NOJHL whiners and complainers
They ranked second and sixth respectively on the attendance chart of the 12-team Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League in 2015-2016 but the Timmins Rock and Kirkland Lake Gold Miners are whining and complaining about money issues — and making them public.
Elsewhere around the NOJHL, small-market franchises such as the French River Rapids, Blind River Beavers and Espanola Express — who ranked, 10th, 11th and 12th in attendance in ’15-16 — are going about their off-season business with enthusiasm and desire, trying to recruit more sponsors and thinking of ways to try to attract more fans.
Not in bigger-market Timmins and Kirkland Lake, though. All what we read and hear about from the NOJHL’s two-biggest complainers is whining and bitching related to money issues.
Have money issues?
Then manage your franchise better and stop all the crying and complaining.
Looking at the average attendance in the NOJHL in ’15-16, Soo Eagles topped the chart at 622 fans per outing followed by Timmins at 595, Iroquois Falls Eskis at 436, Cochrane Crunch at 418, Elliot Lake Wildcats at 387, Kirkland Lake at 349, Soo Thunderbirds at 291, Powassan Voodoos at 279, Rayside-Balfour Canadians at 219, French River at 208, Blind River at 198 and Espanola at 181.
Average attendance in the NOJHL is 348 per game. Timmins is 247 above the average and Kirkland Lake is just about average. So what’s the problem?
Funny, I don’t hear the folks from teams in the bottom half of the NOJHL attendance sheet whining, complaining, pointing fingers and uttering thinly-veiled threats.
No, all of the whining and complaining is coming from the mouths of the holier-than-thou, self-absorbed, executive complainers from up in Timmins and Kirkland Lake.
Don’t want to operate your NOJHL franchise any longer? Then hand it off to someone who does.
Since the end of the ’15-16 season, there has been a change of the guard with the Soo T-Birds, Rayside-Balfour and French River. Maybe those who currently run the teams in Timmins and Kirkland Lake can also look for new operators if they are no longer fit, willing or able to oversee their franchises.
But if they are going to stick around, then put up, shut up and get to work like the other 10 operators in the NOJHL.
Does the NOJHL need and want a presence in Timmins and Kirkland Lake?
Of course.
But what the NOJHL doesn’t need are two franchises creating needless negativity for the rest of the league.
Perfectly said, the NOJHL is on the upswing in the CJHL and airing it’s private issues in the public will hold it back from becoming one of the top respected Junior A leagues in Canada
Be nice RR … … no need for this rant.
Absolute need for the rant, it is in fact the teams with high attendance that complain the most about money, Timmins Rock team has a $45,000.00 unpaid ice bill from last season still owing to the City of Timmins, how does this happen, ice time should be paid on a monthly bases so the debt does not become so unmanageable that you have to leave another city and set up shop somewhere else to do the exact same thing they did the previous season. Time for the powers that be who manage these clubs to take a good long look at themselves and recognize that they can’t manage teams and move on….
A good article R.R.
It is up to the Teams to make sure there house’s are in order its not up to Town Council’s to support these Teams at Taxpayer’s expence.
“Pay To Play” should take care of many of the Money issues. How ever I am hearing that the NOJ is becoming very expensive to operate a Franchise with so much $$$ being paid out to League Officials Mazzuca, Mcgee & Hector.
Concussion protocol and suspensions don’t need 80k year Commish next will be full face mask
How about some ad revenue for the teams to make it palatable to run successful franchise
Well, i’m a fan of RR and his rambles, but i’m not sure i agree here. Yes they’ve both made the news lately, but for the Rock, i don’t call it whining, at least not at the public level. (maybe at the league level, i don’t know) Late or missed payments were brought to the City of Timmins Council table, and not by the Rock. They didn’t go looking or asking for help, they say they’re sticking to the plan. A few days after the /council meeting and the subsequent news articles, they were attacked in the Daily Press. A reply from the Rock was issued and i fully support that, it was warranted as the writer who penned the opinion was off the mark IMO and offered no suggestions or ideas. He just threw rocks at everyone and talked about the old days of Jr or Intermediate hockey! Well, things have changed and I think Mr. Marshall made that clear. He simply defended his group and highlighted their achievements, no one will/can argue what they’ve given this area for 16 years and the facts that he presented.
