By Jeromy Corrigan

BC helmet ruling drifts into NWJHL

Jan 24, 2018 | 10:06 AM

There could be some significant change in the North West Junior Hockey League next year.

In December of 2017, BC Hockey announced all Junior B hockey clubs in the province and its players would be required to wear full face protection beginning in the 2018-2019 season.

The move was made to help improve player safety and reduce the number of facial injuries.

In the North West Junior Hockey League, there is a pair of clubs who reside in British Columbia, the Dawson Creek Jr. Canucks, and the Fort St.John Huskies.

” Honestly, I was kind of shocked. I got a phone call the night prior to the announcement. So that was the first time I ever heard of it. I was told this was what we were doing and that there was no way around it, ” stated President of the Fort St.John Huskies Mike Bacso.

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Players have also been quite surprised by the decision too.

” They have the mentality of a hockey player. They have the stereotype that hockey players are supposed to be tough so they don’t want to show weakness or anything like that, ” shared Bacso

The President of the Huskies went on to say, wearing a visor is like a badge of honour for your accomplishments and growth in the sport.

” You go through peewee, bantam, and midget years, and we have young kids who idolize the Huskies. We just did our skate with the Huskies and you have the kids out there learning how to skate with our guys. That’s the thing they see. The kids are wearing the cages and they see the big boys playing, these are young men playing. “

The good news for the Huskies and the Canucks is the NWJHL has been working with the clubs to try and find a reasonable solution.

In a written statement, NWJHL Commissioner Jamie Salm stated there has been good conversation between the two teams and the league, with some potential solutions being brought up.

“ One being Fort St.John & Dawson Creek drafting a letter to BC Hockey asking for an exemption to the face mask rule as they only play teams from Alberta, and Alberta doesn’t have the regulation in place. Two, if the exemption is denied, the league will then look at the possibility of all teams being required to play with full face protection if supported. “

As of right now, the league doesn’t know what will end up coming to fruition rule-wise for the 2018-2019 season.

However, they should have a better idea what the plans will be moving forward following their Annual General Meeting which is in early May.