The Greater Metro Junior ‘A’ Hockey League (GMHL) is expanding its league by adding a team in Kitimat.
The new team is set to play its inaugural season in the 2022-23 GMHL season and will play alongside three other teams in northern B.C.
The league is comprised of players between the age of 16 and 21 and they are full-time with the teams. The league does have a buy-in process for players to participate in the league however Derek Prue, Executive Director of the GMHL West Division, says not all players pay to play.
“It’s tuition-based, we follow an academy model where our players come from around the world, we always want to have as many local players as possible,” said Prue. “It goes team by team on the scale, there are players that don’t pay any tuition.”
The players are all full-time and will be living in the community giving them an opportunity to begin volunteering.
“Most teams have a snow angels program where they shovel walks for seniors, any other volunteer groups that are already in place we make ourselves available to them,” said Prue.
Identification camps will be held to scout new players for the team prior to training camp while training camp will likely begin in September. The GMHL league season typically begins on Oct. 1. The new Kitimat team will also soon begin hiring coaches along with their general manager.
A “name the team” campaign is also expected to begin shortly and people will have the chance to vote on what they want it to be.
This upcoming season is the first national championship that the GMHL will hold, winners from the West and East divisions will face off for the title.
A website and Facebook page have been set up for the new Kitimat team and all news, including how to vote on the team name can be found there.
The GMHL was originally founded in 2006 by Bob Russel and Hockeyworks International Ltd. The league began in Ontario and there were seven teams.
Since its inception, the league has expanded outside of Ontario into the west and now arrives in Kitimat.
According to The GHML website is a sanctioned league and does have a governing body that sanctions its rule book and the policies and procedures manual.
It is however not a part of Hockey Canada though it is also not considered an outlaw league. GMHL is a registered and numbered company in Canada.
The website also states that playing in the GMHL has no effect on NCAA eligibility and those that have played in the league can return to Hockey Canada or USA hockey the following season.
The District of Kitimat did not provide comment regarding the new Kitimat hockey team.