By TERRY PUGH
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s (SJHL) Warman Wolverines kick off their fall training camp September 2, and the team’s head coach is expecting big things from his players in the coming season.
“We’re in a much different place than we were at this time last year,” said Wolverines Head Coach and General Manager Brett Pilkington. “We have 11 returning players, and 18 with junior experience. So anytime you have that many veterans with that much experience you’re ahead of the game when the season starts.
“There’s no learning curve when you play those first ten games. You have to be ready.”
Pilkington said he expects the league will be highly-competitive again this year, so the Wolverines will have to clean off the rust well before the regular seaon begins in order to keep up with the pack.
The Wolverines are looking to improve on last season’s 14-36-3-3 record. The franchise, formerly known as the SJHL’s Notre Dame Hounds and based in Wilcox, relocated to Warman in the summer of 2025 after being purchased by area businesspeople Cole Kachur and Jonathan Abrametz.
“We’ve seen some of our veterans move up to higher levels, and we’ve had some trades over the off-season,” said Pilkington. “But we have a lot of exciting young players moving into the lineup. We’ll be evaluating the younger prospects during the first couple exhibition games, and then from there add more veteran players into the mix.”
The Wolverines play five exhibition games September 5 through 11 against Humboldt, Kindersley and Battleford. The regular season starts Friday, September 18 when Warman hosts the Humboldt Broncos at 7 p.m. at the Warman Home Centre Communiplex. The return match-up in Humboldt is set for Saturday, September 19.
One of the team’s strong points last season was goaltending, and despite the departure of all-star goaltender Taye Timmerman to the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades, Pilkington expects the team will once again be solid between the pipes.
Among the four goaltenders currently on the team’s roster are Luke Brunen and Evan Hutcheon.
Brunen, a 20-year-old from Warman, was with the Portland Winterhawks during the 2023-24 season before backstopping the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires in 2024-25 and the Prairie Junior Hockey League (PJHL) Saskatoon Westleys in 2025-26. He played his minor hockey in Warman with the Warman U15AA Wildcats and Warman U18AAA Wildcats between 2018 and 2023.
Also on the Wolverines’ roster is Evan Hutcheon, who earned the SMAAHL’s Most Valuable Goaltender award at the end of the 2025-26 season while posting a ,910 save percentage and 2.98 goals-against average for the Estevan U18AAA Bears.
Pilkington is also optimistic about the defense corps, which features returning veteran Bennet Leibel of Saskatoon and newly-acquired Alberta-born Ben Morton, who played last season for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Another new signing this season is defenceman Brett Woodard, formerly with the Powell River of the BC Hockey League.
The full team roster won’t be finalized until after the pre-season concludes, and Pilkington expects there will be a solid contingent of local players who make the final cut.
Pilkington said while the team is conentrating on putting the best possible product on the ice, they’re also focusing on community involvement and helping support minor hockey in the region.
“We’re doing our best to accommodate people by having flexible ticket options and creating the best game day experience for the fans that we can,” he said.