The Superior International Junior Hockey League board of directors invited team reps to their second general meeting Saturday at the Valhalla Inn in Thunder Bay to discuss the possibility of increased fees and player recruiting.
Originally, each team had to pay $13,500 to enter the inaugural league. But recent talk of bringing in the two-fight rule could send costs up by an addition $1,500 due to medical insurance, said SIJHL president Jerry Blazino.
The two-fight rule states players will be thrown out after two fights which, noted Blazino, makes the additional costs necessary.
“The budget was made before we knew where we were going,” he explained.
A short meeting was scheduled for yesterday to give the board of directors a chance to further discuss the extra fees.
Despite the minor bump, Blazino was pleased with how well the team reps got along with each other, which he said is important to squash any concerns the league was on shaky ground.
“We had to stress harmony,” he said. “We have to make sure every team agrees with this.”
Representing the Fort Frances Borderland Thunder included team president Shawn Jourdain and Sam Bruyere and Bob Mainville of Couchiching First Nation, which owns the team.
“We’re pleased with the meeting,” said Jourdain. “It’s a new league so people have to understand there will be some mistakes made through the year and hopefully we’ll learn from them.”
Blazino added it’s now up to the teams to go out and sell themselves to their respective towns. “It’s up to the individual teams to market their product and find their players,” he said.
Jourdain said the Thunder plan to unveil their first promotional move at the Canada Day parade here July 1. If things go according to plan, the team would like to give away some T-shirts and let fans know season tickets will be available.
“We want to let people know we’re for real,” Jourdain stressed.
Still, there may be potential for more problems in terms of recruiting players. Blazino said teams shouldn’t fight over players and try to recruit from their area while Jourdain thinks recruiting should be unrestricted.
“Every team is on an equal basis. As far as we’re concerned, any player not signed on is free game,” he said. “Northwestern Ontario players are not imports.
“We can go into Thunder Bay, and as far as Nipigon and Marathon, to recruit players.”
The SIJHL also had to iron out of details with Hockey Northwest on whether their teams will be eligible to vie for the Dudley Cup–a Northern Ontario qualifier for the Royal Bank (formerly Centennial) Cup.
Besides the Thunder, the junior ‘A’ league also is made up of the Dryden Ice Dogs, Northwest Knights (Spooner, Wis.), Iron Range Yellowjackets (Coleraine, Mn.), and three teams from Thunder Bay (the Wolves, KC Exterior Finishing Bulldogs, and Feathermen Hawks).
Training camp for the Thunder is set for Aug. 3-5, with the debut tournament slated Sept. 14-16 in Thunder Bay.
“We expect a good turnout [for training camp],” said Jourdain. “We’ve got quite a few interested players.”
In related news, Andy Tardiff of the Dryden Ice Dogs was named the league’s second vice-president. He joins first vice-president J.P. Heino.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
