The Yukon Native Hockey Tournament (YNHT) is returning from a three-year hiatus in record numbers.

The 2023 Kilrich Building Centres tournament, sponsored by Victoria Gold, is scheduled for March 23-26.

According to a YNHT press release, this is the largest tournament to date. It has been expanded from three to four days in order to accommodate an increase from 42 to 56 teams.

New to the tourney is the introduction of a women's division, consisting of five teams.

The Jamboree Division has also expanded to include A and B divisions.

A special video commissioned by the tournament board will be shared on social media to honour those lost during the three-year break in the tournament.

Family members of those lost during the pandemic will be invited to join organizers and players on the ice with a photo or jersey of their loved one for a moment of silence during the opening ceremonies.

Here are the divisions and the number of teams in each division:

Women's: 5

Youth: 7

A Division: 5

B Division: 10

C Division: 14

Old Timers: 6

Jamboree A: 4

Jamboree B: 5

The A Division starts Friday at Takhini Arena with the North Yukon Eagles taking on the Selkirk Bears at 11 a.m.

The B Division starts Thursday at 12:30 p.m. with the North Yukon Eagles facing off against the Deline Braves at Takhini and the Northern Construction Grinders tackling the Tahltan Bear Dogz at Northwestel Arena at the Canada Games Centre (CGC), also at 12:30 p.m.

The C Division starts Thursday with a multitude of games starting at 9:30 a.m. at Takhini, Norwestel and the Atco Arena in CGC.

The Oldtimers Division also starts off Thursday with the Kaska Warriors taking on the Tahltan Silvertips at Takhini at 2 p.m., followed by the 1016 Royals versus the CA Bruins at 3:30 p.m. at Takhini.

The Women's Division faces off Friday at 10:30 a.m. at Northwestel with AFN Storm taking on the Vixens.

The Jamboree A Division starts Thursday at Northwestel with a matchup between the Arctic Backhoe Warriors and the Tahltan Selects at 5 p.m.

The IDC Junior Huskies also face off against the North Yukon Eagles at 5 p.m. on the Atco ice.

The Jamboree B Division action starts Thursday at 3:30 p.m. on the Northwestel ice with the Inuvik Ice Bears taking on TH Jamboree.

The Youth Division schedule kicks off Thursday as well at 12:30 p.m. with the Gwich'in Warriors battling the Kaska Warriors on Atco ice.

The full schedule of games can be found at https://www.yfnha.ca/schedule

The Star will have more on the tourney in tomorrow's paper.