by Hockey PEI Communications // @HockeyPEI // Friday, May 12th, 2023
CHARLOTTETOWN, PE - Hockey PEI is announcing today that it has joined the Nova Scotia Under-16 AAA Hockey League ahead of the 2023-24 season and has awarded two franchises here on Prince Edward Island to compete within the league following a call for expression of interest.
The “Eastern Dukes” and the “Western Rebels” were the successful awarded franchises selected through the review process by Hockey PEI’s Development Hockey Council. The Dukes franchise is being operated by Jamie MacDonald and Will Zafiris while the Rebels will be led by Billy Williams and Jarod Colwill. These franchises will also be connected to Major Under-18 programs here on PEI with the Dukes being an affiliate of the Charlottetown Knights and the Rebels of the Kensington Wild of the NB/PEI Major Under-18 Hockey League.
The two franchises have already begun work on the preparation for building a roster to compete in the 2023-2024 season. The NSU16AAA Hockey League is a developmental league that provides 15-year-olds along with 4 over-agers another season to develop and work on skills along with the added benefit to physically mature and develop.
“On behalf of the NSU16AAAHL, we are excited to be expanding into PEI and adding two new franchises to our league for next season. We’ve seen positive and steady growth of our league over our first six seasons throughout NS and into NB, and adding PEI is a natural progression for the Nova Scotia U16 AAA Hockey League, as we continue to fulfill our commitment to promoting competitive hockey development in the Maritimes. With the addition of two new franchises, we look forward to bringing our brand of high-level U16 hockey to the Island and providing even more opportunities for young players to showcase their skills and develop their talents. Offering a maritime based AAA league will keep the doors open for many of these young players to find opportunities to advance to the next level of their hockey journey”
- NSU16AAA President, Jamie Stone
With the addition of two franchises from PEI, this brings the league to a 12 team total. The NSU16AAA Hockey League is well scouted with players drafted yearly into the QMJHL and the MHL and also has a dedicated division in all major tournaments in the region.
More information on team specific operations will be released in the coming days.
For more information on Nova Scotia Under-16 AAA Hockey League, please visit www.nsu16aaahl.ca
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