On September 25 the Cochrane generals will play their first game of the 2026-2027 season – an away game in Sylvan Lake – that will mark the start of the 40th anniversary season of the Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL).
Thus far this pre-season, the Generals have played two games, both against the Airdrie Thunder, a 2-1 on Sept. 12 and a 5-4 overtime loss on Sept. 11. The Generals have one pre-season game remaining on their schedule, a Sept. 18 matchup against the High River Flyers at home. And then the season starts.
The Generals will be on the road to start the new season, crisscrossing the province to play games in Sylvan Lake and Coaldale, before returning home for a three-game homestand that will serve as Cochrane’s introduction to their new team.
On Oct. 2, the Generals will welcome the Airdrie Thunder to the SLS Centre for the team’s homeopener. The next evening, the Generals will host the defending champions, the Medicine Hat Cubs, followed by the Red Deer Vipers the next weekend.
Each team in the HJHL are set to play 18 games at home this season, with eight Friday night games that all begin at 8:00 pm, seven Saturday night games beginning at 7:15 pm, and three Sunday afternoon games starting at 3:00 pm.
The Generals schedule sees them playing eight games at home in October, three in November, two in December, seven in January, and one in February. In total the Generals will play 36 regular season games this year
The 40th season of the HJHL is also the 43 in Generals franchise history. With a datebook that stretches back four decades, the Generals have had an expansive swath of history, but perhaps none more memorable than last season’s historic 10 game winning streak.
From mid-November to early January, a span of about 40 days, the Generals won 10 games in a row, a streak that vaulted them from the middle of the pack to near the top of the South Division standings.
The Generals will look to improve upon last season’s impressive finish, which saw the team make it to the South Division Finals against the eventual league champions, the Medicine Hat Cubs.
But to do so, the Generals have had to add a collection of new players to its roster, players that will step into roles meant to bolster the offensive production that has been lost with last year’s graduating class of players.
Headlining the players who aged-out of the league and won’t be returning to the team is former Generals captain Diago Coelho, who registered 27 goals and 32 assists in 36 games last year. Coelho finished the season tied for the league scoring title, and over a career spanning five seasons, netted 161 points in 144 games played with his hometown team.
Coelho and defenseman Brendan Thubron, who also graduated at the end of last season, were the Generals two All-Star representatives last year. Thubron, who led the team in scoring as a defenseman with six goals and 19 assists in 29 games, will also have to have his production replaced by a new up-and-comer.
The 2026-2027 season is also the first year in the contract extension for head coach Derek Bell. Bell, who has coached the Generals for the past two seasons, signed a new contract in the off-season that ties him to the team until the 2030-2031 season.
Under Bell the Generals improved upon their win total and standing place from last season, and pushed further into the playoffs than any Generals team over the last four years
