The Western States Hockey League wants to come to Jasper National Park.
The U.S.-based league, which this year expanded into Canada with four franchises in its Western Provinces division, thinks Jasper and Junior A hockey could be a perfect match.
“It’s a natural,” said Derek Prue, director of international expansion for the WPHA. “Jasper is the right size, you’ve got a captive audience with folks coming off of the ski hill and from a recruiting standpoint, Jasper’s a dream.”
In fact, the WPHA was trying to make inroads into this community last year, but there wasn’t enough time to negotiate an arena lease, Prue said. He said the league is in planning mode for 2019/2020, and has its sites set on Jasper.
“We definitely plan on having Jasper in the division next year,” he said. “We’re looking at what a potential ownership group may look like.”
On November 11, the Jasper Arena hosted the Hinton Wildcats as they played the Seattle Totems. Despite the lopsided score (Seattle won 10-5), Prue and other league officials were impressed by the turnout. The near-sellout crowd tipped the scales for Prue, he said.
“That definitely renewed interest,” he said.
Prue is confident an ownership group will step forward, however, in the event that doesn’t happen, the league is prepared to manage the franchise, he said. This is the current case in Cold Lake. Most teams, he said, are run at a profit.
“Franchises increase in value based on their business model and local sponsorship,” he said.
The WSHL is a league primarily known for being a stepping stone for young hockey players and has a successful track record of moving players onto the collegiate hockey ranks through its “Western States Shootout,” an annual all-league showcase held every December in Las Vegas. The event attracts scouts from teams all over North America looking to bolster their rosters for the following season.
“Junior A fundamentally exists to move players to the next level,” Prue said. “Players play full time. They’re looking for scholarships.”
In the meantime, the community gets to watch high level hockey and enjoy the fruits of being a sports town.
“It becomes a community thing, these players spend a lot of time doing other things in the community and it’s good for local minor hockey, too,” Prue said.
Prue is aware of Jasper’s unique challenges—namely, our tight housing market. With teams reliant on out-of-town players forming the roster, billeting may be harder to arrange here than Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, for example.
Prue says the league is prepared to come up with unique solutions if it has to.
“In the worst case scenario we’d reach out to an adjacent community,” he said. “Hinton has 15 billet families on the wait list and 45 minutes isn’t an unreasonable commute.”
Prue, who has played and coached hockey the junior, and professional level, is excited to move forward with lease negotiations with Jasper Arena managers. He’s committed to getting a Junior A team in Jasper by next year.
“Once we know we want to be in a market we go ahead and start that up,” he said.
If readers have questions about Junior A hockey in hockey in Jasper or would like to indicate their interest in getting involved, reach out to Prue via email, derek@wpha.ca or through the website, www.wpha.ca.
Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com
