Support grows for northern Manitoba U18 AAA hockey team as league considers removing teams
League looking to increase competitiveness, says no final decisions have been made
There's a swell of support for a northern Manitoba hockey team amid growing concern over their future in a high-level league.
The Norman Northstars compete in the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League, which is looking at ways to make play more competitive for its players, and one of the ideas circulating is removing two teams.
"When you're a little kid, that's the biggest show in town on Saturday night in Thompson," said Kris Menard, a former Northstars team president. "It's the biggest show on Sunday afternoon."
There are currently 12 teams in the league, which includes three in Winnipeg, three in southwestern Manitoba and one in Kenora, Ont. — a guest in the league for nearly 40 years.
No decisions have been made on removing any team.
Menard grew up playing hockey in Thompson and said the team is important to the community and gives boys between the ages of 15 and 18 years old an opportunity to play the game close to home at a competitive level.
"With Norman having so many Indigenous hockey players, to ask them to leave the north at such a young age, I think, would be a disservice to our northern players," Menard said.
Competition committee reviewing options: league president
Don McIntosh, the league's president, told CBC News reducing the number of teams is just one of several options being reviewed by a competition committee that was formed in December 2022.
"Maybe they join another region, for example, to form a team," McIntosh said in an interview.
"The plan would be Kenora would be out. Obviously you can't have a reduction in Norman and keep Kenora."
McIntosh said some teenage boys are already leaving the north to play elsewhere.
Aside from this year, Norman, along with Kenora and Parkland, have historically been the least competitive teams in the league, which he said isn't fair to players.
Both Kenora and the Northstars have only qualified for post-season play five times in the past 20 years, and Parkland has gone that far just four times in that span.
McIntosh said if any teams are removed, the players from those regions would be allowed to try out in different areas.
Teams bumped out could also potentially join a similar league at the under-17 level.
"We're not taking hockey away from anyone," McIntosh said. "It's not about eliminating kids. It's about providing an opportunity for the high-end talent to excel. That's what it's all about."
Any changes recommended by the competition committee, which was scheduled to meet Monday night, would also have to be approved by the league and then Hockey Manitoba before taking effect.
But the conversation has already prompted the leaders of northern First Nations and communities to write the league, including Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation Chief Angela Levasseur who played hockey in her youth years.
"Our youth should not have to move to another region for a sport they love," Levasseur wrote in a letter to the league's commissioner. "Our youth should not have to leave their families at a young age to pursue their dreams and passions — this is not right."
Andre Murphy, mayor of The Pas, is concerned about the impact on youth who live in the north.
"Without those programs there … we're left with the players that are actually at a competitive level that are going to have to leave their area," Murphy said. "So to play in the highest league possible you're going have to go play, move from Thompson or Norway House to Winnipeg or to wherever the other team is in southern Manitoba. That's not right."
Thompson Mayor Colleen Smook said it goes beyond the game of hockey.
"We're talking about Norman and Northstars hockey is all about reconciliation and working with our Indigenous communities," Smook told CBC, pointing out a recent Northstars home game drew 1,500 fans to Thompson's C.A. Nesbitt Arena.
Doug Novak, director of the Kenora Thistles, the other team which could be impacted, said he's also concerned and wants the team to remain in the league.
"The team's been in the league since 1985 and it's really hard to see this happen to the program," Novak said. "It's kind of hard to see because we're all there for kids to develop, right."
Both Norman and Kenora have representatives on the competition committee.
The Northstars have so far declined comment.
The team's focus right now is on their shot at the playoffs. The top eight teams make it and the Northstars are currently in seventh place in the standings with seven games to play in the regular season — pushing for their first post-season berth since the 2012-13 season.
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