The Saskatchewan Male U18 'AAA' Hockey League (SMAAAHL), formerly the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League,) is a U-18 'AAA'

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, with teams based in the province of

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 ...

, Canada. It is the highest level of minor hockey in the province. Players in this league are 18 years of age or younger and often move on to play major junior hockey in 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 ...

or junior 'A' hockey in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League followed by college hockey in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Several have eventually gone on to professional hockey careers in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

or in Europe. Each year's playoff champion advances to the regional U-18 'AAA' championship, the winner of which earns a spot in the

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 ...

national championship. Saskatchewan teams have won a combined 14 national titles since 1979. The Notre Dame Hounds won the 2018 Telus Cup becoming the first 5-time Champion.

Teams

SMAAAHL Alumni

External links

SMAAAHL.com
{{Midget AAA Hockey in Canada Ice hockey leagues in Saskatchewan Youth ice hockey leagues in Canada Hockey Saskatchewan