No matter which way you slice it, there will always be challenges when it comes to hockey in Newfoundland and Labrador. That’s the result of having a very large (land mass) province with a small (yet heavily skewed towards the Avalon) population. But we aren’t here to talk about those things today; we are here to identify some glaring positives from the 2024-25 hockey season.
Let’s f*%$ing go!
Positive #1 – The WJAHL
Was this not an awesome league or what! 4 teams that were fairly similar in terms of ability, playing in a well-promoted league that looked professional from the outset. The league finished on a buzzer-beating goal for Team Gill last week in CBS. Congrats to Team Gill on winning the inaugural league final. The real winner here (is the City of Portland… there must be something in the water. Every time I come here it gets harder and harder to leave…Happy Gilmore reference, since the 2nd instalment is coming out soon). Ahem… the real winners here are female players who age out of U18 hockey but are not committed to the collegiate level. Kudos to the powers that be for recognizing a need in the Female Junior level and turning it into something of high quality – from the social media accounts to the connections to rural NL (the league played games in places such as Bonavista and Harbour Grace in 2024-25).
https://wjahl.ca/teams/?t=3425&l=500563
Positive #2 – Mainland Success
I felt like the entire month of March was dedicated to promoting championship banners won at events such as the Joe Lamontagne tournament in Nova Scotia, SEDMHA in Dartmouth, and so on. Congrats to all teams who jumped on planes in the middle of the Winter and took part in mainland tournaments this year! Travelling was a challenge – especially those going in and around Toronto – but lets call a spade a spade here, success was had. It was also nice to see all levels of participation in these tournaments – it wasn’t just the ‘A’ teams taking part. We were seeing a vast expanse of caliber getting out and experiencing travel hockey, which was fantastic.
Positive #3 – Girls Teams Killing It In Guys Divisions
The U13B Boys DJHL was won in 2024-25 by none other than “The Puffs”. The U13AAA Puffins had so much success this season – they won the Sweetheart Tournament in PEI earlier in 2025, and took home the U13B banner last night in Game 4 (There was a win and 2 ties which forced a Game 4, correct me if I’m wrong). I had the chance to watch the Puffs play this year, and their ability to move the puck and play as a team was evident throughout the game.
The U15AAA Female ‘Breakers – who had to Atlantic’s this week (good luck all), won their share of U15A regular season games and took Paradise to a deciding Game 3 of their DJHL U15A series. I saw the ‘Breakers play numerous games – they were in every game (even against the vaunted NE Eagles team, who were a powerhouse this season). Even the parents of the other teams were complimenting the ‘Breakers fast-paced play and ability to play a structured game. Good job by the players and coaches here. Good luck in Quispamisis.
Positive #4 – The Herder Going West
I know there’s a lot of VHG krewe members who will not like this column, but I think that it is great for the overall Senior Hockey landscape to have a champion from the West League.
The ‘Bous had a very solid run at this years Herder; the fact that that got there is a testament to the parity on this side of the island at this level. The first-place Blues were ousted in Round 1 by the ‘Bous, and the reigning champion Caps were knocked off in round 1 also.
When you eyed Deer Lake’s roster up and down, you’d notice that they had a lot of sneaky good players. Players like Josh Day who – in my opinion – is one of the most under-rated defenceman in NL history. Yes, NL history. How many players do you know from NL that played Junior ‘A’ hockey at age 15? How many played 257 games in the OHL? 135 games of USPORT (CDN college) hockey in the toughest conference? I dropped Day’s name in a dressing room full of hockey-playing guys this week, and got crickets back. No one knew who he was. A resume like the one above usually garners a “oh I know of him”.. crickets. What a pick-up Day has been for the Wings – who did such a great job of mixing older veteran players with early-20’s youthful spunk.
Until Next Time
AP