Southeast Thunderbirds/T-Birds/Blades The MJHL granted an expansion team to the Southeast Tribal Council, a group of First Nation bands in southeastern Manitoba, to begin play in the 1988–89 season. The team was known as the Southeast Thunderbirds and played out of the Notre Dame Arena in
Winnipeg. The team was renamed the Southeast Blades in 1992. After taking a leave of absence for the 1996–97 season, the Blades moved northeast of Winnipeg to
Sagkeeng First Nation. The Blades played ten seasons in Sagkeeng, the most successful being the 2002–03 season when they advanced to the Turnbull Cup finals which they lost to the
OCN Blizzard.
Beausejour Blades The Beausejour Blades were formed in 2007 following the sale and relocation of the team to the
Sun Gro Centre in
Beausejour. The move did not improve the team's fortunes; the Blades managed to win only 13 games over the two seasons of their existence.
Steinbach Pistons During the
2009 Allan Cup in
Steinbach, Manitoba, the City of Steinbach, together with Blades management, announced that the team would be relocating to the
T.G. Smith Centre in Steinbach for the
2009–10 MJHL season. The team was renamed the Steinbach Pistons, in recognition of the city's reputation as "The Automobile City". Steinbach was previously home to a MJHL team called the
Hawks from 1985 to 1988. Despite the team's improved record after the move to Steinbach, the Pistons failed to qualify for the playoffs in each of their first three seasons. The team's continued poor performance and strained financial position spurred a group of investors from the local business community to purchase the Pistons in 2012 and convert it to a community-owned organization. The next season, the Pistons ended the franchise's ten year playoff drought and captured their first Turnbull Cup. The Pistons enjoyed their best seasons in
2017–18 and
2022–23, when the team won Turnbull Cups and advanced as far as the national championship. Source:
Head coaches The following is a list of the franchise's head coaches:
Gallery Image:Beausejour Blades.jpg|Beausejour Blades logo 2007–2009 Image:Steinbach Pistons 2013.jpg|Steinbach Pistons logo 2012–present ==See also==