The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League鈥檚 board of directors has announced that president Bill Chow鈥檚 contract has been extended for two more seasons, running until May 31, 2021.
The extension was announced at the league鈥檚 annual meetings held in Nipawin recently and chairman of the board Rick Shultz says that Chow has done a tremendous job since taking over the helm of day-to-day operations eight years ago.
鈥淗e has gained much experience in the past 8 years of running the league and was rewarded for doing the job that he has done,鈥� says Shultz in reference to the hard word and countless hours Chow has put it along with the development of the player assistance fund which will help many players 鈥淲e want to keep moving forward.鈥�
Chow, a retired police officer from Prince Albert, became president of the league on May 31, 2011, and since his arrival the league has become one of the premiere Junior 鈥淎鈥� circuits in the country. Under Chow鈥檚 guidance the league has been very proactive in player safety in addition to making the league more attractive for sponsorship opportunities. In the 2011-12 season (Chow鈥檚 first) there were 39 scholarships that players received. In 2017-18 there were 66 scholarships awarded and, so far this year, there are 52 players that received scholarships with more to be announced.
鈥淔rom my perspective,鈥� says Chow, 鈥渢here is a lot of work, as a league, left to be done. Although things are not always perfect, having consistency in creating corporate partnerships and creating more exposure for the players to higher levels of hockey takes time, effort and commitment.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檇 like to take this opportunity to thank the governors for the opportunity to continue with making the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League the best as possible. Without the team that has been built over the last eight years, from the SJHL writers - Mike Stackhouse, Craig Stein, Dave Leaderhouse - to Logan Fraser in Marketing, Curtis & Helen Stepp with the website and league stats, Referee-in-Chief Brad Howard, and Tanner Goetz (Munz Media) with social media and videography, the accomplishments to date would not be possible.鈥�
The 2019-20 season will commence in September with the finalized regular schedule to be released as soon as all franchises have confirmed dates with their respective facilities.
