Photo of Group cutline: The main people dealing with the new Junior B Whitewater Kings are, front row from left, Whitewater Region Councillor Chris Olmstead who liaised with council, owner Dale McTavish, head coach Darryl Faught and general manager Kevin Ready. Back row from left: game day operator in Pembroke and billets, Maureen Duhamel, assistant coach of Jr. A. Pembroke Lumber King Ben Reinhardt; assistant coaches Jr. B. Whitewater Kings Pat Tyan, Eric, Logan, game day operator in Cobden Jamie McConnell, communications and marketing for Jr. A and Jr. B, Geoff Patterson and Jr. B. secretary Lynn Foley.
By CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
WHITEWATER REGION (Cobden) — Junior B Hockey Night in Whitewater Region is coming to the Astrolabe Arena in Cobden.
Opening night is Saturday, Sept. 16, with the puck dropping at 7 p.m. between the Whitewater Kings and the Renfrew Timberwolves. But, festivities for the day are now being planned.
This was just one announcement at the media night hosted by the Whitewater Kings Jr. B team that now calls Cobden home.
The owner of the team is Dale McTavish, who also owns the Pembroke Lumber Kings and is responsible for the Hockey Eastern Ontario (HEO) U-18 Program and the general manager is Kevin Ready. The two met when McTavish played for the Peterborough Petes (1989-1993) and was billeted at Ready’s home.
The Petes’ coach went to Ready and said, “Their number one pick in the draft is a kid from Eganville. You’re from the valley, if you take this kid Dale McTavish in, at least you know where Eganville is.
“So, we talked it over as a family and we agreed to take Dale in as a billet and he lived with us for four years. He had an influence, I think, on one of my children, who went on to play in the NHL and played pro. It was a good experience.”
McTavish said he and Ready work well together.
“It’s great we got reconnected like this,” he said. “I have a ton of confidence in Kevin and Darryl (Faught, head coach) to lead this team.”
Coaching Staff
The head coach is well-known Darryl Faught; assistant coaches are Pat Ryan and Eric Logan. Faught has had great success with teams at Muskrat level, Aces, Titans and the Junior B Shawville team. Ready noted the Shawville team had its most successful years with Faught at the helm.
“We are well-equipped with a good, quality of coaches,” Ready said. “Now it’s up to me to work together with assistant coaches and Darryl to find a good, competitive team that Cobden can be proud of and interested in following with honest, hard-working players.
“Darryl is a really good coach with good tendency for development. He’s almost an icon in Cobden.”
The Whitewater Kings is the newest franchise in the CCHL2 (Canada Central Hockey League). The team had been known as the Prescott Flyers, but after being purchased, the name was changed. McTavish noted the former Flyers will not be relocating with the Whitewater Kings due to various reasons, including distance to where they are now attending school.
“We are hoping to build a hardworking, competitive team that local fans can develop an interest in, enthusiastically follow, and make it a regular date on their families’ social calendar,” Ready said. “I’m originally from Cobden, so I can say this, what else is there to do in Cobden on a Saturday night?”
There is a 52-game schedule with home games at the Astrolabe Arena in Cobden each Saturday night at 7 p.m. There will also be a few home games on a Thursday night, with the puck dropping at 8 p.m. All practises will also be at the Astrolabe Arena.
Ready expects the team will draw people from Eganville, Douglas. Whitewater Region, and elsewhere if they are Junior B fans.
There are two other area Junior B teams in this area – the Arnprior Packers and the Renfrew Timberwolves.
Ready noted there have been changes in the CCHL2. Originally, 16-year-olds were going to be eliminated from the league so they would have one more year in major midget. However, that didn’t happen, but 21-year-olds have been phased out. This will allow younger players the opportunity to play hockey instead of sitting on the bench while the more experienced players get the ice time, he explained.
Also, the 22 EOJHL (Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League) teams were reduced to 16 in the newly formed CCHL2, reducing the number of roster spots available league-wide. However, the downside to this is the increased travel for the remaining teams.
The play in Junior B hockey has also changed, Ready said.
“What was once a league that almost nightly turned out to be filled with brawls and 16-year-old sitting on the bench in favour of 21-year-old, playing regular shifts, special teams, while the 16-year-olds watch, and were often healthy scratched, has now become a league where young players are played regularly, developed consistently and are able to make the smooth transition to the CCHL1 (Junior A).
The U-18 League is a highly competitive 12-team league, playing a 45-game schedule. The success in the CCHL1 and CCHL2 will be heavily influenced by the operation, development and recruitment of the U-18 program, Ready explained.
With McTavish involved in the U-18, Whitewater Kings and Pembroke Lumber Kings, it could prove to be a smooth transition for some hockey players, he said.
