Medicine Hat Cubs general manager Dave Kowalchuk gives his report to a crowd of around 50 people at the team's annual general meeting on Thursday evening at First Assembly of God church. -- NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
The Medicine Hat Cubs shifted focus to the future at Thursday night’s annual general meeting – electing an almost entirely new board and signaling a desire to remain in the Heritage Junior Hockey League for the 2020-21 season.
Back in June, the Cubs announced they would not be icing a team for the upcoming campaign due to diminishing sponsorship revenues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but newly elected board member and head scout Troy Sandau says he feels that decision was made prematurely.
“That was on the old board, now with a bunch of new faces we hope to reverse that and hopefully have a team going this year,” said Sandau. “With COVID going on, we are kind of handcuffed by a few things but we want to have a season and the kids want to be on the ice. We’re going to work hard and follow the guidelines for the health and safety – first and foremost – of the players. We just want to field a team this year. Financially, I think we’ll be alright.”
Cubs general manager Dave Kowalchuk confirmed Thursday evening that the team can re-enter the HJHL for the 2020-21 season. The Cubs even announced a new signing Friday morning in the form of 17-year-old defenceman Levi Brewer.
“We have a meeting again with the league on (Aug. 10) and they want to know if we’re a go or not,” said Kowalchuk. “We did have a meeting with the league last week regarding what the schedule will look like. Right now, technically we’re looking at an Oct. 28 start, 30-game season.”
It was a somewhat contentious AGM at First Assembly of God Church in Medicine Hat, as disputes about the club’s financial statement and the general direction of the team caused a stir among the roughly 50 people in attendance.
The team’s three-page financial statement presented a June 1 2019 opening balance of $7,092.26, followed by $3,092.93 net income over the ensuing season and a new balance of only $3,092.93 on June 1 2020.
After a lengthy discussion on the topic, members approved a motion to conduct an immediate external audit.
“There needs to be some paperwork. There needs to be some financial accountability,” said newly elected board member Dale Roth. “When the folks in the crowd at an AGM are saying, ‘Well wait a minute the numbers don’t make sense,’ and they legitimately don’t make sense, that’s one of the key things that we have to get on as a society.”
Roth added he’s been involved in hockey at various levels for decades and believes he can help steer the team in a positive direction.
“A buddy of mine said, ‘You know what? The Cubs could use some help. They could use a guy like you that knows how to market the game, that knows how to be part of social media, that knows the media in Medicine Hat and can help sell the game and get sponsorship and get the community back involved,” he said. “If dollars are an issue, well, we’ll reach out to the community and give them a product on the ice that Medicine Hat can once again be proud of and put their money behind.”
A bylaw change was also passed at the AGM to reduce the maximum size of the board from 12 to eight. Eleven were nominated Thursday, prompting a vote that ultimately elected Roth, Sandau, Lorrie Stadnicki, Deb Wickham, Justin Crawford, Glenn Stahl, Jerry Straub and Donna Schlosser.
Of the eight members elected to the board, only Crawford returns from the previous season. Outgoing president Richard Fritzler said he was glad he wasn’t nominated to return to his role, as he would have declined.
“I enjoyed the two-and-a-half years I put in, I enjoyed the players and riding the bus with them,” said Fritzler. “I’d like to thank the old members on my board for all their hard work. We did have some exciting things going on but I guess that won’t happen now. I wish the Cubs all the best of luck in the future, and the new board.”
The new board will establish roles of president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer at its first meeting, which will take place Sunday on Zoom.
Hockey operations still has a good deal of ground to cover as well. The team parted ways with co-coaches JD Gaetan and Steve Leipert in the off-season and have yet to fill the vacant positions. Kowalchuk says he has a few leads on potential bench bosses, as well as new players – evidenced by Friday’s signing of Brewer.
“Over the past few months here I’ve reached out to some ex-coaches from the SJHL, AJHL,” he said. “I know there are some local guys that are interested as well, they haven’t really reached out to me but I’ve had some emails coming through, some resumes.”
The High River Flyers are the only other HJHL team to opt out of the upcoming season, which could present an opportunity for the Cubs as they look to rebuild a roster. However, Kowalchuk says players who had previously committed to return to the Cubs from last season still intend to play in Medicine Hat if there is a team, as long as they don’t reach a higher level in the meantime.
“We’re pretty good between the pipes, defensively we should be pretty good as well,” said Kowalchuk. “We just got word that Cooper Hilworth (forward) will be going to Nanaimo Clippers camp in B.C., but if he doesn’t make it he’ll definitely be back here in September to start skating.”
The Cubs also paid tribute to three alumni who recently passed away, BJ Niwa, Mike Engel and Ryan Pancoast, with a moment of silence to begin Thursday’s AGM.
