Cold Lake, AB – The City of Cold Lake has learned that the board of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) has passed a motion to deny the City of Cold Lake a Junior A hockey team in the league for the next season.
The decision was made after several local investors were taking steps to bring a Junior A team to the community. Several statements led the community to believe that a Junior A team in the community was a possibility for the next season, after the embattled AJHL lost a number of teams to competing associations during the 2023-2024 hockey season.
It is the City of Cold Lake’s understanding, however, that representatives from the Bonnyville Pontiacs would never support any application coming from the community, citing their need for financial support from the Cold Lake business community.
“I’m very concerned about the message that this is sending to the Cold Lake business community,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “The City of Cold Lake’s council has been very supportive of recreational and cultural opportunities in our neighbouring urban community, but this decision threatens to destroy a lot of that goodwill. We have sent a significant amount of money to Bonnyville to assist with recreation, culture, and the arts, and our administration regularly assists with the town’s requests to share information for the development of their programs, policies, and bylaws. It would seem that, out of fear of competition, the Pontiacs are driving a wedge between our communities.”
The City of Cold Lake will continue to support its local sports teams and is dedicated to providing its residents and visitors with the best recreational opportunities in the Lakeland.
“We know that athletes want to be here because of the facilities we’ve created, and because of our community’s dedication to hosting first-class events,” Copeland said. “Our arenas are highly sought after for tournaments, and our population is nearly three times the town’s. If their team is saying that they are relying on our community to exist, that’s not a great look and I’m surprised they would even mention it.”
Despite their alleged financial linkages from the community of Cold Lake, Council also noted that the Bonnyville Pontiacs have not held an exhibition game, clinics, regular season games, or even community engagement and outreach in the City of Cold Lake.
“Typically, Junior A teams across the country give back to the communities that support them,” Copeland said. “That’s not the case here. Instead of a great regional rivalry that could be good for both communities and the league, we are left with a team for Bonnyville only.”
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