Photo courtesy of Gord Mellor

The New Year is here and for most of us it’s a time to reset, refocus and try once again to hang onto our resolutions for the next 12 months.  For the 19 CJFL teams, preparation for the 2026 season is well underway as they hope their own New Years resolutions will help them to success by holding the Canadian Bowl trophy over their head in November.

With resolutions fresh on your mind, here is just one for each of the six teams in the Prairie Conference.

SASKATOON HILLTOPS

Rinse and repeat

The Saskatoon Hilltops won the 2025 CJFL Canadian Bowl on their home turf in a classic three-point victory to capture their 24th national crown.  This happened despite losing two games in the regular season and needing to claim a road win in the Conference final which they did in dramatic fashion.  This year they will look to repeat as champs as they have done before winning six straight from 2014-2019 and had a three-peat from 2010-2012. Regardless of who graduates from their program, the Hilltops seemingly have another player just waiting patiently for their turn to be the “next person up” as they look for a repeat. 

REGINA THUNDER

Ground and pound

All-Canadian running back Peter Boersch returns to the Thunder and will no doubt be the featured offensive weapon like he was in 2025 rushing for 1327 yards.  With the departure of Carter Ashman, the Thunder will need to find another rusher to step up when Boersch comes out of the game to keep the opposition guessing.  It remains to be seen if the offensive line will be as dominant as they were in 2025 allowing the running backs to chew up yards and score 19 rushing touchdowns.  The returning players will be very hungry after letting an opportunity to host the Canadian Bowl slip through their fingers last year.

WINNIPEG RIFLES

Add more building blocks

The Rifles opened last year with two straight wins, then won their final two games to clinch the third seed in the Conference.  They continue to lay down the building blocks and develop players to attend the Blue Bombers camp, but it hasn’t translated into winning or even hosting a playoff game.  They graduate 12 very talented players following 2025 and will need to once again find some foundational building blocks to take another run in the highly competitive Prairie Conference.  The players that do return this season will be key pieces to building strong facets of the game. 

EDMONTON HUSKIES

Step up young guns

They were one of the youngest teams in the CJFL last season led by a pair of Conference Rookies of the Year.  Quarterback Wesley Neitz threw for over 1400 yards while linebacker Chris Mattiello was named CJFL Defensive Rookie of the Year after 33 solo tackles.  These two will need to lead the rest of the youth movement and show what they learned for their sophomore season to help get the Huskies back into contention.   Head coach Marshal Klein also enters his second campaign and will no doubt be better prepared for the grueling PFC schedule. 

EDMONTON WILDCATS

Beef up the defensive line

If the Wildcats want to get back to the Canadian Bowl playoffs, they will need to find some big bodies to beef up in the trenches on the defensive line.  Of their five graduates following the 2025 season, four of them are from the defensive line including All-Star D’Wayne Williams who had 27 solo tackles and 12 assists in his final year.  They also lose Dreyden Schlecht, an emotional leader on and off the field that meant so much to their club on the D-Line.  This will need to be a main focus in 2026.

CALGARY COLTS

Take care of the football

Last season the Colts themselves were a large part of their undoing by not being able to protect the football coughing up a Conference high 49 turnovers including 17 interceptions, 16 fumbles and 16 turnovers on downs.  They finished with a -23 in takeaway-giveaways.  They certainly have the pieces to be competitive in the Prairies, but they need to cut down on turnovers, something new interim head coach Reyd Kessler will no doubt focus on during the offseason.
 

Photo courtesy of Matthew Hamilton

The Prairie Conference announced their Most Outstanding Players and Coach of the Year for the 2025 season as a build up to the Prairie Conference final on Sunday.

Prairie Conference Outstanding Players:

Coach of the Year – Scott MacAulay – Regina Thunder – he led his team to their second straight Prairie Conference championship banner with the Conference’s best record.  They clinched homefield advantage through the CJFL Canadian Bowl playoffs and will host the Conference championship game this Sunday 

Outstanding Offensive Lineman – Caleb Barajas – Regina Thunder   
Outstanding Running Back – David Collins – Saskatoon Hilltops - he carried the rock 126 times for 1028 yards and a Conference high 13 touchdowns, averaging 8.2 yards per carry

Outstanding Receiver – Jarome Penner – Winnipeg Rifles - he led the Conference with 794 receiving yards on 40 receptions and tallied three touchdowns.  He averaged 19.9 yards a catch

Outstanding Quarterback – Riley Element – Winnipeg Rifles – he led the Conference in completions (159), yards (2394), attempts (260) and was tied with 11 touchdowns.  He completed 61.2% of his passes and had a passer efficiency rating of 79.9

Outstanding Defensive Lineman – Johnathon Stevens – Saskatoon Hilltops - he led the Conference with three sacks, had 11 tackles, 18 assisted stops, had a knockdown, forced and recovered a fumble

Outstanding Linebacker – Kyler Banfield (pictured) – Winnipeg Rifles – he led the Conference with 37 tackles and 26 assisted stops.  He added two sacks, four knockdowns, forced two fumbles, and recovered a pair

Outstanding Defensive Back – Cooper Filazek – Regina Thunder - he had three interceptions, six tackles, and two knockdowns

Outstanding Special Teams Player – Charles Sawi – Saskatoon Hilltops – he was busy on Specials, returning 64 kicks this season and gobbled up 811 yards

Offensive Rookie of the Year – QB Wesley Neitz – Edmonton Huskies – he started the majority of the games for the Huskies this season and finished with a completion percentage of 56.4% after 115 completions and 1407 yards along with six touchdowns

Defensive Rookie of the Year – LB Chris Mattiello – Edmonton Huskies – in his rookie campaign he tallied 26 tackles, assisted on nine others, had a sack, a forced fumble, recovered three other fumbles and returned his lone interception 28 yards for a touchdown

Most Valuable Player – RB Peter Boersch – Regina Thunder - he won the Conference rushing title with 1327 yards on 174 carries and four touchdowns averaging 7.4 yards a carry

Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year – Kyler Banfield – Winnipeg Rifles – he led the Conference with 37 tackles and 26 assisted stops.  He added two sacks, four knockdowns, forced two fumbles, and recovered a pair

Outstanding Offensive Player of the Year – David Collins – Saskatoon Hilltops - he carried the rock 126 times for 1028 yards and a Conference high 13 touchdowns, averaging 8.2 yards per carry

Sunday afternoon the Regina Thunder will host the Saskatoon Hilltops, with the winner hosting the CJFL Canadian Bowl national championship on Sunday November 9, 2025.