‘Detrimental to the growth of female hockey in Manitoba’

She lived the best of both worlds.

For the last three years, the 17-year-old wore a sweater for two different hockey programs — her high school team and AAA club in the Manitoba Female Hockey League — and was preparing to flourish in both colours again this winter.

Recently, however, the blue-liner was disappointed to learn she is no longer eligible to play her Grade 12 season with her school owing to a new policy imposed by Hockey Manitoba that bans players from participating in the Manitoba Women’s High School Hockey League if they are rostered on a U18 AAA team.

The rule applies to all athletes who play for both Winnipeg-based and rural AAA teams.

The provincial body notes “team commitment, roster integrity,” and perhaps most notably, “player workload,” as reasons for imposing the restrictions, but the skater — who spoke under the condition of anonymity with the Free Press — who has double-rostered since entering high school, maintains that was never an issue.

“Their logic doesn’t make sense because we were doing this because we wanted to, not because we were forced to,” she said.

“Especially, too, being in my Grade 12 year, I didn’t experience burnout, and I played for three years, and I double-rostered for all three. And it didn’t affect my grades; it didn’t affect my academic performance.”

She said the new regulations have also taken away a scholarship opportunity. Her high school awards a $2,000 bursary to its top senior player, which she certainly could’ve been this season.

In a league that features many players who concurrently skate at various club levels, the fallout from the new regulation has been nothing short of concerning

Six high school programs folded once the ban took effect: Westwood, Churchill, Warren, Portage, Beausejour and Léo-Rémillard.

Of those schools, four of them — Westwood, Churchill, Warren and Léo-Rémillard — reported that they ceased operations as a direct result of the new policy, according to a recent survey conducted by the MWHSHL. Moreover, none of the schools are confident that they will have enough players to return to the league next season.

While some programs shuttered, many will barely be able to cobble together a roster with the minimum 13 skaters after recruiting players from school ringette teams.

This is exactly what MWHSHL president Kyle Ridler feared.

“That’s our biggest impact was losing six teams, and our big concern was that we knew that this was going to have an impact on them, and we expressed that to (Hockey Manitoba),” said Ridler, who also the head coach of the Dakota Lancers.

“We’re consistently trying to grow the game, especially with the big push in female hockey right now. We’re trying to increase these numbers.”

This rule appears to have done the opposite.

The survey found 10 players currently rostered by AAA teams were directly affected by the eligibility change. More alarming, 21 players from the shuttered programs will not play hockey at all this winter.

“Our biggest concern now is what happens next. These six teams estimated that similar restrictions at U17 AAA would have affected another nine players and, at U15 AAA, another 13. Those are already vulnerable teams,” Ridler said.

“We believe further participation restrictions would be detrimental to the growth of female hockey in Manitoba.”

The Winnipeg High School Hockey League has adhered to a similar rule for years. Boys who play for U15 and U18 AAA teams cannot double-roster on their high school team, but the restriction hits much harder in a women’s league where many schools are already struggling with participation.

Whether that was taken into consideration is anyone’s guess. The MWHSHL was left in the dark about the data being used to support the decision by Hockey Manitoba and whether the provincial body considered the impact it would have on rural teams, in particular.

Hockey Manitoba CEO Trevor Buhnai declined an interview request by the Free Press, but offered an emailed statement about the policy change.

“Hockey Manitoba recognizes that the U18 AAA Female/high school hockey participation policy has created disappointment for some players, families, schools and high school hockey programs,” Buhnai wrote.

“This was not an easy decision. Hockey Manitoba had to balance the importance of high school hockey and continued growth in the women’s and girls’ game with the workload, team commitment, roster integrity, competitive preparation and consistency expected within the U18 AAA Female program. We understand that some people will disagree with the decision, particularly where high school programs rely on a smaller player pool. Those concerns are legitimate and will be part of the review following the 2026-27 season.”

Buhnai said the new rule is an interim policy intended to “use this season to better understand the impacts and determine what model is most appropriate going forward,” and will also be reviewed following the 2026-27 season.

“Hockey Manitoba’s new Operations Committee structure will allow for review of the broader questions around U18 AAA Female participation, high school hockey, player workload, regional differences, and the women’s and girls’ hockey pathway during the season,” Buhnai said.

“Hockey Manitoba can speak to the provincial policy decision whereas other stakeholders will understandably have their own perspectives on the issue and its impact.”

In August, Hockey Winnipeg released a statement to players and parents of Winnipeg-based AAA programs, including the Winnipeg Avros and Winnipeg Ice of the MFHL, noting Hockey Canada’s Non-Sanctioned Leagues Policy, which prohibits players from concurrently participating in a non-sanctioned league and playing for a team in a sanctioned league that competes for a national championship.

The MWHSHL is not sanctioned under Hockey Manitoba, but it is sanctioned under the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association.

Ridler brought that statement to Hockey Manitoba, looking for support to push back on Hockey Winnipeg. Instead, in early September, Ridler received an email from the provincial body that it had not only backed Hockey Winnipeg’s stance, but that it would go a step further by instituting a policy that blanketed every AAA team in the province.

“We’re not asking Hockey Manitoba to ignore workload, player welfare, team commitment or competitive concerns. We’re asking them to consider those issues alongside participation, retention and team viability,” said Ridler, who fears Hockey Manitoba will extend the restrictions to U17 AAA and U15 AAA players next season.

“We believe there is a way to manage those concerns without unnecessarily taking opportunities away from girls.”

To the point of overworking student-athletes, Ridler said he is constantly focused on managing the workload of his double-rostered players and those who play multiple winter sports (like volleyball and basketball).

He confers with players regularly to see how they’re feeling, then makes a decision with the coach of the other team. That could include giving them practices or games off.

Ridler made it clear that the MWHSHL wants to maintain a relationship with Hockey Manitoba so it can continue the conversation and find a middle ground for all parties.

“They’ve said that they do want to see our league come under the Hockey Manitoba umbrella,” he said, “so we’re hoping that we can have some positive conversations and reach a good agreement where we don’t see the loss of females playing hockey.”

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