It was a challenging start to the season for the La Ronge Ice Wolves, but interim head coach Kyle Graham said he’s happy with how the team responded.
The Ice Wolves finished last in the four-team UPL Division with an 11-40-4-1 record, but ended the regular season by splitting series with the Humboldt Broncos and La Ronge Ice Wolves.
Graham said there were challenges during the season, but the young Ice Wolves showed plenty of promise.
“It was an inconsistent year for sure, but that’s what’s going to happen when you have such a young group,” Graham said. “I think just looking at a lot of the potential in some of our players and how they’ve progressed throughout the year and … just their improvement from the first few months of the season, it was awesome to see.
“(There was) lots of improvement, and we just hope they continue their development throughout the summer and into next year. We really expect to compete and a lot of guys to take big steps moving forward with our team.”
The Ice Wolves opened the season with five straight losses before defeating the Estevan Bruins 4-3 on Oct. 4 in front of 485 fans at the Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre. The struggles continued into the mid-point of the season. The Ice Wolves didn’t win a single game in December or January, and won just once in February—a 2-1 shootout victory over the Melville Millionaires on Feb. 27.
However, the club finished strong in March, recording a 7-5 victory over the Humboldt Broncos, and a 2-1 victory over the Flin Flon Bombers. They also suffered a trio of close losses (3-1 to Melfort, 7-5 to La Ronge, and 3-1 to Flin Flon).
Graham said the team needed to play a more consistent brand of hockey to be successful, something they didn’t start doing until the end of the season.
“We’d have one really good period and then we’d come out flat and I think the guys kind of learned that you can’t take your foot off the pedal at all or you’re just going to get squashed,” he said. “In a league like the SJ, the talent and the work ethic from other teams are just way to high, so you can’t take your foot off the gas.”
The 2025-26 season was Graham’s first in the head coaching role. He assumed interim responsibilities after head coach and GM Kevin Kaminski took a leave of absence in on Feb. 20.
Graham said he enjoyed the experience, but said he had plenty of help from former La Ronge Ice Wolves coach Bob Beatty.
“He was just a calm, soothing voice for me and the boys in the locker room as well,” Graham said. “Bob really helped me out quite a bit. It was very fun. Obviously, a lot more responsibilities taking over the head job, but it was a great experience for me.
“I thought we really ended the season on a bit of a positive note compared to how our season was going at that time. The boys, I thought they really battled and competed for me, so I’m very happy about that.”
SUBHEADLINE: Ice Wolves satisfied with first year in JRMCC
The 2025-26 season was the Ice Wolves’ first at the Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre (JRMCC) after spending more than 25 years at the Mel Hegland Uniplex.
Ice Wolves board member Randy Johns said they were happy with their move to the JRMCC, and are confident the team is headed in the right direction.
“We feel we have a really strong core of players, a good location, and we want to build on that,” Johns said.
The Ice Wolves had their largest crowd of the year in their final home game against Flin Flon when 758 people packed into the JRMCC to watch a 2-1 La Ronge win.
Johns said the strong end to the season has them optimistic heading into 2026-27.
“We’re building, and we’re looking forward to next year,” he said. “We’re all systems go. We’re really optimistic about the future.”
@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca
