What was only a dream this time last year will become a reality for hockey fans in the Warman, Sask., area on Friday night.
A packed crowd at the Warman Home Centre Communiplex will watch as the puck gets dropped on a new Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League season, this time featuring the first game in franchise history for the relocated Warman Wolverines.
It’s a game that’s been a long time in the making, according to Wolverines head coach and general manager Brett Pilkington, but one which he isn’t hyping up too much himself.
“It’s a huge buildup and it’s exciting for the community, the players and all of us here,” said Pilkington. “At the same time, the players and hockey staff have a job to do here and we’re preparing like normal that Friday night is just another game.”
The Wolverines will play their inaugural game in the SJHL against the Humboldt Broncos on Friday, just seven months after the team was conditionally relocated to Warman from Wilcox, Sask., as the former Notre Dame Junior A Hounds franchise.
Citing a need to invest in their local programming and a lack of cohesion with the SJHL franchise at the boarding school, Notre Dame elected to move on from the Hounds Junior A team and was picked up by entrepreneurs Cole Kachur, Jonathan Abrametz and Tyler Helm to take over the team as co-founders in Warman.
That included a full transfer of Hounds properties northward, including Pilkington as the team’s head coach and their crop of returning players including veteran defenceman Vincent Palmarin.
“We all have experience playing in this league,” said Palmarin. “Obviously it’s a new team, a brand new city, a brand new logo and everything. We’re just trying to set a good example and set the standard high.”
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What followed was a successful season ticket drive and official approval by Warman city council for the Wolverines to operate, beginning with the 2025-26 SJHL season in the Nutrien Division.
Adding new business operations staff, ticketing staff and upgrades to the Warman Home Centre Communiplex, Pilkington said countless hours have gone in to making the team’s inaugural season possible in such a short timeline.
“There’s been a ton of work starting with the ownership group,” said Pilkington. “The staff we have here just getting the ball rolling and getting the people in place that need to be for Friday night here, it’s winding down right to the last minute.”
Forward Hudson Kerr was a bright spot on last year’s Hounds team which finished at the bottom of the SJHL standings, scoring 34 points in 56 games to finish second in team scoring.
The St. Paul, Minn., product said the transition north to Warman has been relatively smooth for he and the rest of the Hounds now donning navy blue with the Wolverines.
“The communication between the coaches has been very helpful for everybody figuring out what we need to do and what we need to change,” said Kerr. “For the new guys to welcome them in and just create a good culture here for this season, and expect something big.”
While the DNA of the Hounds remains in the locker room, players and staff are calling the move a fresh start for the organization with the community support seemingly being a major factor in the team’s first season of competition.
Along with over 1,000 season tickets sold, Friday’s season opener against Humboldt has been sold out with roughly 1,300 fans expected to turn out for the historic matchup.
“It’s amazing to have the community behind us and the area for that matter,” said Pilkington. “There will be a lot of people from outside the town of Warman here on Friday night and in the future. We want to be a part of that.”
Accustomed to playing in front of a few dozen fans at most at Duncan McNeill Arena at Notre Dame due to Wilcox’s isolated location, Kerr is excited to see what a packed barn at home will be like for his teammates.
“It’s going to be very new for a lot of us old guys,” said Kerr. “It’s going to be very exciting and I think everybody is really ready for it, it means a ton. I just can’t imagine playing in front of all of those people, it’s going to help energize us a ton more.”
Not since the introduction of the La Ronge Ice Wolves in 1998 has the SJHL seen a new team skate out for their first game as a franchise, with that streak set to end on Friday in Warman.
As Palmarin and the rest of the Wolverines veterans are determined to give fans a show and begin their relationship on the right foot, as the team aims to return to the SJHL playoff picture.
“The community has been pretty intrigued in us and they want to come check it out,” said Palmarin. “We just have to put on a good performance for them.”
The Wolverines will square off against the Broncos for their first game ever at the Warman Home Centre Communiplex on Friday at 7:05 p.m.
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