Hold that thought about Junior A relocation

Tyler Lowey
Times Reporter

With the Foothills CFR Chemicals Bisons waiting around for the final axe to drop from Hockey Alberta about their future location, speculation has bubbled up along the streets of Strathmore about the potential acquisition of an Alberta Junior Hockey League franchise.
The process to filling the void left by the Bisons might be more difficult than people think. There is more to the math than subtracting one franchise and adding another.
The Calgary Mustangs have been the team on the tips of people’s tongues as a potential relocation candidate.
“I have heard some rumblings about moving the team. On our end, there has been no serious talk about relocation,” said Calgary Mustangs head coach and general manager Tyler Drader. “But we have heard the Mustangs mentioned as a team people are talking about for relocation.”
“As we stand right now, there have been no talks by anyone about relocating any of our franchises,” said AJHL commissioner Ryan Bartoshyk.
One of the reasons the Mustangs surfaced in the rumour mill is their play the past few years.
In the Mustangs’ 26-year history, aside from winning the AJHL championship during their inaugural season, they have only reached the second round of the playoffs four times. The past two seasons they finished dead last in the division with a combined record of 20-94-6. It would be quite the drop-off in performance from the Bisons to the Mustangs.
Game 3 of the Alberta Midget Hockey League finals saw an estimated crowd of more than 900 fans cram into the Strathmore Family Centre. Attendance numbers for the Bisons or the Strathmore Wheatland Kings were never tallied for last season, but the Game 3 crowd and Game 1 of the Kings playoff series showed that fans would come out to support exceptional hockey.
Last season, the Fort McMurray Oil Barons led the AJHL in attendance, averaging 1,304 per game, while the league average attendance was 711. The Mustangs finished last with 205 fans per game. Over the past five years, they have averaged 253 fans, with their highest showing during the 2012-2013 season, when they averaged 330 per game.
The one-side seating of the Strathmore Family Centre isn’t ideal, but they wouldn’t be the only AJHL arena to feature the one-sided seating. The Canmore, Olds and Whitecourt arenas all feature seats on one half of the arena. There is definitely enough room to pack the average attendance into the Family Centre.
“When the Bisons were here, there was a significant difference in the type of hockey that was being played and the crowd support compared to the Junior B game,” said Kings president Mike Langen. “There isn’t that much of a difference in game play and the types of crowds you would get from a Junior A and a Junior B fan base. The two teams would be competing with one another for fans, advertisements and arena time.”
One of the main reasons the Bisons fit in so well was their partnership with Strathmore High School: the Bisons took advantage of ice time during the day to get their practices in, avoiding the logjam and headaches of booking ice in the evening.
A Junior team, however, is comprised of high school graduates who have either moved on to university or into day jobs.
Finding time for practice is one thing, but game time would be another hurdle in the way of a potential Junior team in town.
“The Junior team is going to have to come up with a facility with ample ice time. Strathmore teams are maxing out the rink right now. Some teams have to go outside of town for practices and games,” said Kings treasurer Mark Bishop. “The town needs more available ice. Adding a Junior A team would only make things more difficult for the other teams already using the arena.”
AJHL teams require 30 home games, nearly doubling the number of midget AAA home games.
“You also have to take into account the ticket prices for games,” said Langen. “To my knowledge, the average Junior A ticket goes for about $15. Kings tickets are $5 and Bisons tickets were about $3. You’ve got to wonder if people are going to pay triple to go watch a new team.”
The Mustangs have some connections with Strathmore. The Family Centre hosted a regular season game between the Mustangs and the Brooks Bandits on March 1, 2016. More than 500 fans showed up to witness the Bandits’ 8-1 drubbing at the Family Centre.
“We have a number of teams in our league hold exhibition games and regular season games outside of their community, as they try and extend their brand to the surrounding area,” said Bartoshyk.
Playing out of Father David Bauer Arena, the Mustangs believe the facilities of the Family Centre would not be up to their standards. The size of the locker room and coaching offices are a detractor for a move.
One team that could use the upgrade in facilities is already a tenant in the building and is fresh off its best season since the 2011-2012 season: the Wheatland Kings. The Kings coaching staff is forced to use an old equipment room beneath the stands as their office, having to huddle over just to squeeze inside. If the Bisons do move, the Kings should have first dibs on the Bisons old digs.
“That issue of locker room space is on hold for now,” said Langen. “But, if the Bisons do move on, the Kings would have to make an application to lease those locker and coaching rooms.”
Looking to keep the momentum with a coaching staff and manager entering their second season, the Kings are looking forward to getting more involved with the community, as the main “big boy” hockey team left standing.
The Kings might have gotten upset in the opening round of the Heritage Junior Hockey League, but they are returning a solid group of veterans, and are looking to add a few components from the midget AA provincial-winning Chiefs to their roster for next year.
Of course, everyone is still sitting around, waiting for an official word to drop from Hockey Alberta, before any further talks about relocation can take place.