Members of the Nipawin Knights at the 2023 Vanity Cup Walleye Fishing Tournament. (Facebook/Nipawin Knights)

By Jaryn Vecchio

a long time coming

Nipawin Knights officially back after 16 years

Oct 23, 2023 | 2:00 PM

It’s official: the Nipawin Knights are back.

After 16 years, the senior men’s hockey team will once again hit the ice as they get set to compete in the Wheatland Senior Hockey League (WSHL).

Connor Grieve, the Knights’ general manager, told northeastNOW there’s already a lot of buzz in the community.

“Business owners are happy, and the guys who played in the past are very happy the Knights are back,” he said.

There’s so much excitement in the community that members of the Knights were invited to help out during the 2023 Vanity Cup Walleye Fishing Tournament.

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Nipawin recently welcomed a senior baseball team and after seeing a lot of interest in the hockey club, Grieve and other community members thought it might be time to bring back the Knights.

They eventually applied to the WSHL and were officially approved as the league’s newest team.

A tryout was held this past weekend with around 25 people showing up. Despite only seeing the players hit the ice for a very small amount of time, Grieve believes they will be very competitive this season.

“It’s not just a thrown-together team, I think we got some very good hockey players that have played Junior B and Junior A,” he said.

The Knights are still looking for a couple of players to fill out the roster. Grieve added Tad Kozun, the head coach and general manager of the Nipawin Hawks of the SJHL, is excited to have the Knights back and may be interested in suiting up for a couple of games.

The Knights will play out of Centennial Arena. Nipawin’s council meets on Monday where they’re expected to approve a three-year agreement with the team.

Their first game will be on Nov. 3^rd in Tisdale against the Ramblers.

Their home opener will happen the next day, Nov. 4^th, against the Ramblers. Puck drop is set for 8:30 p.m.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow