It’s an exciting year for the Moose Jaw Minor Hockey Association (MJMHA) as they are celebrating 40 years in business.  

MJMHA president Chris Flanagan says that he, along with the association, has had this year circled for quite some time.  

“We got some big exciting things planned for this and we’re just thrilled to celebrate our 40th anniversary this season,” says Flanagan.  

Flanagan couldn’t provide many details of what they have planned for this season in terms of celebrations and events, but he was able to provide a sneak peek of one thing they have planned.  

“For our tiered divisions, we’ve approved a retro throwback jersey that will be released hopefully in October. Our tier teams will get a chance to wear this jersey at tournaments, and at home games. It’s just going to be a great homage to 40 years of our association.” 

The U13, U15, and U18 tier divisions will be sharing the jerseys throughout the season.  

The hope is to host a major event for the 40th anniversary in either January, February, or March, but details will be released in the coming months.  

Their plan is to showcase past presidents, sponsors and players that come through the MJMHA.  

“We’re a small community who loves hockey and over 40 years I think we’ve shown not just the province but Canada the type of players that we can pump out from our association.” 

The products of the MJMHA include Atley and Rowan Calvert who have moved on to play in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Atley plays for the Moose Jaw Warriors and Rowan for the Saskatoon Blades. In the coming months, the MJMHA will highlight a number of players who graduated from the association and have moved on to play in the NHL, WHL, or other professional leagues over the last 40 years.  

It’s not just the 40th anniversary for the MJMHA, the Moose Jaw U18 AAA Warriors are also celebrating 40 years in the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League. They begin their season on Friday against the Battleford Stars at 7 p.m. 

The following week, the U15 AA Warriors will get their season started on Oct. 1 as they host the Regina Aces at 5:30 p.m. 

Their house divisions will hold their evaluations in the coming weeks with the season beginning around the middle of October.  

Prior to the MJMHA becoming what is today, it was called the Church Minor Hockey League, where a number of churches in Moose Jaw and the area would sponsor teams.  

For more information on what’s happening this year head over to the MJMHA website or Facebook page for more details.