The North Peace Hockey League began their season on the weekend, but there’s also some off-ice matters the league is tending to.
The Grimshaw Huskies announced that they’ve requested a one year leave of absence, league president Michael Mercredi says it was a tough decision for them to make.
“If you have no players, you can’t ice a competitive team, or a team. I spoke in length with them over the weekend and it’s not good, but you want to see them come in as a team that’s gonna compete. It’s very unfortunate and the plan moving forward is we’re gonna revamp the schedule a little bit where it makes sense.”
Mercredi says they should have a revised schedule out by the end of this week.
There will only be seven teams this season (Falher, Manning, Valleyview, Spirit River, Grande Prairie, Dawson Creek and Fort St. John) but the league is still exploring expansion ideas for the future.
Despite rejecting a bid for a team in High Prairie, Michael Mercredi says the other teams are still interested in seeing them return.
“The big ask is coming to the league meeting with a presentation and all your ducks in a row with ice, with player lists, letters from your community and stuff like that. I’m gonna work with High Prairie this fall and meet with them a couple of times this year so they will be ready for the spring meeting. We just don’t want to take any team that’s not ready.”
High Prairie last played in the NPHL with the Regals who folded in 2019.
You can hear our full interview with Mercredi below.
– Kyle Moore, Trending 55 Newsroom
