page_title: Sport in Saskatchewan
section_title: Ice hockey
hierarchical_section_title: Sport in Saskatchewan / Team sports / Ice hockey
caption_attribution_description: Brendan Witt (born February 20, 1975 in Humboldt, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian ice hockey player
context_page_description: Sport in Saskatchewan includes ice skating, speed skating, curling, curling bonspiels, snowboarding, snow golf, broomball, ice hockey, badminton, and curling. Summer sports abound: among these are school track and field days, community rodeos, golf tournaments, and sporting events such as baseball, softball, and snowmobile, snowmobile rallies. School teams usually feature baseball, basketball, field hockey, Association football or soccer, lacrosse, football, rugby, and wrestling. Popular individual sports include auto racing, boxing, cycling, golf, hiking, horse racing, ice skating, skateboarding, skiing, swimming, tennis, triathlon, track and field, and water sports. Other sports include tobogganing, sailing, rowing, trap shooting, lawn bowling, and horseshoe. Saskatchewan speed skaters have enjoyed recent success in the Olympics in Salt Lake City and Turin. The Saskatchewan Olympic medalists include Catriona Le May Doan, Jason Parker and Justin Warsylewicz.
context_section_description: Professional hockey existed in Saskatchewan during the 1920s. The Western Canada Hockey League was the prairie equivalent of the National Hockey League and began in the winter of 1921. Its champion played the winner of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association to determine who would represent the West in the Stanley Cup finals. Saskatchewan saw three franchises during this time. Initially, the Saskatoon Sheiks and Regina Capitals were among the founding franchises in the WCHL. However, that was short-lived as during the league's inaugural season in 1921–22, the Sheiks moved to Moose Jaw. However, the Moose Jaw Sheiks did not return for the 1922–23 season and were replaced by a new team in Saskatoon called the Crescents. The Saskatoon Crescents played under that name only for the 1922–23 season, reverting to the Sheiks for the 1923–24 season. The Regina Capitals moved to Portland after the 1924–25 season, leaving the Sheiks as the only Saskatchewan team in the league. The WCHL folded after the 1925–26 season leaving Saskatchewan devoid of professional hockey for nearly 30 years.
  The Saskatoon Quakers were a professional hockey team in the Pacific Coast Hockey League. They were a senior amateur team prior to joining the PCHL in 1951. They captured the PCHL championship that initial season of 1951–52. The PCHL changed its name to the Western Hockey League in time for the 1952–53 season. The Quakers played in the WHL until they folded after the 1955–56 season, citing financial concerns. Saskatoon saw the WHL return for the 1958–59 season: a shared team called the Saskatoon/St. Paul Regals played that season. The team split its home games between Saskatoon and St. Paul, Minnesota. The experiment was short lived as the Regals folded after that season. The brothers Reg, Doug, and Max Bentley from Delisle were famous hockey players that played with the Saskatoon Quakers
  Although no professional hockey team has operated in Saskatchewan since 1959, interest in bringing a major professional franchise to the province (most likely to Saskatoon) continues to persist.  Proponents of such ventures have generally argued that even though at first glance a city like Saskatoon might seem far to small to sustain a National Hockey League club, a franchise could nevertheless be viable if supported by the entire province in a manner similar to the support enjoyed by the Roughriders.
  The first serious plan to bring professional hockey back to Saskatchewan came in the latter half of the 1970s when Saskatoon native Bill Hunter, after selling the World Hockey Association's Edmonton Oilers, pursued the re-location of a struggling WHA franchise to Saskatoon in hopes of having it included in the eventual NHL-WHA merger. However, this effort came to nothing due to opposition from other WHA owners concerned that the inclusion of a Saskatoon franchise would upset the delicate merger negotiations with the NHL, as well as (perhaps on account of such uncertainty) Hunter's inability to get a commitment for a new facility to replace the small and aging Saskatoon Arena. Following the merger, Hunter made another attempt in 1983 when he purchased the bankrupt St. Louis Blues and formally applied for a franchise re-location to Saskatoon.  Although this time Hunter would secure commitments for 18,000 season tickets and a new arena in downtown Saskatoon, the NHL blocked both the sale the re-location and an owner willing to keep the Blues in St. Louis was found.
  Following the completion of Saskatchewan Place (now Credit Union Centre), an ownership group applied for a Saskatoon-based franchise to join the NHL as part of the league's early 1990s expansion.  Although the bid was withdrawn prior to the NHL owners making their decision, the prospect that an NHL franchise might still come to Saskatchewan persisted after the league regularly included Saskatchewan Place as a venue for a series of neutral site games included as part of the league's expanded 84 game schedule starting with the 1992–93 NHL season.  However, the league scrapped the neutral site games after reverting 
caption: Brendan Witt (born February 20, 1975, in Humboldt) is a Saskatchewan National Hockey League ice hockey player
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