BARRHEAD - Sorry, we are not interested.
That is the message Town of Barrhead recreation director Shallon Touet told the spokesman of the Northern Junior Hockey League (NJHL) on multiple occasions when asked if the municipality was interested in coming to a user agreement for the use of the Barrhead Agrena for an expansion team starting in the 2025-2026 season.
The user agreement would have given the expansion team exclusive use of a dressing room on Sundays, as well as 21 weekday morning-to-afternoon, two-hour ice-rink rentals and 21 Agrena bookings from Friday to Sunday of league home games.
The municipality made it official at its May 27 council meeting when councillors unanimously voted to reject the request from the league.
The NJHL is a Tier 2 pay-to-play Junior 'A' hockey league.
The league was formed in 2023 when the teams from what was then the Western Division of the Greater Metro Hockey League (GMHL) folded its Western Canada operations in Alberta and British Columbia, leaving several teams without a home. Several of the teams then came together to create the rebranded NJHL, with a focus on Western Canada.
In the 2024/2025 season, the league had eight franchises, including the Edson Eagles, the Lac La Biche Lakers, the High Prairie Red Wings, the Northern Alberta Lightening (based in Mayerthorpe), the Redwater Pioneers, the Crowsnest Crush, the Vulcan Rampage and the Claresholm Thunder.
From 2019 to 2024, Barrhead sported a franchise, the Bombers, in similar tuition-based leagues, the first in the Western States Hockey League (WSHL) and then, when it folded, the Canadian-American Junior Hockey League (CAJHL). Prior to the Bombers, it had been 29 years since the community hosted a Junior hockey franchise. That franchise was the Junior Elks, which played in the Central Alberta Junior Hockey League (CAJHL), a Junior 'B' league from 1969 to 1990.
"I had this individual [Jacob Hegerfeldt] call me three or four times asking [to establish a franchise in Barrhead, based out of the Agrena] and said no each time," he said.
However, he said that when Hegerfeldt sent an official e-mail asking the municipality to enter into an agreement with the NJHL, he had no choice but to bring it council for its consideration.
Coun. Dave Sawatzky asked Touet what made him wary of the request, as he was inclined to deny it outright.
"What caught your eye and made you suspicious?"
Shallon said one of the immediate red flags was Derek Prue's association with the NJHL.
Before the Barrhead Bombers and the WSHL, in the spring of 2019, the Western Provinces Hockey Association (WPHA), represented by Derek Prue, were in discussions about potentially bringing a franchise to Barrhead.
Although initial discussions were promising, councillors delayed making a final decision on the league after learning that a municipality had voided its contract with one of its franchises for non-payment.
Later that summer, after the municipality reached an agreement with WSHL commissioner Ron White regarding the relocation of his franchise, the Long Beach Bombers were introduced to the community.
Prue then applied for a judicial review against the town, citing the municipality had already come to an agreement with the WPHA.
"Why would I say yes to someone who has taken us to court," he said.
Prue is the managing partner of the NJHL.
Touet added that he also contacted representatives from several NJHL teams, as well as the municipalities with which they have agreements, and what they told him wasn't promising, saying he spoke to stakeholders in five of the eight communities the NJHL had franchises in last season.
"It is the same story in every community. It is very hard getting our money out of them," he said.
Councillors Ty Assaf and Dausen Kluin asked if NJHL had any connection with the Canadian-American Junior Hockey League or had any similarities to CAJHL.
Touet said the leagues weren't connected, and while they were similar in that they were both tuition-based, the CAJHL was much more reputable.
"My concern is [fee] collection. Although we did have some issues with the Bombers, [owner Aly Virani] always paid up," he said.
The Barrhead Leader contacted Hegerfeldt after the meeting, and he said he was disappointed to hear council's decision.
In addition to serving as a spokesperson for the league, Hegerfeldt is part of the ownership group, with other family members that operate the Clareshold franchise. He also served as the team's general manager and head coach for the past season.
"It is a family venture that we got together on, and we want to bring junior hockey back to Barrhead," he said. "I grew up in Spruce Grove and played a lot of hockey there, and I know what kind of potential the town has. It is a hockey town, and we know we could successfully operate a junior hockey franchise in Barrhead."
In his e-mail to the municipality, he stated that he believed an NJHL team would succeed in Barrhead, even though the Bombers had failed to capture local fans, often playing to crowds of well under 100, due to his business model.
"We can sustainably operate in Barrhead due to the superior entertainment value we offer," Hegerfeldt said. "[The NJHL] requires us to have intermission games and a mascot. We also plan to have activities for the kids as well as theme nights to engage the community."
He also stated in the e-mail, as the previous Bombers did, that the players of the new franchise would be active in the community, whether it was by clearing snow from elderly residents' sidewalks or volunteering with minor hockey.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