For KL, i think it’s the first time they’ve cried publicly, but maybe i’m wrong, but i think it was time. 10,000 peeps in the community and they have a very good product, last year was no exception and although figures show higher, i’d be surprised if there was 450 at either game of the league finals in the Joe. Tickets for the Dudley were “ok”, but many of those were bought by corporate sponsors and given to their employees for free ….and they still didn’t go watch. Actual butts in the seats were much lower than anticipated, in both the Dudley and the playoffs. I don’t know what it will take to get people to go back. What happened to the full house when they won the league against the Soo a few years back, to this year where they were in the finals again and couldn’t break 600 fans? If they truly don’t know, you can’t fault em for asking. The Gold Miners gave good entertainment this past year and the Dudley was excellent hockey. Had that team been in Iroquois Falls, or Espanola, or Blind River, or maybe even French River, you could of had double KL’s average attendance almost every night. I’m sure there are things both the Rock and Miners can do to operate their respective franchises better, i’m not debating that. We all have ideas and answers, yours truly included. So far all mine look perfect and passed every test leading from my mind to the keyboard lol
Maybe there is lots of crying behind league doors, i have no clue. But if we’re referring only to what was in each other’s respective newspapers. I don’t have too much problem with it. Gold Miners have to ask some questions, although the attendance was “ok” this year, what kind of attendance would they have if they DIDNT have a winning team? How come only 80 people showed up to the public meeting regarding the future of the club? Buying players from the wire or acquire them from other teams is expensive, but can they afford NOT to go out and buy quality players? What would attendance look like if the club wasn’t a contender? Can they afford to try and find out? From here i say “no” and its unfortunate can’t count on the local talent pool. KL hasn’t produced more than a handful of players who combined the right attitude, work ethic and talent in at least 7-8 years.
What I wrote for this week’s i Falls Enterprise
Hawking hockey
Not just Gold Miners – but all Tier II junior
teams have marketing and financial issues
by Richard Buell
There isn’t a team owner in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League – indeed in any of the Tier II junior leagues 132 teams – that doesn’t struggle with raising the necessary operating capital to keep the team on the ice from one season to the next.
Perhaps, one might think, that a wildly successful season would make fund-raising and garnering continued fan support would be a given for a team that made a solid run toward a league championship and a spot in the Dudley-Hewitt Cup finals.
We were there, once, a few years ago when the Paul Gagné-coached Abitibi Eskis romped to the NOJHL championship with a record of 40 wins and only seven losses with three ties in 50 games, scoring 263 goals and packing the Jus Jordan Arena for virtually every game.
Alas, a combination of factors lead to the gradual erosion of team support – the giant once-prosperous paper mill was cutting back production and would eventually close, the Eskimos began falling behind in arena rental and ice time fees – a shortfall they’re still working to pay off even though they’re now playing – and going into similar financial straits – as the Timmins Rock.
The Igloo, meanwhile, although arguably the finest hockey venue in northeastern Ontario, is still hosting a Junior A hockey team – the Iroquois Falls Eskis – and the handwriting appeared to be on the wall last season as attendance dwindled and the team’s on-ice fortunes began to slide.
New head coach Jamy Bernier and team owner Allen Donnan are committed to another season at the House That Jus Built – but the situation isn’t as rosy over in Kirkland Lake, where the Gold Miners held an information session last Wednesday and basically explained to the 80 supporters in attendance at Heritage North (it used to be called Hockey Heritage North but the “hockey” was dropped because of declining attendance. If the one-time hotbed of hockey in Canada – the walls at the Joe Mavrinac Community Arena are covered with pictures of ex NHLer – is not supporting hockey – there are people within the NOJHL hierarchy who might well be wondering about the long-term survival possibilities of the league.
In attendance at the Kirkland Lake meeting were members of the media as well as team owner James Taylor, team financial guru Rob Murdoch and even NOJHL Commissioner Robert Mazzuca.
The meeting was held to let the public know that the Miners need $30,000 if they are to remain in Kirkland Lake for the coming season – and Taylor and Murdoch made no bones about the fact that the shortage is so vital that the team will likely fold if the money isn’t raised by the end of this month.
Many of the people who came out to offer their support made suggestions as to how the money could be raised – a few even committed to buy and pay for season’s tickers before they left the meeting – but the general feeling through the beautiful building was that it wasn’t looking all that promising.
To the visitor from the Igloo, it seemed an altogether surreal meeting – most of the 80 fans in attendance seemed to be of advanced age – and there was no assurance given by Taylor, Murdoch or even the league that the Miners – as talented a team as has ever played in the NOJHL – were anywhere near on solid footing, even if they were able to raise the shortfall before the end of the month.
In all, it doesn’t look all that promising that Kirkland Lake will be icing a team in the NOJHL this coming season.
