The playoffs begin this morning at the Provincial Junior Varsity High School Badminton Championships at the Prairie Badminton Club in Winnipeg. Qualifying for the round of 16 are Tyler Robertson of Boissevain in boys singles; Caroline McConnell & Leigha Kristof of Reston in girls doubles; Griffin Albrecht & Connor Graham of Boissevain and RJ Dell & Josh Warwaruk of Melita in boys doubles and Joy Mayes & Tommy Burnett of Pierson and Alivia Tilbury & Gabe Atchison of Melita in mixed doubles.


The Provincial Varsity High School Badminton Championships begin today at 1 p.m. at the Prairie Badminton Club. Representing Zone 9 and competing in boys singles are Brett Laing of Boissevain and Emmanuel Villavicencio of Hartney; competing in girls singles are Callie Hilhorst of Killarney and Skyla Louttit of Melita; Jazmyn Barwick & Makenna Beard of Boissevain and Chezney McAuley and Kassidy Johnson of Elkhorn are in girls doubles; Duncan Punay & Steve Ross of Souris and Lance Louttit & Ty Downey of Melita are competing in boys doubles; Haley Kirkup & Ty Goudreau of Virden and Sara Chant & Connor Carvey of Elkhorn are in mixed doubles. 


Winnipeg Ice teammates Matthew Savoie of St. Albert and Conor Geekie of Strathclair are fourth and fifth respectively among North American skaters in the NHL's Central Scouting final rankings. Moose Jaw Warriors defenseman Denton Mateychuk of Dominion City is 14th while St. Adolphe's Owen Pickering of the the Swift Current Broncos is ranked 15th. Brandon Wheat Kings forward Rylen Roersma of Lethbridge is ranked 87th. Virden Oil Capitals forward Carson Buydens of Gladstone is ranked 167th. Winkler's Reid Dyck of the Swift Current Broncos is ranked 8th among North American goaltenders. The 2022 NHL Draft will be held July 7th & 8th at the Bell Centre in Montreal. 


The world’s best under-20 hockey players will have a chance to once again compete for gold on Canadian ice at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, just four months after the 2022 edition of the tournament is held in Edmonton. Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey League and the International Ice Hockey Federation, who approved hosting rights to Canada, has awarded the prestigious international competition to the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, with the cities of Halifax and Moncton co-hosting the event from Dec. 26, 2022 to Jan. 5, 2023. Hockey Canada has hosted the IIHF World Junior Championship 15 times since its official inception in 1977, with Atlantic Canada last serving as host in 2003 in Halifax and Sydney, N.S.


Manitoba champion Jordon McDonald finished the round robin with a 4-2 record and will face Matthew Drewitz of Saskatchewan in the quarterfinals at the Canadian U18 Curling Championships in Oakville, Ontario. Provincial finalist Ryan Ostrowsky had a 1-5 record and is in the consolation playoffs. Manitoba champion Zoey Terrick and finalist Grace Beaudry finished the round robin with 2-4 records and both are in the consolation playoffs.