The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in early June at the ALT Hotel in downtown Winnipeg. The AGM included Governor Meetings, Coach Meetings, Marketing Meetings and culminated with the 2023 MJHL Draft.
Below are highlights from the AGM as well as approved initiatives that will be in place as the league prepares for another exciting season of MJHL Hockey.
HockeyTV / Social Media Committee:
A new ad-hoc committee has been formed to work with teams in all areas involving online streaming broadcasts and social media / website promotion to continue to raise the standards for all member teams across the MJHL. This committee will provide direction, create audit reports, research best practices and act as a resource for all member teams on a go forward basis.
MJHL Officiating Committee:
A new MJHL Officiating Committee will be formed in advance of the upcoming season with representation from current MJHL officials, supervisors, the league office, current MJHL coaches and the MJHL Director of Officiating. The goal of this committee is to strengthen the partnership between MJHL Officials, the League Office and MJHL Coaches going forward to allow for improved levels of recruitment, development, accountability, communication, consistency and standardization for everyone involved.
MJHL Player Education Program:
The MJHL will move forward with current player education initiatives for the 2023-24 season. These initiatives include:
Inclusivity, Hockey Culture, Creating Safe Spaces Seminar
Anti-Racism and Cultural Sensitivity Seminar
Mental Health / Suicide Prevention Seminar
Social Media, Leadership, Culture, Consent, Drug & Alcohol Awareness Seminar
Player Movement Guidelines:
The MJHL has introduced new player movement guidelines to provide prospects / member teams with additional player movement options. New guidelines available HERE.
Player Showcases:
The annual MJHL Showcase will return to the traditional format with all 13 member teams playing two regular season games each in one location over three days. The Showcase will take place October 23-25 at Seven Oaks Sportsplex in Winnipeg. Further announcements to follow.
The annual MJHL | SJHL Showcase will once again be hosted by the MJHL in Manitoba. The Showcase features 3 select teams from each league made up of the top 60 players from the MJHL and SJHL. The Showcase will take place January 30-31 at Seven Oaks Sportsplex in Winnipeg with each team playing two games during this high-performance event. Further announcements to follow.
Annually, both events are heavily attended by scouts from the NHL, NCAA, Major Junior and University Programs from across North America.
2023 MJHL Draft:
The 2023 MJHL Draft took place on Sunday June 4, 2023. CLICK HERE TO VIEW DRAFT RESULTS
2023/24 Regular Season Schedule:
The 2023-24 regular season schedule was released on Friday June 16, 2023, and is set to begin on Friday, September 22nd 2023. Opening weekend will feature 13 games taking place over the course of the weekend involving all 13 member teams. The MJHL will continue with two divisions for the 2023-24 season featuring the MGEU West (6 teams) and the MGEU East division (7 teams).
CLICK HERE TO VIEW 2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
2023-24 Playoff Format:
The current MJHL Playoff Format to remain in place for the 2023-24 season. Playoff attendance this past season was the highest it has been in the previous fifteen MJHL seasons averaging 1100+ per game.
Current Format: The top four teams from each division will advance to a Divisional Round 1 (Quarter-Finals) best of seven series based on regular season points. Winners from round 1 from each division will advance to a non-divisional Round 2 (Semi-Finals) best of seven series based on regular season points. The two winners will then advance to Round 3 (League Championship) in a best of seven series for the opportunity to raise the Turnbull Trophy and represent the MJHL at the 2024 Centennial Cup (CJHL National Championship).
Please stay tuned for more exciting announcements as we progress through the summer.
Audio with MJHL Commissioner Kevin Saurette below: