Lord Selkirk Royals varsity boys hockey coaches got a look at what’s coming down the pipeline over the next two years at the 2025 Winnipeg High School Hockey League (WHSHL) Rookie Tournament, held last week at Seven Oaks Sportsplex.
The Royals rostered 17 skaters and four goalies for the rookie tourney, including five Grade 10 players who suited up this past season for the varsity squad that competed in Platinum Promotions, the WHSHL’s top division.
Playing in the top division of the rookie tournament, the Royals showed they have some talented up-and-comers on the rise.
They played three games in Pool 2, winning two and losing one.
Their first game was Thursday and resulted in a 3-2 shootout win over the Jeanne-Sauvé Olympiens.
They followed that with a 6-2 loss to the Steinbach Regional Sabres on Friday, putting their record at 1-1.
They closed out the weekend on Saturday with a 7-0 win over the Prairie Mountain/Notre Dame/Miami/Gilbert-Rosset (Co-op) Mountain Mustangs, finishing the tournament with a regulation win, a shootout win and a regulation loss for a 2-1 overall record.
Jeanne-Sauvé and Steinbach also finished with 2-1 records; however, Jeanne-Sauvé’s record included two regulation wins and one shootout loss, while Steinbach also had two regulation wins. That ranked them higher in the standings and earned them the top two seeds in Pool 2 — along with spots in the playoff round. The Royals were eliminated.
Despite not advancing, the Royals’ coaches were encouraged by what they saw from their young group.
“Our biggest asset was probably the depth that the team had,” said head coach Michael Buffie, who also leads the varsity boys hockey team. “We felt like we had three full lines that could compete — and they competed. That’s the biggest thing, I think. I saw out of every individual out there that every time they were on the ice, they were going, they were battling hard and they were competing with teams that have lineups that are mostly triple-A. So, them being able to step up and compete against some tough teams was the biggest thing I saw.”
Buffie and his coaching staff were also able to get a valuable look at who’s coming their way at tryouts for next season.
The tournament gave players a chance to showcase their abilities, while also offering the coaching staff an opportunity to introduce players to what it means to be part of the Royals program.
“It works great for both of us — as coaches and for the players — to kind of showcase what they bring to the table, and for us to showcase what our program is all about,” Buffie said. “The returning guys were kind of looked at as leaders, which they weren’t necessarily looked at as during the regular season this year, so it gave them an opportunity to be leaders on the team.
“Then it gave us the opportunity to see what these players bring to the table in a competitive environment and what they can potentially bring to our team next year. And for them, if this is somewhere that they want to play, we’re kind of showcasing our program to them — showing our program as a destination that we hope players want to come to.”
Buffie added that the Varsity Boys Team plans to compete in the Platinum Promotions Division again next season.
