The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and SaskTel have announced that they will be hosting a virtual showcase on Jan. 29 and 30, and eight members of the Estevan Bruins have been selected.
The SJHL recognizes that the supply chain for hockey players has not stopped as colleges are still looking to fill roster spots. This initiative has been created to help provide some added exposure for the young talents in the league.
This will give scouts and fans the opportunity to familiarize themselves with some of the top players in the SJHL.
The virtual showcase will include the top 80 players (four teams) in the SJHL as selected by the SJHL coaches committee. Each team will be created by Alex Watson and placed into EA Sports NHL 21, where the games will be simulated on PlayStation 4.
The teams will include Global Ag Risk Solutions and Viterra teams for 16, 17 and 18-year-olds, and Sherwood and SaskTel teams for 18, 19 and 20-year-olds.
Forward Cody Davis, 18, of Alameda is a member of the Viterra team, as is 16-year-old defenceman Owen Simmons, whose family moved to Estevan last summer so he could play for the Bruins. Also selected were 2003-born forwards Caelan Fitzpatrick and Keagon Little.
Selected for the SaskTel team are 2000-born defenceman Kade McMillen, who is from Carievale, 2000-born forward Eddie Gallagher, 2001-born forward Griffin Asham-Moroz and 2001-born defenceman Dayton Deics.
Bill Chow, the president of the SJHL, said: “This is a great opportunity to provide some positivity and entertainment in what has been a difficult period of time for many of us. This event will provide some extra exposure for our athletes which will help scouts identify names of players that they should be watching.”
SaskTel has committed to broadcasting the 2021 Virtual SJHL Showcase on Jan. 29 and 30. Each game will be broadcasted live on Twitch and SaskTel maxTV, which will include all the elements of a live game, such as play-by-play announcers, interviews, coaches, analysis, and live performances.
