Deep dive into why the Notre Dame Hounds are giving up Jr. A hockey

Article content

While Tuesday’s announcement about the relocation of the Notre Dame Hounds Junior A hockey club to Warman came as a surprise to many, the discussion about moving the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League franchise has been in the works for several years.

Article content

Article content

“(The school) took a hard look at our business model and the finances and where we’re spending money and where we’re bringing in money, and the junior team kind of stuck out like a sore thumb where this is part of our programming that doesn’t make sense business-wise,” Wade Klippenstein, Athol Murray College of Notre Dame’s director of hockey development told the Leader-Post this week. “The (Jr. A) programming has become less compatible with our school’s mission.”

Article content

When Notre Dame — located in Wilcox, which is a 30-minute drive south of Regina — joined the SJHL in 1987, the majority of players who played on the team were also students at the high school. Over the years, that number has decreased to almost none, which is a big reason why the private boarding school — which runs and owns the team — is giving up the program.

“We have one student-athlete that currently plays on our junior hockey team,” said Klippenstein. “When (the team) came into the league in ‘87-’88, there might have been as many as 15 students on the team and 20 guys that were Hounds at one time that ended up graduating while playing for that team.

“So, the landscape has changed quite a bit; definitely the business piece of it was a big part of the reason to pivot our programming.”

And while the boarding school is letting go of the Junior A program, the college is planning on expanding the hockey program with the addition of two teams next year including an under-15 female AA team and an under-18 male AA team.

“This is going to net out in a positive way where we’re actually adding two teams next year,” said Klippenstein. “Notre Dame is definitely not moving. Our boarding school and our hockey program and all of our sports are staying here.

Article content

“We’re adding another female team and another male team to our programming so having student-athletes that attend the school to compete for our teams is obviously a big part of our sports plan and of course our business plan.

“We’re really tight on facility space and ice time and freeing up some of that for other programs that are revenue- generating programs, from the business side of it really makes sense.”

SJHL commissioner Kyle McIntyre said the league was approached earlier this winter by Notre Dame to discuss the future of the program.

After a decision by Notre Dame to relocate the team passed, the next step was to determine where the Hounds would go.

While groups in Warman — which has been hosting SJHL showcases and exhibition games over the last several years — have expressed interest in becoming an expansion SJHL franchise, McIntyre said the board didn’t want to add an extra team to the 12-team league.

But when the Hounds’ decision to relocate came down, Warman, a city with a growing population of more than 12,000 and home to a state-of-the-art arena built in 2011, was the easy choice.

Article content

Article content

“The board of directors really didn’t have an appetite for expansion going into this season or next,” said McIntyre. “We always have a tremendous response in the community of Warman; the people, the facility, the people in the town, the fans, everyone is extremely welcoming, and they really come out in great numbers to support SJHL hockey.

“And so the conversation always is, ‘How do we get an SJHL team in Warman? And when you look at Warman, it’s the fastest growing community in Saskatchewan, it has one of the largest minor hockey programs in the province, it’s a really young demographic, there’s lots of boys and girls that play hockey, there’s lots of people that are enjoying hockey.

“So I see the interest in popularity for hockey in the community of Warman is probably at an all-time high, and so it would really be a fortuitous opportunity for the SJHL to be in the community of Warman because it checks all the boxes.”

Pending approval from Warman city council, a successful season-ticket drive by co-founders Cole Kachur and Jonathan Abrametz and approval by the SJHL governors at the June 7 annual general meeting, the new Warman team will hit the ice next season.

Article content

But there’s plenty of work to do before then as all that would be transferred over to the new team is the head coach, Brett Pilkington, and the 50 listed players on the Hounds roster.

“If people are wanting to hit the ground running in September, at the start of the SJHL season on September 20th, there’s lots of work that has to be done in the community of Warman so that this franchise can get up and running and be competitive and be a good experience for players,” said McIntyre. “There’s lots of logistical stuff they have to do, whether it’s ordering supplies and equipment and getting a team name and getting a web presence and social media presence and finding billets and working with sponsors.