One suggestion was made that the team sell sponsorship of individual players’ team jerseys for the season. The person proposing this solution said the “Own and Loan” option it is being successfully done in the English National League and has been for many seasons. The advertiser actually owns the jersey and is entitled to reclaim it at season’s end. (Randy – this was my contribution – Richard)
If a jersey was sponsored by a local merchant for, say, $500 for the season, the sponsor’ s name would be skating around a dozen NOJHL rinks all season long. At the end of the season, the jersey would be returned to the sponsor. The person proposing this fund-raising method suggested the sponsor could then sell tickets to the public and then hold a draw for the jersey – just 100 tickets at $5 or 50 tickets at $10 would recoup the entire advertising cost – and, if the jersey was worn by, say, the NOJHL scoring champion or even a player drafted into the National Hockey League, the monetary value of the jersey might go through the roof.
Still, no member of the Gold Miners executive seemed particularly interested in the concept.
A story in the Northern News – a three-day-a-week Sun Media newspaper in Kirkland Lake, reported this week that the Town of Kirkland Lake already supports the miners to the tune of some $33,000 annually – the inference being that the town is not prepared to invest any more money in what is apparently being viewed as a failing entity.
In a brief chat with The Enterprise before the meeting began, Taylor said travel costs are among the major problems facing not just the Gold Miners, but virtually every team, not only in the NOJHL, but in many other Tier II Junior A leagues across the country.
Whether a realignment of the teams in the NOJHL is possible, he couldn’t say at the moment. Asked why a northern division couldn’t have teams from Kirkland Lake to Kapuskasing couldn’t one day be a reality, he wasn’t able to say whether that would effect savings in travel costs. One person said the Kapuskasing wouldn’t be welcome in the league because its ice size measures only 185 x 85 feet – 15 feet shorter than the 200 feet x 85 feet at The Igloo and at the Tim Horton Event Centre in Cochrane.
He didn’t mention that the Kirkland Lake rink – home of the championship caliber Gold Miners – is the same size as the Kapuskasing rink.
Eskis owner Allen Donnan was out of town last week and wasn’t available for comment – but The Enterprise will attempt to get his impressions about the future of the league at some time this week.
I disagree with Richard in that KL do not have to travel much at all most of their Games are against Cochrane, Timmins and Iroquois Falls who are close by. Lots of excuses from Jim Taylor in KL and Scot Marshall in Timmins IMO keep your dirty laundry in your own dirty clothes basket.
KL’s travel budget would be close to Sudbury’s budget.
I would think the travel budget for KL is slightly above the league average.
1.5 hours to Iroquois Falls; 2 hours to Cochrane; 2 hours to Timmins; 3 hours to Powassan; little over 3 hours to French River.
When compared to the rest of the league, some teams travel further to play their furthest division rival, (Pow vs Coch or Cochr vs FR) but no team in the league has to travel further to play their closest opponent. (BR vs EL; Suds vs Espo or FR, Soo vs Soo; Timmins vs IF, Cochrane vs IF; Pow vs FR)
Its interesting that once a upon a time, the Eskis had BY FAR the worst travel budgets in the league, now, they probably have the least travel in the eastern division.
Beavers have signed a couple a guys from down South I here.
Oh Randy Pullllllleeeeese.
There is an issue with corporate sponsorship also. The bigger companies do not invest in these teams. Ya the towns could help out with cheaper ice on off hours etc but the corporate sponsorship is lacking. Not only do they not do too much, there also isn’t an abundance of them. They can’t all skate around with sponsorship advertising all over the uniforms like the Soo.
Bryan or Erica? Same IP. Will post this, Bryan, nice try with the Erica posts. Pretty obvious who you are, gender aside.
Um, ok.just got call on this. Well I was sitting about three people down from her in a group of 15 or more talking about this over a few she has strong opinions that i may not see eye 2 eye on but in a world of conspiracies it could be true. And if I was trying to hide myself I’d be using a VPN and ghost server so I looks like I’m on the other side of the globe. Takes about 5 seconds to do. Should be glad people are at least reading this. Later oh, yeah guess you should delete that post!
Did Timmins not pay for ice all year?
Owing $45K post season is incredible.
Lets say ice is $200 an hour. Thats 225 hours of unpaid ice.
3 practices a week at 4.5 hours of ice and 1.5 home games on average at 3 hours per is 9 hours per week. lets say 10 to be safe.
Thats over 22 weeks of ice unpaid in a season that runs 24-28 weeks!!
What is wrong with you………?
Does anyone know if Kirkland Lake is coming back?
Any predictions for this season?