Senior ‘AA’ hockey may be returning to Westlock if one hockey father gets his way.
Joe Kuhar appeared in front of Westlock town council Jan. 28 to discuss a letter he sent to councillors about his proposal to bring a North Central Hockey League team to town for the 2013-2014 season.
He said the team could prove successful with the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre as its home rink.
“This is a good and opportune time to utilize the facility and create a resurgence of excitement in the community,” Kuhar said.
He said he’s already received strong support from the league itself, to the point where officials were hoping Westlock would be playing during the 2012-2013 season. Unfortunately, he said that was too short a timeline to get things off the ground.
Kuhar presented councillors with a sample budget, outlining his estimates of the costs of running the team and how much revenue the team could generate.
Although his figures were based on educated guesses and speaking with other teams in the league, he estimated the team would run its first year with a deficit of approximately $15,000. However, he said that number does not include any sponsorship or donations the team may receive.
Kuhar may have presented the draft budget to councillors, but he said he was not coming to the meeting asking for any funding. Instead, he simply wanted to present his idea and gauge council’s enthusiasm.
On that point, mayor Bruce Lennon said the town was willing to help, with what that help would look like being determined at a later date.
Kuhar and councillors agreed they would work towards a meeting some time in March, by which time Kuhar will have had a chance to start putting together an organization to run the team, as well as have spoken to businesses about lining up possible sponsors.
As a teaser for the level of play a Senior ‘AA’ team would bring to Westlock, Kuhar has managed to arrange a Junior ‘B’ game to come to town on Feb. 9.
“We’ve scheduled the game to gauge interest,” he said.
The game will feature the top two teams in the Capital Junior Hockey League’s west division: the Edmonton Beverly Warriors and the Spruce Grove Regals.
Beyond serving as a sneak preview of the caliber of hockey that could be coming to town on a permanent basis, Kuhar said it’s also a chance for one Warrior to play on home ice again — Kuhar’s son Evan.
However, the team has strong links to the Westlock area — at one time eight local players laced up their skates for the Warriors.
Puck drop is at 8 p.m. this Saturday.
