WENATCHEE, Wash. - The Wenatchee Wild Hockey Academy is back on the ice for 2026 - two teams are already back to action, while the Academy's 16-and-Under and 18-and-Under teams return to league play this weekend.

The Wild 14U team spent the week after Christmas at the Richmond International Bantam & Midget tournament in British Columbia, finishing 2-3 on the weekend. Wenatchee defeated the Richmond Jets U15 team 3-1 in the opening game of the tournament, but dropped a 7-4 decision to the Surrey Thunder and a 5-1 game against the Coquitlam Comets. Wenatchee defeated Richmond again in the knockout round of the tournament, but lost to Coeur d'Alene Academy in the final game of the weekend.

The 15O team took part in the Pat Quinn Classic and faced older competition as part of the U17 AAA program - HC Fairbanks snagged a 7-0 win over Wenatchee to open the tournament, followed by a 7-4 loss last Monday against the California Wave. St. Mary's High School from Stockton, California scored a 9-2 win, and Wenatchee closed out its trip with a 6-3 defeat to the San Jose Jr. Sharks 16U team.

"Both teams played hard," said Wenatchee Wild Hockey Academy director Troy Mick. "All in all, it was a great tournament (weekend). Everybody got to showcase themselves up in Canada, and it was a good opportunity. It's good for them to see the other side of the country and Canada, and to get exposure to different scouts and different opportunities."

Three of the four teams will compete this weekend, including the 15O group, who will head to a Canadian Sport School Hockey League showcase in Delta, British Columbia. The competition there will feel strangely familiar, with games scheduled against Coeur d'Alene Hockey Academy and STAR Academy. The North Shore Warriors U17 AAA team will match up with Wenatchee on Sunday morning to close out the weekend.

CSSHL play resumes for the 16U and 18U teams as they both face off with the North Shore Warriors in Wenatchee, ending the Academy's CSSHL home slate for the season. All remaining league games for both teams will be on the road, though state championship and Wenatchee Cup tournament games will be held in Wenatchee over the next month-and-a-half.

"There are a lot of tournaments in the second half in Wenatchee, so we load up a lot of home games in the first half," said Mick. "Now we get to be road warriors, so we'll get the vans heated up and bring some wins back with us."

The 16U team also makes a trip to Seattle to face the Jr. Kraken this Friday.