As hockey players and parents get ready for the upcoming season, A spokesperson from the Steinbach Minor Hockey Association says registration numbers are right around what they have been over the last couple of years.

"I would say we're more or less on par," says Vice-President Joel Braun. "No drastic increases but nor has there been a drastic decrease. We are relatively on par with previous seasons. It's good to see. Some people who dropped out of hockey last year are back. There actually have been a couple of new registrations thanks to our come try hockey event."

With registration having closed on September 11th, Braun says hockey activity is now picking up. "We've had our first round of pre-skates and evaluation process. So, we have two age groups where teams are formed and they are having practices this week."

Braun says that the number of teams maybe won't change but with some players returning from a year or two off, they will be able to fill out some of their existing teams. "Maybe a team has an extra player or two, in some cases. If anything, we're in a better position to equip our teams with better, fuller rosters."

According to Braun, Steinbach Minor Hockey will be able to field a full complement of teams from U7 to U18 this year.