The Canadian Sport School Hockey League championships haven’t even started yet and already the Prairie Hockey Academy has plenty of winners.
The CSSHL announced their annual honours for the Elite 15 Division on Wednesday, with Moose Jaw product Ethan Peters being named the Scholastic Player of the Year. A defenceman, Peters scored four goals and 14 assists this season while maintaining an average in the 90 per cent range despite taking on PHA’s heavy academic and hockey schedule.
Peters was also named to the CSSHL Elite 15 All-Academic Team.
PHA picked up another honour Thursday, as Moose Jaw's Mikkel Hrechka was named the Midget Varsity Most Sportsmanlike player of the year. Hrechka had three goals and 20 points in 24 games but most importantly took no penalties -- a special rarity for a defenceman.
The Cougars also have the unique honour of three players leading Midget Varsity in league scoring. Swift Current’s Noah Wills was the top scorer with 24 goals and 59 points in 24 games, while Wymark’s Keagon Little scored 15 times and finished with 57 points to go along with 27 goals and 51 points from older brother Jaedon Little. The trio finished one-two-three in league scoring, while Swift Current’s Noah Schindel finished 12th (16-17-33) and Estevan’s Zach Ashworth 14th (14-18-32).
The Elite 15s were led in scoring by Moose Jaw’s Kirk Mullen, who finished 14th in league scoring with 21 goals and 43 points. Atley Calvert finished 18th (24-17-41).
Both teams begin competition in the CSSHL national championship tournament beginning this weekend in Penticton, B.C.
In the Midget Varsity division, PHA heads into the championship as the third seed after a 15-8-1 regular season. Their round robin pool play opens Saturday against Okanagan (14-9-1), game two is against Kelowna’s Pursuit of Excellence (7-16-1) on Sunday.
The Cougars head into the Elite 15 tournament as the fifth seeds after finishing their inaugural season with a 23-12-0 record. They face Winnipeg’s Rink Hockey Academy (25-8-3) in their round robin opener on Mar. 13 before taking on OHA Edmonton (17-17-2) in game two Mar. 14 and regular season champion Burnaby Academy (27-3-6) on Mar. 15.
