If opening weekend is any indication, there could be plenty of parity across the SJHL this season.
Ten of the league’s 12 teams picked up at least one win, with only the Estevan Bruins and Nipawin Hawks coming out of the weekend without a victory. Estevan sits at 0-1, while Nipawin is 0-2 after losses to Melfort and Battlefords.
The opening two nights also featured five split home-and-home series, with no team able to sweep its weekend set. The league's 10 games produced six road wins, showing just how difficult home-ice advantage was to come by right out of the gate.
Mushumanski and Merchant lead the way
Two forwards came out flying and sit tied atop the early SJHL scoring race.
Melfort Mustangs forward Dru Mushumanski and La Ronge Ice Wolves forward Everett Merchant each finishing opening weekend with five points.
Mushumanski recorded two goals and three assists in Melfort's first two games, while Merchant had a goal and four assists for La Ronge. Both players had multi-point efforts in Saturday's head-to-head matchup, won 5-2 by the Ice Wolves.
Banner and big openers
Opening weekend also gave two teams a chance to celebrate last season before getting down to business.
The Battlefords North Stars raised their Nutrien division championship banner Friday night before hosting Kindersley, while the Yorkton Terriers did the same Saturday, putting their 2025-26 Bunge Division banner into the rafters at Westland Insurance Arena.
Yorkton then followed the ceremony with a 6-2 victory over Estevan, getting two goals and an assist from Austin Horbachewsky. Battlefords, meanwhile, bounced back from Friday's 3-1 loss to Kindersley by beating Nipawin 4-1 Saturday.
Road warriors
The road teams certainly weren't intimidated to start the season.
Six of the 10 games played over opening weekend were won by the visitors. Humboldt, Melville, Kindersley and Flin Flon all won on the road Friday, while Weyburn and Warman added road victories Saturday.
Melville was one of those teams to split on the road, beating Weyburn 4-2 Friday before the Red Wings returned the favour with a 4-1 victory in Melville Saturday. Warman also split its opening weekend, losing 4-3 to Humboldt before answering with a 5-2 win in Humboldt.
New faces, immediate impact
Opening weekend also featured plenty of players making their mark in the SJHL for the first time.
Kindersley’s Konnor Watson, acquired in trade from Nipawin scored his first goal as a Klipper to give the Klippers a win over Battlefords.
In Yorkton on Saturday, Tyson Medernach scored his first SJHL goal on the power play before Mathys Morrissette added his first career SJHL goal in the Terriers’ 6-2 win over Estevan.
There were also strong starts between the pipes. Kindersley’s Mattias Radke stopped 37 shots in his debut, while Melville’s Noah Kraus made 35 saves in his first SJHL start as the Millionaires defeated Weyburn 4-2 Friday.
And for Flin Flon head coach Cole McCaig, opening night brought his first SJHL victory behind the bench as the defending champion Bombers rallied for a 6-2 win over La Ronge.
