The U13 AA Warriors are one of those teams who are going to be practicing only for some time yet.

With the Saskatchewan Hockey Association's announcement that teams can only practice for a few weeks still, the Warriors are still working on skill development. Warriors head coach Shane Smith said they still get a couple of ice times every week with the kids.

“We just kind of keep doing lots of different skill stuff,” Smith said. “Obviously it limits with only eight kids on the ice with what you can do. But lots of shooting, lots of puckhandling, and stuff like that. Keep them going on the ice.”

The U13 AA Warriors had three losses and two ties on their record this season when the province paused. While it’s far from an ideal situation with not playing games, Smith has noticed an improvement in his players this season.

“It’s really tough (not playing) because I really think we’ve had a lot of good practices lately, and I think I’ve seen all of our kids really develop in different categories where they needed development. It would be nice to put it in a game and see how everything works, but it’s the same for every team, unfortunately.”

Smith said there is still some enthusiasm for the players getting on the ice. “I think all the kids have really come around,” he said. “Our team has been really good. Everyone’s still coming every night. No one’s really down and depressed about it. Everyone’s … still excited to be at the rink every night and it really shows. I think every kid has improved a ton, and I would really like to be able to put it in a game. It’s not looking like it’s possible… but it’s been impressive where everyone’s got to with skill development.”