Photo Credit: Shaun Penner

By Shane Clausing

AJHL

AJHL Commissioner says he’s excited for return of junior hockey in Alberta

Nov 12, 2020 | 5:30 AM

For the first time since early March when the Alberta Junior Hockey League season was cancelled, the league is finally preparing to drop the puck on the 2020-21 regular season on November 13.

Many wondered if the league would even be able to play this year because of COVID-19, but after a number of conversations with the Province of Alberta, Alberta Health Services and the AJHL Board of Governors, the league is ready to drop the puck.

“Obviously, it’s been a bit of a stretch here trying to get to a regular season, but I’m confident that we’ve navigated through the different protocols and guidelines,” said AJHL Commissioner, Ryan Bartoshyk.

“Given our work with the Alberta government, Alberta Health, medical staff, and our teams, we’ve gotten to the point where we are able to start meaningful games. I’m really excited for our athletes and our communities.”

Bartoshyk says that the biggest part in trying to get a regular season up and running was bringing together the AJHL’s players into what they called their Development Season.

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The Development Season allowed for an extended training camp, as well as the opportunity for teams to play some exhibition games in October and November with two-team cohorts.

After various exhibition games in the two-team cohorts and just one positive COVID-19 test to this point, the league was given the green light to announce the start of their regular season on October 29 and expand their cohorts.

“With the announcement of additional guidelines and the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s inclusion in those guidelines, we were able to expand our sporting cohort which ultimately allowed us to structure a regular season.”

“Obviously, we are just playing within our divisions this year to reduce some travel, the schedule’s going to look a little bit different, but we needed to structure it in order to follow and respect the guidelines in place.”

Teams were also given approval to have a maximum of 100 fans in the stands per game.

Having fans sit in the stands is the main source of income for the AJHL and this season with little fans allowed in the stands, the league had to change things up a bit.

This year, the league and it’s Board of Governors decided that AJHL players will have to pay to play this.

With not much money coming in, Bartoshyk says the league was really left with no other choice.

“We looked at models where we needed a commitment from the players and the parents and that commitment in conjunction with some local sponsorship and some fundraising. It’s our intention to ensure that our players are continuing to develop and play hockey in it’s intended fashion.”

“It wasn’t an easy conversation, but at the end of the day, we decided it’s in the best interest in of our league and the development of our athletes to move forward with this model for now.”

When action gets underway on November 13, fans will also notice some new, but maybe familiar faces on their teams roster. That’s because the Western Hockey League has allowed players to be loaned to Junior ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams until December 20.

Some WHL players that have committed to AJHL teams include Sasha Mutala, Edge Lambert, Paycen Bjorklund and Garin Bjorklund, who will all suit up for the Grande Prairie Storm.

While there are more WHL players temporally coming into the league this year, Bartoshyk says this process really is nothing new for them.

“We currently have had a rule within our bylaws and regulations for a while that limits teams to four major junior players that have played 41 games or more, so we had some parameters that existed already.”

“Ultimately, it really comes down to an organizational decision as far as the impact of those players on your program, your overall philosophy and the benefit of bringing those players in for a specific time period.”

Bartoshyk said that there could be a possibility of an extension for WHL players being loaned, however, he said those discussions likely won’t happen unless there is another delay in the start for a WHL season, which is expected start on January 8, 2021.

Meanwhile, the league’s biggest event, the AJHL showcase remains on hold for right now. Bartoshyk tells EverythingGP that there is still lots of work to do before the league can get to that point.

“We are working behind the scenes right now on potentially what that could look like. Obviously, there are some parameters there on how many teams you want in one location at one time. Hopefully we can move forward with some form of that event.”

With the season just a day a way, Bartoshyk is thankful for everybody’s hard work in getting the league to this point.

“Things are changing on a day-to-day basis, and I’m really proud of our organizations and athletes for taking on the responsibility during this challenging time.

“I think it’s definitely a privilege for us to be playing right now. I think it’s important to understand the responsibility our teams and athletes have taken on to get to this point and I’m really excited for them to start the season on Friday.”