BARRHEAD - For the most part, Barrhead Minor Hockey Association (BMHA) president Tyler Batdorf does not see any problems in switching from the now-defunct Northern Alberta Interlock (NAI) hockey league and if there are any changes, he believes they will only be positive.
As reported in the Town & Country on Aug. 29, the NAI board, consisting of representatives of 24 minor hockey, voted to dissolve the league, with most of the teams opting to join the North Eastern Alberta Hockey League (NEAHL).
The Barrhead Leader spoke to Batdorf last week as he and the other volunteers of the BMHA were preparing for the upcoming 2023-2024 season.
From Sept. 5-7, the association will host its "Rusty Blade" sessions, allowing players to shake off the rust of a long off-season with a series of 45-minute skates. Tryout sessions begin the next week, starting on Sept. 15 and run to Sept. 17, with preseason play and tiering starting after the weekend after Thanksgiving. The regular season begins in early November.
"(Joining the NEAHL) a difficult decision), but essentially, we wanted to stick with the teams we play all the time," he said, adding only three teams in the NAI that Barrhead regularly played are not making the jump to the new league.
Batdorf added that although the NEAHL encompasses a larger area, especially to the northeast, which goes as far as the Saskatchewan border, Barrhead teams should see as much if not less travel due to the makeup of the league's division structure.
He also noted that the level of competition in the NEAHL should be higher.
Batdorf said that last season, the NAI did not have enough teams at the various skill levels, adding that meant players often found themselves facing off against squads that were multiple tier levels above or below them.
"For example, in U18, last year, Tiers 1-3 were just lumped together and played each other," he said, noting the difference became more pronounced in the playoffs. "This year, in the NEAHL, more teams will be in each Tier, and although they may be spread out more, it should mean more fair competition."
2022-2023 season
Batdorf noted that registration has been good, with over 180 players signing up.
More importantly, he said the registrations are all in the right proportions to allow the association to ice two teams at every age level.
"The U15 age level is a little tricky, but we believe we will have enough to ice two full teams," Batdorf said.
Last season, at many age groups, they had barely enough to ice two teams; at U15, they only had enough players for one team.
This made things more difficult for the older U15 and U18 age groups because most players wanted to play on teams that allowed bodychecking.
In 2022, Hockey Alberta instituted a policy that there would be no bodychecking contact at the U15 and U18 levels at what used to be Tier 4-6 levels, renaming them this year as No Body Contact (NBC) 1-3.
As for what that will look like in the NEAHL, Batdorf isn't exactly sure yet, noting the league will be having an informational/organizational session with participating associations in the coming days.
For age groups under U15, body contact will not be allowed in any tier.
"We are excited about the opportunities the new season and league will bring, and I am sure all kids will have a great time and learn a bunch of new skills.”
