Cranberry Portage is excited to announce that they will be hosting their 34th annual Trout Challenge the weekend of August the 2nd and 3rd on beautiful Lake Athapap.

There are thousands of dollars up for grabs in prizes including $65,00.00 for first place.

Not only will they award prizes to the top teams on the leader board,  but they will once again be including the Youth and Female Angler Awards.

It is $200.00 to enter a two person team. You can register on Fish Donkey and get more information off the Cranberry Trout facebook page.

This is a catch and release event.

Hapnot Collegiate will be hosting a scaled down version of their Athletic Banquet on July 9th for all their athletes.

The banquet will be hosted by MS Bortis and MR Rogalka and awards will be handed out for all the different team and individual sports including the SV and JV Male and Female athletes of the year.

Pizza and drinks will be provided for everyone who can attend. There is no admission but you do need to fill out the google form on the Hapnot facebook page.

Make sure you fill it out before July the 6th, so they can plan for numbers.

The Phantom Lake Golf Club will remain closed this weekend.

With everyone arriving from the Wildfire Evacuation on Wednesday, the golf course still needs some maintenance including cutting grass and work on the greens.

Superintendent Brett Stephenson and his staff will be working hard on the course this weekend to get it ready for re-entry.

They will make a decision and announcement on Monday and fully expect to re-open early next week.

With the graduation of Matthew Kieper and Kenny Marquart electing to go to school early, the Flin Flon Bombers were looking for a starting goalie.

They made a big splash  today with the announcement they had signed 2007 born goaltender Matthew Bradley.

The product of Syracuse, New York spent the 2024-2025 season with the Lovell Academy in Hingham, Massachusetts and appeared in 21 games, posting a 2.23 GAA & .927 SV%. The 18U Lovell Academy program is coached by former Nipawin Hawk Dan Szerlip.

Bradley will have big shoes to fill as he will take over for Matthew Kieper who was selected the top goaltender and League MVP this past season including a league best 1.89 GAA and save % of .935.

Bradley is the first goalie to be signed in the off season and the Bombers look forward to seeing him at camp and getting him into a Bomber uniform soon.

The SJHL have released their regular season schedule for the 2025-26 season. 

Each team will play 56 games including the Flin Flon Bombers who open up the season on Friday September the 19th VS the Laronge Ice Wolves.

The Bombers will then head to Laronge for the rematch the next night at Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre as the Wolves will play their first official game in their new building.

The Warman Wolverines, who used to be the Notre Dame Hounds will make their first official visit to the Whitney Forum on the weekend of October the 3rd and 4th.

Flin Flon will close out the first half of the season when they host the Laronge Ice Wolves on Saturday December the 20th. Their first game of 2026 will be on Friday January the 2nd when they host Melfort.

The regular season will wrap up on Saturday March the 14th with the Bombers travelling to Laronge for a Saturday matinee game.

The SJHL will go to three divisions this year with Flin Flon remaining in the same division as Melfort, Nipawin and Laronge.

The other divisions include Weyburn, Estevan, Yorkton and Melville, and Warman will be in a division with Humboldt, Kindersley and Battleford.

The playoff format will be announced in a few weeks.

Congratulations to Flin Flon's Greg Kritzer who has been selected the Coach Of The Year for the Pas Minor Hockey Association.

Greg has been coaching Minor Hockey for over 10 years and has been the Head Coach of the U-15 Pas Huskies the past three years. The team was comprised of players from both Flin Flon and the Pas.

Kritzer has also coached Regional Director teams and came up through the Flin Flon Minor Hockey system. As a player he suited up for the Fort Frances Lakers of the SIJHL and Selkirk Fisherman in Manitoba Junior B.

Kritzer was very honored to be recognized. " It was a very big surprise and huge  honor when they let me know they selected me as Coach Of The Year. It felt really good that kids are having a good time and appreciate everything we do all year. I couldn't of done it by myself, I had great groups of parents, Assistant Coach's , everybody chips in. It is a huge honor for everyone involved and thanks to the Pas Minor Hockey."

Greg will be helping out the Flin Flon Minor Hockey Board for the upcoming year and has agreed to serve as the new Rep Team Coordinator to help support all the Rep Coach's and help organize tournaments.

Flin Flon Minor Hockey is still accepting Head Coach applications for Rep teams for  the upcoming season and have extended the deadline to June the 28th.

The following teams will need coach's, U-9 Vipers, U-11 Northland Ford Bombers, U-13 Kinsmen Bombers, U-13 Eddies Bombers, U-15 Werbicki Trucking Bombers and U-18 CO-OP Bombers.

You can go to the Flin Flon Minor Hockey website and print the Coach's application form,  then submit it to technicaldirectorffmh@gmail.com.

Flin Flon Creighton Minor Ball want to extend a heartfelt gratitude to everyone who stepped up to battle the wildfires,  including firefighters, dedicated volunteers, and everyone working behind the scenes.

Flin Flon Creighton Minor Ball will be reviewing on how they can support the well being of all the players and coach's. They will make a decision as to if they will proceed for the rest of the season  and will make a decision in the days ahead.

FF/Creighton Minor Ball wants to thank everyone for their support, strength and community support and welcome everybody home.

Some exciting news for U-17 hockey players in the Norman Region.

