The town of Bredenbury has launched its own junior hockey club. The Bredenbury Tundra held its spring camp last weekend as they prepare for their inaugural season in the Qu鈥橝ppelle Valley Junior Hockey League 鈥� a junior 鈥楥鈥� league in Saskatchewan.
The team will run out of the Bredenbury Rink for the 2017-2018 hockey season.
The Tundra staff considered a few different towns in the area to host the junior C team, but in the end the Bredenbury rink was what won them over.
鈥淲e wanted to find a local town who could host the team and provide them with all the amenities that you want in a rink,鈥� said Tundra president/treasurer聽 Emily Mac Neill.
鈥淭hey are getting their own dressing room here, as well as different events and fundraisers throughout the year for them.鈥�
The Bredenbury Rink also has two sides of spectator seating and a press box overlooking the ice.
As most people know, or can at least imagine, the cost of running a junior hockey team can be pricey. But Mac Neill said their goal is to have the lowest hockey fees possible for their players.
To go about this, she said there are a few routes they鈥檙e taking.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to stick to as many local players as we can,鈥� she said. This eliminates the cost of billeting.
The staff has also already begun looking for as many sponsors as possible for the new team.
Mac Neill said the town of Bredenbury has been excited about the team, and they鈥檙e eager to help out in any way that they can.
鈥淪o far, they鈥檝e been absolutely fantastic,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he best part about having a new hockey franchise coming in is that it keeps your rink alive.鈥�
Mac Neill said they plan to have their junior games on the same days as the Bredenbury Senior Cougars play, to get more fans to both games.
Although the spring camp was only the start of the road for the Tundra, both Mac Neill and head coach Marcel Legault said they liked what they saw on the ice.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of potential there to build a team,鈥� said Legault, about half way through the camp. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to seeing the rest. I know we had at least 30 players register to show up.鈥�
For the summer months, the staff plans to have once-a-week dryland training for the players who showed up to the camps, to build their conditioning and team unity as they work towards hitting the ice for the first time during the next hockey seaosn.
