Joey Payeur
No need to complain to Bryan Graham about a lack of variety in terms of the number of opponents to be encountered this season by SIJHL teams.
That would qualify as preaching to the choir.
In fact, the new SIJHL commissioner already is moving forward with changing the formula—saying last week he’s been approached by prospective owners from both sides of the border about getting teams of their own next fall.
“There’s nothing concrete yet but we’re hoping to have as many as eight teams next season,” noted Graham, who replaced Ron Whitehead in the league’s top job just days after the pre-season annual general meeting in Fort Frances.
“The fans deserve it,” he reasoned.
“We want to make the SIJHL a place for players to want to come to and play at a high junior ‘A’ level.”
Graham expected an announcement regarding expansion to occur early in the new year, if not sooner.
“The new teams are going to need an eight-month head start in terms of getting players and from a corporate standpoint getting out in the community to let them know what’s coming up in the fall,” he explained.
Without mentioning specific towns, Graham said interest has come from Northwestern Ontario, north and central Minnesota, and north and central Wisconsin.
“I’ve seen five-team leagues work before,” remarked Graham, citing a first-hand example he experienced when the Colonial Hockey League (now the United Hockey League) had a quintet of teams, including his hometown Thunder Bay Thunderhawks.
“The fans were treated to some great hockey it wasn’t seen as a big obstacle,” he noted.
“With Fort Frances hosting the Dudley Hewitt Cup this [spring], the fact we’re going to have two of our five teams in the tournament is a feather in our cap.”
Meanwhile, Graham is settling into his new job comfortably—despite some surprises.
“I [wasn’t] sure what the paperwork was going to be like and that was an eye-opener, especially when it comes to players getting traded outside of the league,” he conceded.
“But the feedback has been good and the quality of play on the ice has been excellent,” he lauded.
“Other than the one game where Dryden beat English River 10-1, all the other games have been pretty competitive.
“It’s great to see parity in the league,” Graham stressed.
“It gives the fans what they want, which is a competitive league.”
Graham has taken the lead in being more clear to the SIJHL’s teams and supporters when it comes to the description and reasoning for disciplinary decisions involving player suspensions.
“I’m putting a new spin on it, including conducting interviews with the players and coaches over the phone,” he noted.
“With these hearings, we want parents to know their kids are playing in a safe environment.
“It’s something I did in the past when I was with the East Coast Hockey League,” Graham added.
“We don’t want to sweep these incidents under the rug,” he pledged. “We want to do our due diligence and not leave any stone unturned.”
Graham also said attendance has been solid for the most part throughout the league.
“It was great to see around 600 for the home-opener in the Fort, and at Dryden’s home-opener they were lined up out the door,” said Graham, who said an immediate focus for him is stockpiling more corporate sponsorship.
“It only helps the league grow that much more, not only on the ice but at the corporate level,” he reasoned.