The Norman Hockey Association has announced that the U-17 AAA Northstars will now be part of the Winnipeg U-18 AAA League giving players the opportunity to play hockey at the highest level in the province.

Eligibility to play for the U17AAA Northstars is based upon attending or being released from the U18AAA Norman Northstar tryouts (August 22-24). The U17AAA Northstars will be selected in conjunction with the U18 Norman Northstars.

The U-17 AAA Northstars Head Coaching position is available and they are accepting applications right now to help guide and develop players from the Norman Region.

If you are interested in applying you can fill out the coaching application on the NRMHA'S website ir sending an e-mail to directornrha@gmail.com.

The SJHL Draft took place in Regina earlier in June and the Flin Flon Bombers ended up selecting 6 players from all positions.

Here is the breakdown courtesy of bombers.ca.

With our first pick and 11th overall in the 2009 born draft, the Flon Flon Bombers are proud to select out of the Tisdale Trojans U18 AAA program, Defenseman Logan Edwards.

With our second pick and 14th overall in the 2009 born draft, the Flin Flon Bombers are proud to select out of the Saskatoon Contacts U18 AAA program, Forward Liam Collins.

With our third pick and 38th overall in the 2009 born draft, the Flin Flon Bombers are proud to select out of the Prince Albert Mintos U18 AAA program, Forward Sean Lavoie.

With our fourth pick and 47th overall in the 2009 born draft, the Flin Flon Bombers are proud to select out of the Battlefords Stars U18 AAA program, Forward Noah Larre.

With our fifth pick and 62nd overall in the 2009 born draft, the Flin Flon Bombers are proud to select out of the Regina Pat Canadians U18 AAA program, Defenseman Cooper Bratton.

With our sixth pick and 71st overall in the 2009 born draft, the Flin Flon Bombers are proud to select out of the OHA Edmonton U17 AAA program, Goaltender Jaxon Ford.

Former Flin Flon Bomber bench boss Larry Wintoneak has been granted an extension with the Kam River Fighting Walleye of the Superior International Junior League.

This will come as no surprise as Wintoneak was able to guide the Walleye to a Superior Junior Hockey League Championship this past spring, and a trip to the Centennial Cup in Calgary.

The Fighting Walleye then knocked off Ironwood, Thunder Bay and Dryden to capture the Bill Salonen Cup, the second championship in franchise history.

Winoneak will get a two year extension after guiding his team to a 31-8-1 record after taking over a team that started 5-5 to open up the season.

The Walleye also had a very respectable showing at the Centennial Cup which included a tournament opening victory over the Trenton Golden Hawks.

Wintoneak has over 20 years coaching experience in many different leagues including a 5 year stint with the Flin Flon Bombers between 1997 and 2001, which included hosting the National Championship, Royal Bank Cup as it was referred to back then.

Congratulations to Larry on the chance to advance his coaching career.

It has been a very busy summer and off season for The Flin Flon Bomber Coach and GM, Mike Reagan.

The Bombers continue to sign players and retool as they get ready for the up coming season.

Flin Flon has acquired 18 year old forward Nathan Lalumiere from the QJHL’s Granby L’Indigo in exchange for a Player Development Fee.

Lalumiere, an 07-born Granby, QC product, posted fourteen goals and twenty-one assists in 45 games last season for the L’Indigo. A former 9th round draft pick of the QMJHL’s Val-d’Or Foreurs, he has spent the previous two seasons with the L’Indigo and has produced forty-two points in 86 career regular season games. During the 2025 playoffs, Lalumiere produced eight points in 14 playoff games, helping the L’Indigo reach the QJHL semi-final.

The Bombers then went out and signed a 20 year old veteran Maverick Deslisle from the QCHL’s Champlain St. Lawrence Lions.

Deslisle should be a good fit and help restore a lot of the scoring the Bombers lost from last season. Deslisle is a 6’0, right-handed shot center-man that has suited up for the Champlain St. Lawrence Lions for the last three seasons. During the 2024-2025 season, Maverick put up 13 goals and 33 assists in 29 regular season games. Deslisle had a monster post-season for the Lions producing 20 points in just 10 playoff games, helping the Lions win the QCHL Championship.

The Flin Flon Bombers are thrilled to announce the signing of 2007 born defenceman Benett Leibel.

Leibel suited up for his hometown Saskatoon Contacts the previous two seasons and put up 8 goals and 40 assists in 83 games. The right-handed shot blueliner was the Bombers 2nd round draft choice in the 2023 U16 SJHL Draft.

At the conclusion of his U18 AAA career, Benett joined the Bombers at the end of the regular season and throughout the playoffs. Leibel suited up in 3 games with the maroon and white.

“We’re very excited that Benett has decided to sign with us. Having the opportunity to work with him during our playoff run we got to see the type of kid he is. He’s extremely competitive, dedicated and motivated to be a great player. He loves coming to the rink every day and putting in the work. The way Benett conducts himself, he’s going to step in and help us continue to build our culture. As a player, he’s a great skater that can make plays and his compete level is extremely high.” – Bombers Assistant Coach & Assistant General Manager, Cole McCaig

Leibel is the second blueliner to sign with the program for the 2025-2026 season.

The Bombers would like to welcome Benett and his family to the organization.