A NEW SEASON STARTS MONDAY AUG. 31 IN DAUPHIN AND WAYWAYSEECAPPO

THE MJHL PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE OPENS MONDAY, AUG. 31

It's been a longer off-season than expected, but it all starts now. The Manitoba Junior Hockey League Pre-Season is the first to kick off tonight with Northern Manitoba at Dauphin and Swan Valley at Waywayseecappo. Let's take a look at all six leagues as we get ever closer to the 2026-27 campaign.

Game On Hockey Brief — August 24–30

Manitoba's six elite leagues remained game-inactive, producing no results, standings movement or weekly awards. The strongest developments were the MJHL’s looming preseason and a sizable group of its players attending WHL camps.

• Exhibition play begins tonight, August 31, with Northern Manitoba at Dauphin and Swan Valley at Waywayseecappo. The 33-game preseason includes eight MJHL–SJHL matchups; regular-season play starts September 18.
• Player watch: Twenty-four players from last season received WHL camp opportunities. Virden led the way with seven, including Micky Gross and Colten Worthington at Brandon and Jett Deschamps and Tyson Ulmer at Regina.
• Other names worth tracking include Selkirk’s Ty Mistelbacher and Niverville’s Ben Chornomydz and Fenton Mann at Penticton; Northern Manitoba’s Kasen Harrold and Trystyn Sidor at Seattle; and Winkler’s Graeme Pickering at Red Deer.
• Potential storyline: How many WHL hopefuls return—and how late—could materially affect camp battles and opening-night rosters.

Sources: MJHL preseason overview, MJHL players at WHL camps, MJHL transactions.

MMJHL

• Inactive: No games, standings changes, player performances or reliable new league announcement appeared during August 24–30.

CRJHL

• Inactive: No games, standings movement or new official player/coaching announcement was located.
• The eight-team schedule is set, with expansion Altona preparing for its inaugural CRJHL season.
• Potential storyline: “Starting from zero” — Altona’s first camp, roster construction, local recruiting base and the realities of launching a Junior B franchise.

Sources: 2026–27 schedule announcement, Altona joins CRJHL.

• Inactive/unavailable: No games, standings movement or dependable league update was published during the reporting window.
• The official site still does not clearly identify a confirmed 2026–27 schedule or complete team lineup.
• Feature angle in the October Edition of Game On:  The KJHL–ACHA pathway: which current players could become the next northern Manitoba recruits for American college programs?

Source: KJHL official site.

MWJHL

Taylor Audette, Silvertips

• Inactive: No games or standings movement.
• Six tryout teams are assigned for September 12–13, followed by a rookies-and-draft-eligible session September 15. Every goaltending spot is already filled.
• Player watch: Team assignments are now available, although no individual performance data exists until tryout games begin.
• Potential storyline: “Six tryout teams, one weekend” — inside the MWJHL’s centralized evaluation process and how coaches divide returning players, rookies and draft-eligible prospects.

Source: MWJHL tryout information.

• Inactive/unavailable: No games, standings movement, awards or dependable league-wide news was found for August 24–30.
• A pair of Eastman Selects U18 standouts were recognized by Hockey Manitoba, as the organization announced their scholarship recipients for 2026 last week. Goaltender Addison Tomes was given the Todd Davidson Memorial Scholarship and defender Vayda Rigaux earned the Buck Matiowski Memorial Scholarship. Tomes will play at the University of Saskatchewan this season while Rigaux has committed to MacEwan University.
• Meanwhile, Westman has announced its 2026-27 Roster...

Source: MFHL U18 AAA official site.

Best immediate stories: the MJHL’s 24-player WHL camp contingent, Altona’s first CRJHL training camp and the MWJHL’s six-team centralized tryout weekend.