The Moeller Hometown Arena inside the Co-op Centre in Meadow Lake could be the newest home to a junior hockey team in the near future. (Image Credit: City of Meadow Lake via Workun Garrick Partnership Architecture and Interior Design Inc.)

By Logan Lehmann

Community Growth

Junior hockey expansion probable in northwest with new Co-op Centre

Mar 24, 2026 | 2:00 PM

Meadow Lake’s new Co-op Centre recently wrapped up its first hockey season, receiving an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from athletes, coaches and fans. 

According to Regan Beck, Meadow Lake’s Parks and Recreation Manager, the new arena was operating at 95 per cent capacity throughout the year with very little available ice time between minor hockey, senior hockey, and tournaments. 

“Every weeknight was full all the time and weekends as well. It was a really nice first year for sure,” said Beck.  

“People come into this facility for the first time, and they’re just absolutely blown away. To start the year, the very first thing we had was a U15 AA tournament, and the feedback we had from those teams, which are generally from bigger centres that Meadow Lake doesn’t really attract as much, they couldn’t believe the facility and how excited they were to come back in different age groups.” 

The facility opened last summer and houses a lot more than just hockey. On top of the 1,850-seat bowl arena, the Co-op Centre is also home to a multi-purpose fieldhouse, a 350-person event space, executive dressing rooms, a pro shop and a dance studio, along with some city offices and the council chamber.  

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Additionally, following the opening of the Co-op Centre, talks have slowly been resurfacing about the potential of establishing a junior hockey team in the city, as a general lack of junior teams in the northwestern part of the province has local athletes playing elsewhere, like in North Battleford or Prince Albert. 

Beck thinks that with the new Co-op Centre, there will definitely be interest and support for a team, but it all comes down to who wants to run it. 

“We certainly have the facility for it. But there’s so much more that goes into having a junior hockey program than just the facility, and we’re well aware of that. There’d have to be a desired interest from being led by the business community, not necessarily from a city perspective. It’s the thought that it could happen at some point and if it does, it does, and if it doesn’t, then we understand that as well.” 

An exterior shot of the Co-op Centre in Meadow Lake. (Image Credit: City of Meadow Lake via Workun Garrick Partnership Architecture And Interior Design Inc.)

President of the Prairie Junior Hockey League (PJHL) Lane Wallace echoed Beck, stating that running a junior team isn’t the most profitable business and often takes someone who has a network in the community to establish a strong enough volunteer base and sponsorship program with local businesses and the community as a whole. 

In Meadow Lake’s case, Wallace said the community is ideal for expansion in terms of its location, like with Moosomin last season and Prince Albert in 2023. 

“We’re always looking for markets to expand to, particularly ones that geographically work in terms of new locations, and Meadow Lake certainly fits that option. You’re always looking at markets that don’t infringe on the player pool for other teams.” 

While the Meadow Lake hockey scene is dominated by the senior Broncos, the city is no stranger to junior hockey either as Meadow Lake was once home to the Jr. B Lakers in the 1980’s and, more recently, the Jr. A Mustangs from 2018-20.

He continued that he was unaware that Meadow Lake opened or constructed the new Co-op Centre, adding it’s something he’s going to look into. 

“I’m definitely going to have to investigate that.” 

Speaking to league expansion overall, Wallace said he’s received a couple of “soft inquires” so far, but nothing serious in terms of adding a thirteenth member to the PJHL. 

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com