Rider AGM and Round the league... the usual drivel

The Fernie Ghostriders held their Annual General Meeting Thursday May 17th, here are the results of the meeting.

First off the public was addressed by Team President Barb Anderson and she, to make a long story short, had this to say. 

1/ The Ghostriders lost money everywhere, tickets, beer sales, 50/50 advertising you name it everything was down.
2/ The damage ended up being $78,382
3/ The team was kept alive because of what was in the team bank  and contingency fund accounts.
4/ The team has enough money to start the season.
5/ The team played out the season last year because of the generosity of the City of Sparwood and Community Services assistant Sheri Taylor.  Sheri was instrumental in helping us get set up in Sparwood and ensured that our team was looked after and welcomed.

Next up was the election of officers, well election is a stretch, how about the acclamation of officers.

President Barb Anderson- (now in her 6th year as President)
Vice President - Mike Causalt
Treasurer- Tom Murdoch

Billet Co-odirnator Ashley Charette
Booster- Booth Ruth Murdoch

Secretary- George Hurlbut... hands down the ugliest secretary in the Province

Board Members
Lynda Moulton
Gail Knee
Earle Price
Daryl Hutchinson
Mark Charette
Rose Mangone
Jon Levesqe 

Rocky Feregotto

Team Accountant (not a board member but one of the most valuable volunteers the Riders have)
Jason Traska

So there you have it, the Ghostriders lost a ton of money and if anything goes wrong next season... like say... the rink doesn’t open the team will fold.

On that front Anderson says that a contract was awarded and the contractor has started building a new non- ammonia fuelled plant. The plant is scheduled to be put in service around August 1st and the ice should be in use by September 1st. 

There are lots of skeptics out there mostly because the inside of the arena isn’t finished yet and there doesn’t exactly appear to be a hive of worker bees flying around stingin stuff either. Plus from what I've seen these big projects never seem to finish on time. I hope the skeptics are proven wrong.

Long time assistant goalie coach Gerry Pang was recognized for his contributions to hockey in Fernie and awarded the George Majic Spiritus award. Full story here Congratulations Gerry... I still think he won’t be able to help himself and will show up at practice once in a while. * George Majic was one of the founding fathers of the Ghostriders back in 1991.

Hey what’s with all the empty Perrier cans Panger... you mixing good rum in that swamp water 

 

Fernie’s Tyler Palmer was drafted by Chris Moulton and his Spokane Chiefs in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft . Tyler’s dad Mark played 5 years of junior here in Fernie with the old Jr A Ghostriders in the Rocky Mountain, and America West leagues a few years ago.

Read Tyler’s story here

Round the League

Longtime head coach of the Osoyoos Coyotes Ken Law was not rehired last month but has landed on his feet as the HC in Kelowna Read that story here    In Kelowna he will team up with former head coach Jason Tansem and GM Grant Sheridan who has recruited some really skilled players over the years and at one time his warriors led the league in PIM too... but it hasn’t translated into playoff success. Im betting the Lawyer will make a difference.

There will be no Prospects of a long Christmas break this year because the league will hold a showcase for the college scouts with all teams participating, instead of the January prospects game. 

The KIJHL bosses say that despite what you may have heard the scouts will show up at the showcase even though the Mac’s tournament in Calgary is at the same time.

Great idea for some teams but the Riders who have money problems will lose. The games are at Christmas time December 27-29 and that is when the Riders have their biggest crowds and beer pyramids with the rival Dynamiters and Creston in attendance. Sometimes these games are a make or break for the team. 

Beaver Valley’s HC and GM Terry Jones had this to say in the local paper . "It is unnecessary. Any player who is a solid player in our league can play in the ACHA or Div 3 NCAA hockey league. The individual cost for each player is what determines whether they can go or not”. 

 “Tuition fees for these schools range in the 50K per year amount, with scholarships and bursaries amounting to about half of this amount. With the American dollar as it is, it leaves a 30K per year allotment per student.” FULL STORY HERE

Here in Fernie I know several players have been offered one of these partial scholarships but have turned them down because of money. Terry has a point but I love the showcase idea, just not the timing... 

Crossovers

We will be seeing more teams this season, apparently the governors have decided that maybe the crossover schedule was not costing the teams all that much money. As we stated right here way back then, you still have to travel to games anyway, just more within your division...is it such a big deal to go a few hundred extra miles, don’t you think your fans will get sick of the same teams over and over again. 

Anyway the Riders will play the Okanagan Division  on the road and the Doug Birks Division will play games in  Fernie. This is a win win for the fans and for the players who like going to different towns. 

This was me a couple of years ago trying to get the “Crossover Schedule” back .

Ghostrider May 16th update and BC Hockey head hunters

Ghosrider Head Coach and GM Jeff Wagner was part of the three team (Fernie, Creston and Okotoks)  prospects camp in Edmonton last weekend and the "Three Amigos "will be holding yet another camp in Calgary this weekend.

Last week's camp featured around 85 players including a few returning KIJHL'ers  to help increase the overall level of competition. 

In other words, see how the new players stack up against guys who you know can play in the league. Sometimes it’s hard to tell exactly how good the new players are when your camp is filled with only rookies.

Anyway, Wagner was impressed with the experience: “This weekend was a great opportunity to see what Northern Alberta has to offer with regards to prospects for the Junior level. Players came out and put together a competitive camp that was high paced, physical and creative.”

Wagner adds “There were definitely some guys that separated themselves from the rest of the group. With this camp and our camp coming up in Calgary, I expect that our Main Camp will push the envelope for our returning players and players trying to make the Ghostriders come September.”

Translation... last year’s players better be ready.

Also the Main Camp could have 3 or 4 teams. The location of Main is still up in the air as the Fernie arena may not open until September 1st. When I know you’ll know.
The Ghostriders Calgary Spring Camp begins Friday, May 18th. 

GM Jeff Wagner has picked up David Sanchez (listed at 5’10”180) from the Nelson Leafs for a development fee.  Wagner says "David adds a lot of speed to our roster up front. He's a player who has the offensive tools to make an immediate impact for us and he also brings key qualities that make him affective away from the puck. He's a guy you hate playing against but love having on your side of the ice and we're very excited to have him."

In Other News

BC Hockey says they are going to track concussions this season and they want all teams to report them or something. There are questions about just who wants the information. We will have more on this development in the next few weeks.

What I can tell you is that the Ghostriders Athletic Therapists Heather Lewis and Kayla Neufeld are the ones who decide if a player can play after a concussion, not the Coaches.

All players are tested when they start with the Riders, they have to do quick hand eye coordination moves like open a beer in .2 seconds or light a cig... oh wait a minute that was the writer's test,  I got 98% .

Anyway, all players have to do their tests at the pre-concussion levels before they get back on the ice. They are well looked after here in Fernie so do we need BC Hockey to stick their noses in it, or do they just want to suspend players like like they do after a few fights?

And Finally

The Ghostrider’s AGM is Thursday at 7:00 in the Community Centre . We will have a report on that Friday sometime along with the always popular to no one Round’ the League featuring crossover Ken Law ? huh the prospects of a no Christmas break, media time outs, $cholarshipz