Bisons look to blossom in Strathmore
Mario Prusina
Times Editor
In an effort to take their hockey program to the next level, the UFA Bisons have joined forces with the Strathmore High School (SHS).
The local triple-A midget team has partnered with SHS to operate a school-based hockey team beginning this fall.
The team program will run in conjunction with the school and will be supervised on and off ice by an accredited teacher, Dan McDonald. Team practices will occur during the school day and each player will be eligible to receive school and educational credits for the ‘Hockey’ option.
All players will attend Strathmore High School; however, some exceptions will be considered as long as the exempted player will be able to attend all practices and team functions. Player billets will be coordinated and supervised through the team.
“This basically came to fruition because we have a bunch of really good hockey people on our board, who are strictly 100 per cent interested in developing hockey players,” said Bisons General Manager Wayne Hansen. “It takes our organization to the next level. We’re great now at developing players to go play junior, this just allows us to go to the next step and you know what, it allows us the opportunity to maybe even win a national championship. The way we are now, we never had that chance.
“Things really came to a head with our loss to Red Deer this year … we honestly felt that we didn’t get beat by a better team, we were probably as good if not better as a team, but we got beat by a better association. One that practices more than we do, one that from top to bottom through their pyramid – from their midget program, to their M15 program to their triple-A bantam program – is all one cohesive unit.
“That’s what beat us.”
The Foothills AAA Hockey Association is the governing body for the development of elite hockey teams in this area and is responsible for the administration of the UFA Bisons.
According to Rick Valette, President of the Foothills AAA Hockey Association, there were many factors going into the partnership.
“The UFA Bisons are in a unique situation in Alberta midget AAA hockey,” said Valette in a release. “Our draw zone is the area surrounding Calgary which includes Banff to the west, Nanton to the south, Drumheller to the east and Carstairs to the north.
“Our players have to travel long distances to practice, often when roads are not ideal. We have noted that players are worn out from the travel, and often the first place that shows up is in their schoolwork. We have to consider what’s best for our players from a safety and educational perspective, while we continue to develop them as elite hockey players.
“We strongly believe this is the right thing for our players in order to continue to focus on their education, while pursuing their hockey goals. We consider this to be the future direction for minor hockey, especially for teams in the elite development stream.”
Despite just wrapping up the 2012-2013 season with their annual awards dinner last week, plans for next season are already taking place. One of the biggest challenges in the next four months is finding billets for the players to stay with during the upcoming hockey season.
“We (as a school and the Bisons) are both interested in the kid’s education,” said SHS Associate Principal Doug Raycroft. “Of course with our school, we want all the students to be well-rounded – so athletics, education and community citizenship are important to us – and of course, that is a huge part of the Bisons organization as well.”