Hockey Saskatchewan is the governing body of all ice hockey in Saskatchewan. Hockey Saskatchewan is a branch of Hockey Canada. Hockey Saskatchewan was established as the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association in 1906, and was later known as the Saskatchewan Hockey Association.
History
The Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association (SAHA) was established in 1906 to govern ice hockey in the province of Saskatchewan. Its senior ice hockey teams began competing for the Allan Cup in 1909.[1] The SAHA became a charter member of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association when the national body was established in 1914. Junior ice hockey teams from Saskatchewan began competing for the Memorial Cup in 1919.[2]
The SAHA later shortened its name to the Saskatchewan Hockey Association (SHA). The SHA rebranded itself as Hockey Saskatchewan in 2021, to bring itself inline with the naming convention used by Hockey Canada, and to avoid confusion with the Saskatchewan Health Authority which also used SHA as an acronym.[3]
In the 2024–25 season, Hockey Canada and its four western affiliates – BC Hockey, Hockey Alberta, Hockey Saskatchewan and Hockey Manitoba – will pilot the Western Canadian Development Model (WCDM). Under the WCDM, junior leagues will adopt most of the Western Hockey League rulebook, excluding some sections, and restrictions on 15-year-old affiliate players in the Western Hockey League will be loosened. Players that will be 18-years of age or older in the calendar year will be allowed to choose whether to use full-face protection or half-face protection, whilst younger players will be required to use full-face protection.[4]