In 1956, Scotty Munro made a presentation to the leaders of the booming oil town of Estevan. His plan was to move his Humboldt/Melfort Indians (playing in Humboldt and Melfort, Saskatchewan), which was a franchise in the original version of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (1948–1966), to Estevan. The concept of Major Junior hockey had not yet been created, so this original SJHL was playing at the top level of junior hockey in Saskatchewan; should the citizens of Estevan finance the building of a new arena, Munro would bring top-notch hockey entertainment and much-needed help for minor hockey in the town.[1]
His pitch was successful and one year later his newly renamed "Bruins" arrived in Estevan to begin the 1957–58 season in the newly built Agricultural Auditorium. At the time, the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League had six teams. The Estevan Bruins, based near the border with the United States, were the southernmost team, located 800 kilometres (500 mi) away from the northernmost team, the Flin Flon Bombers, and would make shorter trips to play the Prince Albert Minto's, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Quakers and Melville Millionaires. The league had grown to eight teams by its final season, 1965–66, then disbanded when five of its eight teams – including the Estevan Bruins – joined the newly formed Canadian Major Junior Hockey League (along with two Alberta-based teams) for the inaugural 1966–67 CMJHL season.
The CMJHL was renamed the Western Canada Junior Hockey League, expanding into Manitoba, for the 1967–68 WCHL season.[2] The Bruins scored their greatest success in that 1967–68 season, finishing second in the regular season before winning the President's Cup as WCHL playoff champions. They advanced to face British Columbia's Mowat Cup champion, the Penticton Broncos, whom they defeated to take the Abbott Cup as champion of Western Canada. The Bruins then faced Ontario's Niagara Falls Flyers, winner of Eastern Canada's George Richardson Memorial Trophy (having defeated Quebec's Verdun Maple Leafs), in a best-of-7 series for the 1968 Memorial Cup national championship. The Bruins were defeated, in five games, as the Flyers won their second Memorial Cup.
Starting in 1969, the team played a portion of its schedule in the Bismarck North Dakota Civic Center.[3] The new SJHL franchise continued this in 1971 until the end of the 1972-73 season.
The Bruins played in Estevan through to the completion of the 1970-71 WCHL season, then relocated to New Westminster, British Columbia, where they became the New Westminster Bruins. This continued until the end of the 1972-73 season.
Season-by-season results
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
With the departure of the major junior Bruins, a new Bruins team was founded in Estevan that same year, which has played in the SJHL ever since. The Estevan Bruins won the SJHL championship in 1985, 1999 and 2022.[4]
Radio station CKSE-FM (Rock 106) broadcasts Bruins games. DiscoverEstevan.com covers the team on a daily basis. The team is also covered in print on a weekly basis by the Estevan Mercury and Estevan Lifestyles.[citation needed]
Season-by-season results
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Western Canada Championships ** BCHL — AJHL — SJHL — MJHL — Host **
Round-robin play with 1st vs 2nd – winner advance to National Championship and loser to runner-up game 3rd vs 4th in a second semifinal with winner to runner-up game. Runner-up game determines second representative to National Championship. Competition began 2013 season.
Willberg, David (May 16, 2022). "The field is set for the Centennial Cup in Estevan". sasktoday.ca. Harvard Media. Retrieved July 28, 2024. The top three teams from each pool will advance to the playoff round. The top seed gets a direct bye to the semifinal, while the second and third place teams move onto the quarter-finals.
