The Manitoba U-18 'AAA' Hockey League (MU18HL), formerly the Manitoba Midget 'AAA' Hockey League, is an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

league in the province of

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, Canada. It is the highest level of

minor hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

in the province. The league operates under the supervision of

Hockey Manitoba Hockey Manitoba is the governing body of amateur ice hockey in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Hockey Manitoba was founded in 1914 as the ''Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association'' and is a branch affiliate of Hockey Canada. As part of its mandat ...

History

The league was founded in 1985 and provides elite hockey players in Manitoba the opportunity to play at a high level of competition. The league is heavily scouted by the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

, Junior 'A' teams, and

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

programs. A number of players have gone to play in these leagues and the majority of Manitobans playing professional hockey have played in the 'AAA' league.

Teams

All teams are regionally based and are operated by Hockey Manitoba's regional minor hockey associations, with the exception of the

Kenora Thistles The Kenora Thistles, officially the Thistles Hockey Club, were a Canadian ice hockey team based in Kenora, Ontario. Founded in 1894, they were originally known as the Rat Portage Thistles. The team competed for the Stanley Cup, the ice hock ...

, who are affiliated with

Hockey Northwestern Ontario Hockey Northwestern Ontario (HNO) is the governing body of all ice hockey in Northern Ontario, Canada. Hockey Northwestern Ontario is a branch of Hockey Canada. Jurisdiction Empowered by Hockey Canada, Hockey Northwestern Ontario has control ...

. The Winnipeg region has the option to field multiple teams. Players for each of the teams are selected from the local minor hockey associations within their respective regions.

Former Teams

*Parkland Stars (1985–87) *River East Royals (1985–87) *St. James Canadians (1985–87) *Winnipeg Stars (1986–87), Winnipeg Hawks (1987-03) *Winnipeg Monarchs (1985–89; 1992–94), Winnipeg Mavericks (1989–92)

League Champions

The league champion is awarded the Jack Forsyth Trophy, which is named after a former league commissioner. The MU18HL playoffs are also to determine the provincial championship for Manitoba (teams based outside of Manitoba are not eligible for the Manitoba championship). ;Notes

Telus Cup Playoffs

The Manitoba champion earns a berth to the West Regional Championship and competes against the champions from

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

and Northwestern Ontario. The winner advances to the national

Telus Cup The Telus Cup is Canada's national under-18 ice hockey club championship. It is an annual event, held by Hockey Canada each April. From 1979 to 2003, the national championship was sponsored by Air Canada. The current champions are the Monct ...

, known as the Air Canada Cup until 2003 . MU18HL teams have hosted the national championships three times: the Brandon Wheat Kings in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

, the Winnipeg Thrashers in 2009 (in Selkirk), and the Kenora Stars in 2004. Winnipeg hosted the inaugural national championship in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, before the MU18HL was formed.

National Championship Appearances

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

- Winnipeg Hawks ''representing West Region'' *

- Brandon Wheat Kings ''as host team'' * 2004 - Kenora Stars ''as host team''; Brandon Wheat Kings ''representing West Region'' Gold Medalist *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

- Winnipeg Thrashers ''representing West Region'' Silver Medalist * 2009 - Winnipeg Thrashers ''as host team'' * 2011 - Winnipeg Thrashers ''representing West Region'' Gold Medalist

Alumni

National Hockey League Players

Other

Corey Koskie Cordel Leonard "Corey" Koskie (born June 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional baseball third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Milwaukee Brewers. On February 4, 2015, Koskie was ele ...

, former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player *

Daren Millard Daren Millard (born August 16, 1970 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada) is a Canadian sportscaster. Millard began his broadcasting career in radio as he worked in cities including Melfort, Saskatchewan, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Yorkton, Saskatc ...

, sportscaster

References

External links

Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League websiteLeague Record Book
{{Midget AAA Hockey in Canada Hockey Manitoba 1985 establishments in Manitoba Ice hockey leagues in Manitoba Sports leagues established in 1985 Youth ice hockey leagues in Canada