Four members of the Eagle Sky Estevan Bruins returned to the team out of the Christmas break with a little extra hardware – a gold medal around their necks, as 2026 Viking Cup champions.
Forwards Rylan Williams and Noah Asmundson, and defenceman Ethan Andrews made up three of the 20-man roster helmed by Bruins’ head coach, Drew Kocur that would shock the tournament in its return from a 20-year hiatus, going a perfect 5-0 on their way to the championship over the eight-day event, held Dec. 27-Jan. 3 in Camrose, AB.
Kocur said a ton of credit goes to the players for their immediate buy-in in a short tournament.
“It really goes back to the first practice,” Kocur said. “We talked to the guys about what we wanted to achieve and that we’re not just out for a Sunday skate, we wanted to win the event and the guys were a really tight group. We all had the same goal in mind and that was to win the gold medal, so it’s a credit to the guys; our goaltenders played really well for our group, and for us to win the championship was awesome and definitely puts the SJHL on the map.”
Game 1: Midland University
Team SJHL hit the ground running in their opening game, taking a shocking 6-2 win over Midland University, following just a lone day of practice together as a group.
Asmundson got the party started, scoring the first goal of the tournament just 7:21 into the first period, to give SJHL the early lead.
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“I think it was like my second or third shift and I just came out,” Asmundson recalled. “[Brendan] Olson had a good forecheck, and he turned the puck over and I was just right in the middle of the slot. That’s where I like to score a lot of my goals, so it was a pretty familiar spot for me,” he added with a laugh.
From there, Team SJHL continued their momentum, attacking in waves on their way to another to go up 2-0 at the first intermission; then two more in each of the subsequent periods on their way to the 6-2 final.
Both Andrews and Williams pointed to that opening win as a key moment for the group as far as their belief of what they could achieve.
“After that first Midland game, we had a lot of success and that’s kind of when we first really knew we had a chance,” Andrews said. “Going into the tournament we didn’t know too much of what to expect, but after that first game, [and really,] first practice, we bonded pretty quick and got the wheels going.”
From there, Team SJHL continued to hum heading into their second game against the Czech University Selects, Dec. 29.
Game 2: Czech Selects
Noah Asmundson again led the charge for the SJ in Game 2 versus Czechia. Scoring a pair of goals in the first period on his way to a monster three-point night (2G, 1A) and SJHL Player of the Game honours.
The White City product also showcased his range as a scorer, cashing first on a power play tip in front, then at even-strength after forcing a turnover in front of the Czechia net to make it 2-1 SJ into the first intermission.
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Picking up where they left off in the second, Williams then made it 3-1 converting on a beautiful two-on-one passing play from Anthony Campbell, his buddy and former teammate a season ago in the Battlefords.
All together, the SJHL would rattle off five more in the second and third periods to take a 7-2 victory and improve to 2-0.
Game 3: U of A Augustana
Facing the host team from Augustana in their third game, Team SJHL again came out strong, with Asmundson connecting with linemates Josh Sale and Drew Molde for the latter’s first of the tournament.
A pair of Weyburn Red Wings, Asmundson couldn’t help but smile when asked about the chemistry between he and his Highway 39 rivals.
“At first when you see two Weyburn guys it was a little weird, but it was good; Sale and Molde are both good guys and good players, so I thought we played well together and it was a lot of fun.”
From one set of SJHL rivals connecting for a goal to another – after Augustana made it 2-1 in the second – this time it was Williams converting on a one-timer, set up by Bombers’ forward Joey Lies, to knot the score 2-2.
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After Augustana again pulled ahead, Andrews then notched a pair of goals less than a minute apart, to re-tie the game and take the lead in the blink of an eye.
Also assisting on Jye Zawatsky’s 5-3 tally before the end of the second, Andrews’ dominant three-point showing earned him the SJHL’s Player of the Game honours, making it two-straight games for a Bruin.
“It was pretty cool to get recognized like that, but I couldn’t do it without all the guys,” Andrews said. “[Zayden] Sadlemyer on the power play gave a couple of nice passes to me, and just all around the ice, everyone was scoring. Everyone was having fun, and everyone really bonded and had a good connection, so it made it easy to have personal success and team success as well.”
Game 4: SAIT
After a hard-earned day off New Years Day, Team SJHL returned to action Jan. 2 for their final game of the round robin against SAIT (Calgary).
Taking the contest 3-2 in overtime in their closest test yet, although SAIT lost the game, the single point for getting the game to OT booked the rematch the following night in a showdown for gold.
Game 5: GOLD MEDAL GAME vs SAIT
With all the chips on the table and gold medals on the line, Rylan Williams led the way with a team-high three assists, in a miraculous effort by Team SJHL to take the championship game in fairytale fashion.
Williams’ first assist came on the opening goal by Gavin Granger to make it 1-0 midway through the first. Though much like the night before, SAIT was not going away. A 2-2 game at the end of the first and 4-2 SAIT lead through 40, for the first time in the tournament the SJHL found themselves trailing heading into the third period.
Rather than panic however, Williams credits the leadership in the room and the level-headed confidence of their coach with keeping the team positive and focused on the task at hand.
“I remember we kind of all looked at each other, we talked about what we needed to do better and we knew it was now or never,” Williams said. “Then Drew came in talking about how we’re all leaders on our own [SJHL] teams, we’re all top guys. We’re 20-year-olds and we know what we need to do, so just go out and do it.’”
And deliver they did, led by two more assists by Williams. In the biggest game of the tournament, the Kyle, SK., product came through with his best.
First Williams found Campbell in the opening three minutes of the third to get the team back to within a single early in the frame. Then, with time winding down and just 14 seconds to go in regulation, it was Williams’ initial shot picked up by Yorkton captain, Tylan Henrikson and banked off the goalie’s back-and-in for the tying goal.
The teams were destined for overtime.
Heading into OT, it was again Kocur, relaying a simple yet poignant message to his troops.
“I just remember him asking ‘Who wants to be a hero? Who’s going to be the hero?’ [Saying] that we didn’t come here to lose and he had full confidence that we were going to win,” Williams recalled.
And win they did, when fast-approaching the midway mark of the overtime, Ethan Andrews sprung onto a Josh Sale rebound to convert the golden goal.
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“It was just a good shot from Sale,” Andrews recounted with a smile. “A juicy rebound kind of popped out in front and I just jumped on the puck, grabbed my own rebound and it went in. I didn’t know what to do to celebrate, and everyone just kind of crashed in, so it was just awesome to see all the guys pilling over the bench and everyone so happy. It was definitely a cool moment and cool experience.”
Making the moment even sweeter – sharing it with family, friends and teammates from the past.
“My dad was there, and I know all my grandparents and my mom were watching on FloHockey,” Andrews continued. “My auntie and her two kids were there as well for the first couple games, so it was just a blast to get to see some family and all the text messages coming in after… to see all the older friends and players I’ve played with in the past and family just piling in the text messages, It was really cool to catch up with them; it was just awesome.”
The 2026 Viking Cup marked the return of the tournament for the first time since 2006. The SJHL U20 Selects became the first SJHL team to win the tournament since 1998.
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Marty Martinson/Bruins PxP & Marketing Director
On X: @MartyMartyPxP1