“Probably the easiest part is making the announcement and making the decision to go ahead and do it. Now the real work is going to begin for the franchise.”

If approved, the new team in Warman will remain in the SJHL’s Nutrien Division alongside the Humboldt Broncos, Battlefords Stars and Kindersley Klippers and will actually cut down on travel for those teams.

As for Notre Dame, operating the hockey team became less and less viable over recent years not only with the decline in student-athletes who played on the team but also the rising costs of running a junior program.

Article content

“To operate a good program with a good player experience, you’re probably spending at least $800,000 a year,” said McIntyre. “And so if you think about it from a colleges’ standpoint, the board of directors are stewards for the school, and they have to do what’s best for the 300 students that are at the College of Notre Dame.

“And you have 20 players that aren’t even students, they’re taking a good chunk of your resources. It would be incumbent upon the board to decide what is the best allocation of these resources and it would probably be to the majority of students, not to a team of 20 players.”

This season, the Hounds rank last in the 12-team SJHL and are set to miss the playoffs for a third straight year. Plus, attracting a fan base from a town of less than 500 people has always been a challenge for the team to generate sustainable income.

“We don’t have a season-ticket base,” said Klippenstein. “We’re in a community of under 500 people; that’s just not realistic.

“It’s quite obvious when you come attend the hockey games, the following for our junior team hasn’t been strong and our team hasn’t been competitive in a long time. So, I think people were expecting something to eventually change.

Article content

“The operating expenses of junior hockey have gone up considerably in the last 10 to 15 years (and) the revenue streams for that team just don’t match the expenses; not even close.

“Our boarding school students are a big piece of the revenue for all of our hockey teams and all of our operating expenses and our junior hockey team just didn’t fit into that.”

Part of the school’s new vision also includes expansion into other sports including football, with the school hiring former Saskatchewan Roughrider Nicholas Dheilly to head up the program.

“There’s a movement to diversify our programming,” said Klippenstein. “We’ve made strong commitments in other areas with basketball, volleyball and football.

“We’ve made significant investments in the in those programs and then also our hockey program, just recognizing where the growth is coming from and trying to project what the market looks like.”

In the past, Notre Dame’s Junior A program attracted many top prospects who went on to earn NCAA scholarships in the United States. But the changing landscape of the NCAA’s eligibility rules, which now allow former major junior players to play at NCAA schools, means fewer top-end players are choosing the junior A route and instead playing in the Canadian Hockey League.

Article content

“That was one of biggest selling points for Notre Dame,” said Klippenstein. “We had a lot of Division 1 student-athletes that are Hounds.”

Plus, the emergence of the Professional Women’s Hockey League has led the school to try and put more resources into the female programming offered at the school.

“The PWHL’s growth in the female game is showing tremendous potential and we want to make sure we’re one of the leaders on that side of the game as well,” said Klippenstein.

In the meantime, Notre Dame is planning something for the Junior A Hounds final game at Duncan McNeill Arena on March 16 against the visiting Melfort Mustangs before they say goodbye to the team that has called Wilcox homes for 38 years.

“The community of Warman should be very excited for what’s coming their way,” said Klippenstein. “Notre Dame was very thankful that we were the home of Junior A hounds, and the SJHL was part of the lifestyle here for a long time.

“Everyone’s obviously somewhat reflective and maybe sad that something’s going to change. But on the other side of it, they should be extremely excited that they’re going to a community that’s going to welcome junior hockey (with) one of the fastest growing communities in the province that has a tremendous facility.”

Article content

As for McIntyre, while he said the relocation of the Hounds would be bittersweet, it’s a decision that was important to make.

“I respect the board’s decision,” he said. “I understand what they’re going to do in terms of new programming and a new vision for the school, and the resources used to operate that team can be better purposed in other ways by the school and other programs, and that’s what they’ve decided to do.

“In my view, this is a win-win-win. It’s good for the college and students, it’s good for the community of Warman, and it’s great for the SJHL.”

[email protected]

The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.

With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.

Article content