought of was Midale, and then we had a conversation with them, and it’s all looking like it will work out,” said LeBlanc.
It also helped that Midale is located between Estevan and Weyburn.
The Saints have already received strong support. LeBlanc said they want to put the best possible roster on the ice.
“Each game we want to have the best roster, the best chance of winning,” said LeBlanc.
Other communities have shown interest as well, she said. In the short time since the league was announced, they have received messages about sponsorships and more.
The other southern teams are the Gull Lake Falcons, Grenfell Prairie Fire, Rouleau Reign and Vibank Bruins. Northern teams will be announced soon, LeBlanc said. Teams will play 12 games in the first season, and she hopes the league can grow from there.
“This is just the beginning. It’s only to grow and take off from here,” said LeBlanc.
Teams will play their divisional opponents during the regular season, with the winners of the South and North Divisions meeting in the league final.
LeBlanc hopes the league will eventually resemble men’s senior hockey, with teams in close proximity. She said there will be a mix of older players who remain highly skilled and younger players who competed at high levels.
“We have a very wide range, and the hope for the future is to keep it at least AA or higher, and from there, the more it grows and the more people that want to play, we’ll start doing subdivisions. We just want to make sure this league is successful to start with, and from there, we also have it as a goal so that everyone who wants to play competitive hockey will have the opportunity to do so.”
Smaller communities are also excited to be hosting teams, she said.
LeBlanc noted the Saints are not to be confused with another Southeast Saints recreation club that plays out of Stoughton in the Super 7 Women’s Hockey League.
“Our goal with the Southeast Saints program, we have the two hockey teams now established. One’s in the senior league. One’s in the rec league. We want to make sure that everybody from around our little corner has an option to play, even if it’s someone who’s a mom who just wants to get out and have a social life and be active in the cold winter months.”
