Southeast teams gear up for Provincial A Playoffs
January 19, 2026, 11:38 am
Donnie Matichuk
The draws for the Hockey Sask Provincial Playoffs have been revealed, with a few teams from the southeast region taking part in the competition.
In Provincial A, the Moosomin Rangers take on the Round Lake Bears in the first round of the South side of the bracket. The Bears made a run to the Provincial Finals last season, but fell just short to the Kenaston Blizzard in the third and deciding game.
For this year’s Provincials, the Round Lake Bears will be coached by Canadian hockey legend Theoren Fleury, who won the Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames in 1989.
“From what I’ve seen, the team is as good as they were last year, so it should be a fun couple of months. I played in a rec hockey tournament with the Bears last year in Calgary, and I just finished playing in the same tournament this past weekend with them as well. I obviously know Ochapowace as well, I’ve been out there speaking a few times and played an NHL Legends game there as well,” said Fleury.
This is Fleury’s first time coaching at any level of hockey, and he’s excited to experience it for the first time.
“It’s something I’ve never done, and having some experience playing Senior hockey in Horse Lake many years ago, I thought it would be a fun thing to do and a great opportunity. The fans have high expectations and so do I, we want to win this thing and I’m excited to see how it goes. I’ve been on a lot of championship teams as a player and so I’m looking forward to maybe coach to a championship as well.”
Fleury says that he has plans for the Bears to be a highly competitive team with a potent offence.
“I think we’ll be a very fast team and a high scoring team. One thing I really want for us is to have great special teams. You can look at most successful teams and see that special teams are incredibly important. It’s also about depth as well. The top two lines of each team usually cancel each other out, and so when it comes down to it, your third and fourth line guys are going to score important goals and win you hockey games,” he said.
He says that being able to be back into the small-town game of Senior is very important to him.
“I grew up in those small town rinks, so it’ll be good to go back and sort of reminisce about my minor hockey days. Hockey is so important in small communities, and I’m pleased to see there are still Senior teams in every small town. I’m looking forward to being back in that side of the game.
“As far as Provincials goes, I’m going in with a clear head and a clear mind, and I’m trying to learn just as much as the guys I’m coaching from the experience. I’m looking forward to being in the dressing room and making these guys into better hockey players. I’m hoping that I can bring my experience playing with and against some of the greatest players to step on the ice and give us a shot at going far. It’ll be a lot of fun.”
Fleury said that his work off the ice has kept him quite busy, and that coaching has been something he’s wanted to do for a while now.
“I’ve been busy with other things, particularly in mental health and that is extremely important to me. We’ve had a huge impact in Canada and helping people get out of tough situations in their life. So maybe that will rub off on the team a bit, having a team atmosphere and a group mentality. It’s taking it one game at a time or one game at a time and going with the flow,” he said.
In closing, Fleury talked about the importance of fans at every level of hockey.
“I’ve always said without fans, and without the hockey community, things like this don’t happen. I feel like this is my opportunity to give back and thank everyone that cheered for me and supported me during my career.”
Moosomin is currently at the top of the Big Six hockey league with an 11-2 record. The team is looking to continue their momentum from league play and take it into provincials. Jeff Cole, Head Coach of the Rangers, said that the team has made a few additions since the start of the season, and that he is excited to see the team take on new opponents in Provincials.
“I’d like to get our guys out to a couple more practices before Provincials. We’ve got a few pickups, one from Grenfell, one from Carlyle, and Parker Johnson who plays in Esterhazy but lives here in town. So a couple of key-guys to try and make sure we’re bulletproof to go on a run. I know what we can do, and that we can play with anyone at our best. Our job as a coaching staff is to make sure that we get an A-plus game out of each guy, and if we can do that, we’ll be okay against any team,” he said.
The Round Lake Bears have been staying in form since their run last season, playing in a few tournaments as a team to gear up for another trip to the finals. Since April 2025, when the final series ended, the Bears have played in the Jim Neilson Invitational Tournament, The Senators Cup, and the Fred Sasakamoose “Chief Thunderstick” National Hockey Championship in Saskatoon, with over 40 other teams.
Another series taking place in the South is the Langenburg Warriors facing off against the Redvers Rockets. The Warriors are at the top of the Sask East Hockey League, and the Rockets are the defending champions of the Big Six Hockey League. Both teams have been playing great hockey so far this season, so this matchup will surely be an entertaining one to watch for fans all the way up Highway 8.
Redvers Head Coach Brian Magotiaux had lots to say regarding the Rockets’ championship hopes.
“Going into Provincials and playoffs we’re committed and ready. We know there might be some big challenges but we’re ready to face Langenburg. I know we played them a few years ago, and it’s nice to not have to start against Moosomin or another team from our own league,” he said.
Redvers won the Provincial Championship of the Senior D division last year, and so their jump to A is a new but welcomed challenge.
“Provincials might be a bit different for us this year. We won in D last year, and this year Hockey Sask changed their mandates around a bit. We found we were a little unfortunate that we were obliged to go into division A. We just figured that if we’re going in we might as well commit to it.
“It’s tough because the A division is unlimited, and let’s face it, some teams have a lot of money to spend to get guys. The closer you live to the cities as well, it’s easier to pick up guys that just got out of Junior or USports The further you might be from the cities, the more you’re banking on your local talent,” he said.
In terms of their Provincial squad, the Rockets have made a few additions.
“We’ve picked up a few Carlyle players, so not that far from town. I believe we’ve got six, seven of them. We won’t use all of them, which is what we told them from the start, just depending on what we have on our roster. We want to use the talent that we have on our own team first, but if we have guys away or sick or injured, it’s great to have that depth. I think we’re looking at three forwards, two defencemen and a goalie,” said Magotiaux.
The Rockets have a lot of talent and are looking to go on another deep run in the Big Six Playoffs, as well as showing what they’ve got in Provincials.
As for Langenburg, they are having a great season so far, and are looking to make a deep run into Provincials. Coach Logan McDonald says that they are excited to face the best the province has to offer.
“We have a real great group of guys, the team has really gelled this year even with a few new guys joining, and everyone’s been buzzing. We’ve had really good commitment so far this season, we usually have a full bench with every guy giving their all and pushing each other to be better. It’s something I haven’t seen this much in all my years of coaching. Everyone has a common goal we’re working toward and I think it’s brought out the best in the team.”
He says that the team is ready for what is sure to be a tough cross-league match-up.
“We haven’t been in any Provincials before, so we’re excited for the opportunity. We know they have a really good team there and that they’ve made a few pick-ups, but I know we’re excited to get going and see what we can do. It’s definitely a tough first round, but it would be tough against any team this year.”
McDonald said that Provincials are often chaotic, but it’s a welcome challenge that the team is looking forward to.
“You never really know how a game is going to go until it’s here. It’s about who shows up and who can win the small battles, you can never know how it’ll play out on any given day.
“I think we’d be crazy if we didn’t think we could win, so that’s our main goal. We just have to take it game by game, there’s no point in looking ahead. All we can do is try to win every battle we can and see what we can do. I believe this group can win a title, but I know every other team in the A division is thinking the same thing. We’ve got to bring our best every night and see what happens.”
The Hockey Sask Provincial Playoffs are a tradition that brings out fans from all across the province to cheer on their teams, and one that gives players the chance to take a championship back to their hometowns, capping off the hockey season each year since 1912.
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