Hockey school on the move to Dunmore

Banff Hockey Academy is on the move.

After a quarter-century in the Canadian Rockies, the prep program is being relocated to Dunmore — just outside of Medicine Hat — to become part of the South Alberta Hockey Academy (SAHA).

Willie Desjardins, a former head coach of the NHL’S Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings, current bench boss for the WHL’S Medicine Hat Tigers and owner/ operator of SAHA, will oversee the transition.

“We are very excited about the opportunities that exist for the program in Medicine Hat,” Bill Doherty, founder and director of Banff Hockey Academy, said in a statement. “As you can imagine, after 25 years in the Bow Valley, there is a significant amount of emotion as we recount the students, teachers and community members who supported their collective development during our tenure in Banff. The history of our program runs deep in our hearts and souls and is filled with gratitude for these memories.”

Beginning with the 2020-21 campaign, South Alberta Hockey Academy will ice both a male and female team in the Aaa-level Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL). Desjardins’ son, Brayden, will coach the boys.

According to the Medicine Hat News, former Banff Hockey Academy students are not guaranteed spots on those squads.

“We’ll try to accommodate kids that were there last year that are interested this year, if they’re a fit for our program, for sure,” Darren Macmillan, general manager of the SAHA, told the newspaper. “But we don’t have to take what they had. We’re able to make our new team from scratch.”