It has now been two consecutive seasons where the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League was without a boys' team in the Central Plains region. The Capitals were unable to ice a boys' team again this season, and the commissioner of the league, Levi Taylor, says it was a very unfortunate situation.

"It was really disappointing. They made a strong run at it. They did hold training camp but, ultimately, they had to pull the plug on the season just a couple of weeks before we started."

Up until the 2021-22 season, the Central Plains Capitals had a U18 AAA boys team in the league for 30 straight years. Taylor says next year is also looking pretty bleak.

"The outlook for next year is that they will be on another year leave of absence," Taylor explains. "That region will be an open zone as far as the players are concerned. It's disappointing that they're not going to field a team but unlike last year, at least the players will have the summer to look at different options."

The commissioner adds they don't want to put a team out there that wouldn't be able to compete at the AAA level. He says that was the case too often for the Capitals.

"It all ties into the competitiveness that we need for the league. We see various teams that struggle to field competitive teams year in and year out. Central Plains was one of those. They required a lot of cuts from Winnipeg to field a team in any given year. They just don't have the registration numbers to support a AAA program."

The league hopes to bring back the Central Plains Capitals boys' team in the 2024-25 season.

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