BARRHEAD - The transition to the North Eastern Alberta Hockey League (NEAHL) was relatively painless.
That is according to Barrhead Minor Hockey Association (BMHA) president Tyler Batdorf.
The 2023-2024 hockey season was the first year that the BMHA and other area hockey associations played in the NEAHL after years of playing in the now-defunct Northern Alberta Interlock (NAI) hockey league.
In August 2023, the NAI board, consisting of more than 20 teams, voted to dissolve, with the vast majority of minor hockey associations electing to play in the NEAHL.
"It has been generally pretty good. There have been a few challenges, which I think everyone has been running into," he said.
However, Batdorf said that the NEAHL's defence saw an influx of several new teams and that adjusting would take some time.
"We are happy to have a place we can play, and I am sure that as time goes on, the NEAL will keep resolving many of the remaining issues," he said.
Unfortunately, Batdorf said the league cannot do much regarding the amount of travel in many cases.
"It is usually in the higher tiers where the travel is involved because there are not as many teams," he said, describing it as a pyramid. "Most of the teams are in the middle and lower tiers, so it is easier to create that east/west split, so those teams are playing the same ones they did [in the NAI]. There is more travel in Tiers 1 and 2, but you are playing against proper competition."
Batdorf added that some teams had to travel as far as Lloydminster, St. Paul, Wainwright and Fort McMurray last season and will have to do so again this year. Although the latter, he noted, they also had to do in the NAI.
"It is a commitment for a family, that is for sure," he said.
Batdorf added that there was still one more weekend of tiering, organizing teams based on their ability to create balanced competition before the season starts in earnest on Nov. 15.
"We should see some movement [up and down] for a few of our teams," he said. "This is good because you want a team to be challenged. You don't want teams winning or losing 20-0; that is not how to develop players."
Batdorf said that the majority of age groups will have two teams. The exceptions are U11, with three teams, and U7, with one large team.
One of the challenges the association had when creating teams was that Barrhead had a surplus of goaltenders this year in certain age groups.
For instance, this year, at U 18, six goaltenders were vying for positions, compared to two last season.
Unfortunately, Batdorf said, they could only accommodate five. Two goaltenders were placed with the Steelers and the Renegades, with the other going to a U15 squad as an overage player. The remaining goaltender found a spot with a neighbouring Sturgeon Hockey Association team.
He added they had a similar issue at U13, where they also had six netminders.
In this case, Batdorf said they could accommodate everyone, with four goaltenders finding spots on U13 and two playing on U11 teams as overaged players.
"It is not ideal. You would like players to play at the right age level, but it is what it is," he said.
As for what the suspension of the Canadian-American Junior Hockey League (CAJHL) for the 2024-2025 season, specifically of the Barrhead Bombers, will mean for minor hockey, Batdorf said it effectively frees up a lot of ice time, especially on the weekend.
"Which should mean less travel for some teams as we will be able to host more games," Batdorf said.
He added that, unfortunately, practice ice will still be in short supply as the Bombers primarily practised in the early morning when BMHA teams were not using the ice, meaning there will still be some late-night practices for some teams.
"We might allow our U18 teams to practice out of town one night a week because their ice time is so late," Batdorf said, adding last season, the U18 teams often had practice times of 9 or 10 p.m. "In Fort Assiniboine, you can be on the ice at 7 p.m."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