“We’re in the unique position of having a free-flow of players from Midget Triple A to CCHL1, with the common philosophy of the organization, the co-ordination of ideas, the more extensive effort in recruiting and an expanded collaboration in scouting.”
While it was unique, the Carleton Place Canadians of the CCHL1 team has purchased Clarence of the CCHL and relocated it to Carleton Place, he noted.
Training Camps
Currently, the Whitewater Kings have no players on its roster, Ready said.
“We have the exciting challenge of putting a team together from the ground up, beginning with the U-18 players, then local products from the area, players we are able to acquire, as well as recruits from outside the region,” he said.
McTavish said there is a Junior A camp in Arnprior on Friday, June 23. Everyone except U-18 teams will be there.
“We’ll pick our Junior A team from that and some players for the Junior B team will be picked there,” he said.
There will be a training camp for the Whitewater Kings Junior from August 28 to August 31 at the Beachburg Arena and two exhibition games have been set against the Renfrew Timberwolves. The first game is Friday, Sept. 1 in Renfrew and the second game is Sunday, Sept. 3 at PemIce 2 in Pembroke.
Ready noted the team has reached out to the Pontiac region, including Shawville and Fort Coulonge, to attend the try-outs.
McTavish said the Junior B team will have a lot of practice time and the focus is on developing a younger team based on development.
“Darryl has outdone himself with success at coaching at that age group and I feel very confident that we’ll have a great season this year.”
Faught was glad when he was asked to be the inaugural head coach of the Whitewater Kings.
“I accepted the job,” he said. “I think our intention will be to make the playoffs. I’m sure we can do it.”
He likes a good, heavy-forechecking game and expects it will be entertaining to watch.
As for how many fans can fit in the Astrolabe Arena, Whitewater Region Councillor Chris Olmstead, who was at the meeting, said about 500 can fit in the stands and upstair’s hall.
McTavish said there’s a great atmosphere in the upstair’s hall, the arena is a fun place to play, and there will be opportunity for people to talk with the players after each game in the upstair’s hall.
“We’re going to try to make it a fun place to go Saturday night,” he said.
Familiar with the area because the U-18 practising here, McTavish spoke to Coun. Olmstead about his idea to relocate a Junior B team here, because he knew “this is a good hockey market.”
Council Agrees to Deal
It was a deal that happened quickly, he said.
“The deal was done so fast, everybody wanted the same thing,” McTavish said.
Council was easy to work with and he’s excited for the season to begin.
Looking back to the cold, winter months, Coun. Olmstead said it took about four months before the deal was struck.
“We are very excited,” he said. “When we first talked about it, I was very excited and knowing Dale and his background, having ownership as solid as Dale is, when we first spoke about it, it was with another team.
“When I first brought it to council’s attention, it was unanimous that the council really support it,” Coun. Olmstead said. “There wasn’t one negative comment.
“This council is very pro-economic development and saw this as a great opportunity to promote our township. We have a new brewery in town that’s doing quite well and that came in under this council as well,” he added.
This is a natural fit, he said. Concerns from the arena perspective, as to whether we could host this regarding capacity, but once that got sorted out, the township was very excited and “pro go for it.”
This is a first step and the next step is the needs assessment study, which was approved at the last council meeting, he said. In the next 5, 10, 20 years, what are the needs of the Whitewater area.
“That will tell us a road map of what we want,” Coun. Olmstead said. “We have three arenas and eight ball diamonds and all kinds of stuff in Whitewater.
“We’re looking at an holistic view of what the needs be and of course, with Junior B being here now, that ramped up our needs for the arena,” he said.
As for concerns the upstairs hall events that are now happening will be cancelled, Coun. Olmstead said, “Absolutely not. No programs will be cancelled whatsoever.”
Billeting a player
The team will also need billets, Ready said. A billet is where a player lives while with the team.
A family takes in a player and becomes immersed in the family, he said. It’s best if it’s a family interested in the team and if there are younger people in the family as well.
“There is a lot of interaction between the family and the player’s parents,” Ready said. “He may start out as a guest, but he will cross the threshold from guest to being a part of the family.”
There is financial compensation to make sure the players eat. However, he added with laugh, “You can’t be in it for the money. They’re growing boys, they eat lots.”
If you would like to billet a player, or want more information on billeting, please call Maureen Duhamel, 613-732-8146.
Volunteers Needed
The team is also looking for volunteers for various jobs, said Jamie McConnell, game day operator. Volunteers could fill such positions as as DJ, in the penalty box, video and security.
“We need a lot of people,” Mr. McConnell said. “Students can earn their community hours.”
If you want to volunteer, email Mr. McConnell at wwkingsopshotmail.com
