The Hinton Timberwolves have been making a go at junior hockey for six of the last seven years. This 2025-2026 season was slated to be played in the North West Junior Hockey league. A Hockey Canada sanctioned Junior B league located in Alberta and British Columbia.
Dino Buttazzoni the owner, and over all good guy, has been trying to do things the right way in Hinton for many years. Not once have players complained about how they were treated while playing in Hinton. Good owners are hard for leagues to find.
First joining the old WSHL in 2019, then jumping into the CAJHL in 2022, and then the NWJHL was slated for the 2025 – 2026 season. Trying to find legitimacy in the development ladder, many thought this would be the year for Hinton to break through. Turns out, it is not going to be.
The reason for folding? A lack of players. Where have we heard that before? And where will we hear that next?
Enter the Alberta Elite Junior Hockey League and their announcing the “Hinton Canadians”. The “league” is allegedly starting September 26th of this year. I use the term “league” with some skepticism due to the league not having a professional website, very few player signing announcements, and tryout camp announcements that look more like organizations begging for help.
Keep in mind this AEJHL is being formed by three teams who are essentially leaving the NJHL, and are essentially operating in the same footprint as the NJHL, and new USPHL Premier Alberta division. All three of these leagues slated to start the season at nearly the same time.
Eighteen teams in Alberta outside of the AJHL and junior B leagues? I dont think so.
The expansion of pay to play junior hockey throughout North America, on both sides of the border has been extreeme in 2025. Combined with the additional expansion of AAA hockey on both sides of the border and the pressure on the player pool is immense.
How much pressure? Enough to have some teams dropping tuition costs from $12,000 in May to $5000 in late August. While its a great discount, this also means those same teams will be cutting back on amenities that were promised to players who signed early.
As we head closer to September, some league schedules have been changed to push back the start of the season in some leagues for some teams. This unfortunately is only delaying the end for many teams, and putting players at risk of not only losing their money, but losing a season.
Hinton is not going to be the last to swim in The Death Pool.
USA Hockey is helping the NA3HL keep their secrets. While the “new season” starts September 1, 2025 officially, USA Hockey will not be revealing any protected lists until October 1, 2025. This will be nearly a month into the season and is looking like the action solely designed to protect information from being publucly available, when it is in fact the public who should have it.
Collusion? If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…..
