BARRHEAD - The Barrhead Bombers hope to connect more with the community during the 2023-2024 season, to attract volunteers, and, more importantly, more butts in the seats.
But head coach and assistant general manager Mario Haase is under no illusion and knows the organization is facing an uphill battle.
The Bombers are a Tier II Junior 'A' hockey team entering their third or fourth season in Barrhead, depending on how you count it, as they did not play a game for one of those seasons due to the pandemic.
The team first came to Barrhead in the 2019-2020 season when Western States Hockey League (WSHL) Ron White relocated the franchise from Long Beach, Calif.
Aly Virani, an Edmonton-based property, investment and hospitality entrepreneur and the Barrhead Inn and Suites general manager, took over ownership before the 2021-2022 season.
Midway through the season, Virani and the rest of the WSHL's provincial division split away to create the Canadian-American Junior Hockey League (CAJHL) which shuttered the former league.
In the 134 regular season games the Bombers have played, they've won 24 times, only two of which were in the 2022-2023 season.
"Last year, in many ways, was about survival," Haase said. "We had a good group, who worked really hard, but we knew we were not at the same level as the other clubs."
Although there are no excuses in junior hockey, he said there are extenuating factors, including a lack of time.
From when Haase officially took over the reins in early August to the start of the main camp, he had roughly 16 days to recruit and build a roster.
The Bombers had a very young team with practically no junior hockey experience, with little to no depth.
"We often only had nine to 12 players on our bench," he said.
Haase said he has been recruiting and building the organization since the end of the season.
He noted that, once again, Anna Lagzdina will be joining him behind the bench as an assistant coach.
Lagzdina, a former professional women's hockey player in Lativa and a multi-time member of the country's national women's hockey team, joined Haase before the mid-season mark last season.
"Her stock is definitely on the rise, and she will be taking on a larger role with us,” Haase said, adding that she is fresh off of winning a gold medal at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships in Division 2, Group ‘A’.
He also noted that Lagzdina is starting to garner national media attention as she is one of, if not the only, women, coaching as part of the bench staff in Junior ‘A’.
In addition, Lagzdina will also be joined by Chance Vanberg, a Barrhead resident and a former goaltender who backstopped Team Alberta in 2015. "He also got a lot of interest from (National Collegiate Athletic Association schools) attending several camps, including one hosted by Princeton," Haase said. "He was offered a spot in training camp and a scholarship with (the University of New Hampshire), but unfortunately, he couldn't pursue it due to injury issues."
The Bombers also added Sean Grams as a senior coaching advisor.
"He's been someone I've been working with at various levels since 2010 and brings a wealth of experience and a great attitude," Haase said, adding he wants to add another local assistant coach to the staff as well.
He added one of the things that will help the Bombers, the CAJHL, and many of the other independent junior hockey leagues is that more and more players are ready to make the jump away from Hockey Canada-sanctioned hockey leagues.
On the player recruitment side, Haase said one of the things that has helped open the door for other leagues was when the British Columbia Hockey League (BCJHL) opted out of Hockey Canada at the end of April.
"It has forced Hockey Canada to reevaluate how it treats other leagues in terms of player transfers, prospects, and all those sorts of things," he said.
As a former goaltender, Haase said he focused his recruitment efforts from the net out, noting one signing he is especially excited about is 20-year-old Leduc native Logan Goofers.
"He's been nibbling at the fringes of major junior for several years," he said.
Most recently, Goofers has played Junior 'B' for teams in the Heritage and Capital junior hockey leagues but also had a taste of Tier I Junior Hockey with the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Whitecourt Wolverines.
"He's a monster at 6'4, 240 pounds, and is the size of (Edmonton Oiler netminder Stuart Skinner)," he said.
Goofers will be joined by Westlock native John Zeise between the pipes.
In addition, to Zeise Haase is bringing back a handful of players from last year's squad "that clearly were above the rest of the group."
The Bombers will hold their main training camp Aug. 11-14 at the Mill Woods Recreation Centre, with a subsequent camp in Barrhead in September.
Haase also reiterated that he and the organization plan to integrate more into the community. Last year, he noted that his players were involved with Barrhead's Fun Hockey program, but he hopes to go beyond that, adding he would especially like to see the Bombers become more involved in minor hockey.
"We are trying to do more than just create good hockey players. We are building good young men with character, and one of the ways to do that is to get them involved in the community," he said.
Haase added he hopes that when Barrhead sees the effort the Bombers are making on and off the ice, it will translate into more support in the community.
"Hopefully, when everyone sees the positivity and optimism we are bringing with the new players and additional staff, it will mean more support because every hockey club needs the support of its community to thrive," he said.
The CAJHL regular season will start in early October with the addition of at least three new teams, the Northern Alberta Lightning Viking, Vulcan Rampage and the Southern Alberta Mustangs, which will play out Stavely, joining established franchises in Edson, Hinton, Vegreville and Cold Lake.
