The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), along with SaskTel, will be hosting a Virtual Showcase on January 29 and 30, including players from the Weyburn Red Wings.
The SJHL recognizes that the supply chain for hockey players has not stopped as colleges are still looking to fill roster spots. This initiative has been created to help provide some added exposure for the great young talents in the league. This will give scouts and fans the opportunity to familiarize themselves with some of the top players in the SJHL.
The Virtual Showcase will include the top 80 players (four teams) in the SJHL as selected by the SJHL Coaches Committee. Each team will be created by Alex “Moneyball” Watson and placed into EA Sports NHL 21 where the games will be simulated on PlayStation 4.
The teams will include: Global Ag Risk Solutions and Viterra teams (16,17 and 18 year olds) Sherwood and SaskTel teams (18,19 and 20 year olds).
A total of five Weyburn Red Wings players have been selected to take part. On the Viterra team are forward Connor McGrath and defenceman Graham Skinner.
On the SaskTel team, the Red Wings players are forward Dante Ballarin, defenceman Nolan Cunningham, and goalie Joseph Young.
Bill Chow, the President of the SJHL stated, “This is a great opportunity to provide some positivity and entertainment in what has been a difficult period of time for many of us. This event will provide some extra exposure for our athletes which will help scouts identify names of players that they should be watching.”
SaskTel has committed to broadcasting the 2021 Virtual SJHL Showcase. The broadcast schedule for this event will be released in the near future. Each game will be broadcasted live on Twitch and SaskTel maxTV which will include all the elements of a live game.
Elements to be included are play-by-play announcers, interviews, coaches, analysis, and live performances to be announced shortly. Included in this year’s showcase is SaskTel’s Be Kind Online (Pink vs. White) game. This game will include a live musical performance, interviews, and raising awareness and education of cyberbullying and cyber safety.
