The initial season of the GMHL’s foray into BC is at a close and it was … well, you know the saying “May you live in interesting times?” Yeah, it was like that.
In Tumbler Ridge, the team came crashing to the ground after a run of bad luck, including the death of the team owner and head coach in September, weeks before the team was to play its first game.
That, as well as opposition from BC Hockey delayed the start of the season for a month.
But it got worse from there, as poor decisions left the team without an owner.
In Burn’s Lake, their local team, the Timbermen, have had issues as well.
At the April 11 meeting of council in Burns Lake, two letters came before council, in detail, about some of the concerns.
Teresa Findlay, mother of player Aaron Findlay, wrote that playing for the Timbermen was “the worst season of his career, and the worst season his dad and I have ever seen, and although there are positives … in his growth, it has taken a mental toll.”
Some of the reasons she mentions in her letter were mistreatment by other players and by the coach, who frequently didn’t show up to practices. She says the GMHL constitution says the purpose of the league is to “encourage and promote the ideals of character, dedication and perseverance in the sport,” yet she says, her son would come home after practices and games feeling defeated and disheartened.
But that, she says, is just one problem. Some games, she had to drive her son to Mackenzie or Kitimat to play, as there was no bus, even though as part of the contract with the league, the team is obligated to provide a bus.
Worse still, she says when the team played Tumbler Ridge, the team had to sleep on the bus in Chetwynd. On other away games, her son had to sleep on the floor with no bedding provided.
The team did no dry land training, and when her son tried to access the gym to work out, he wasn’t allowed in without the rest of the team. Promised video training did not happen, and the team never did manage to acquire a home uniform, and, while she doesn’t want to call anyone out, she says the team’s no alcohol/drugs policy was not followed.
Marjorie Goertzen was a “billet grandma.” She says the GMHL failed the young men that played, their parents and all the fans. “We were hoping for an exciting season, but all we got was a disappointing one, and we all lined the pockets of the GMHL owner. Maybe next year junior hockey will exist in Burns Lake but I sure hope the people and the village will question the owners about the cost, billet rules, safe transportation and provisions on the road.”
Meanwhile, a story in the Terrace Standard published last month says the initial season for the Kitimat Saax was “marred by controversy.”
When that team’s head coach and general manager were hired, they arrived to find only three players. After complaining, one was fired and the other quit, leaving the team scrambling to find a coach/manager. There have also been questions about the team’s fundraising initiatives.
In November, the assistant general manager for the team—who was living in a house with some of the players—called the cops as the team was partying until 3:30 in the morning. This didn’t go over well with some of the players, who accosted the assistant general manager and yelled racial epithets at him.
Instead of backing the manager, team owner (and GMHL West Manager) Derek Prou texted him, accusing him of stealing team property and suggesting he would be calling Canada Immigration on the manager, who is from India.
And of course in Tumbler Ridge, the team folded after then-owner Lauren Barr relinquished control off the team back to Prou, due to lack of funds and difficulty finding players.
She was also the owner of the Mackenzie Mountaineers, which she also gave up control.
That team is the only team that has not had any bad press this season. It was also the second season for that team, who played against the Alberta teams last year.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
