YORKTON - It is still August, and for most of us that means we are still trying desperately hang on to summer as the days shorten and school bells rev up to ring in a new year.
But, for the Junior Yorkton Terriers and numerous other hockey teams it is also the time they hit the ice to prepare for a new season of a winter sport which over the years has seeped over the shoulders of the winter season to be played almost 12 months of the year – as ridiculous as that seems.
For the Junior Terriers this will be something of a pivotal season in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
It starts as the season that almost wasn’t.
“In mid-February it was clear the team was in a financial crisis,” said outgoing team president Corvyn Neufeld at the organization’s recent AGM.
The team did not flourish post COVID and that meant they were in a financial situation which had the executive fearful the team might not finish last season.
A season ticket blitz for the soon to start season was initiated as a way to get the team back on a better financial footing, and the community responded buying up nearly 1,000 tickets to keep the franchise financially viable.
The crisis was averted, but now that community support must manifest itself beyond writing a cheque for a reduced price season ticket which for some at least would have been simply a donation to the cause of keeping Junior hockey in the city.
But, to really put the Terriers on a stable footing long term those ticket buyers need to use the tickets.
They need to be in the Westland Insurance Arena seats – as uncomfortable as they are for the big and tall among us – to cheer on the team helping create an atmosphere that reminds Junior hockey is a fun activity to take in.
In the process of attending games it will help buying programs and 50/50 tickets and team souvenirs too of course. The team needs a steady flow of cash as Junior hockey in the SJHL is not cheap with expenses near $700,000 annually.
It has been a long time since a hastily created ‘sold out’ sign has been fastened to the arena doors signalling a full-house for a Junior Terrier game, but with near 1,000 season tickets sold, we will see it this season – and often.
A natural place to start that trend would be the season opener against Weyburn Sept. 20. Now yes it is a game – among several on the schedule – smack dab in the middle of harvest leaving farmers in the field, along with all the ag sector’s service people from machinery dealership staff to grain truckers, to fall fertilizer applicators to fuel haulers generally too busy for hockey, but a full house is doable.
The word repeated at the AGM was ‘optimistic’ when looking ahead. That optimism will best be realized by many full seats throughout the season so the team can avoid financial crisis in the years ahead.
