Bonnyville Minor Hockey & Jr. A Pontiacs announce U13AAA partnership

Michael Menzies is joined by Neil Langridge, middle, and Terry Rupp, right, for the announcement of the integration of the new U13AAA program for both organizations.

It’s being dubbed an unprecedented collaboration within Bonnyville hockey.

Hockey Alberta awarded Bonnyville a U13AAA team in May as part of their pilot project. On Friday, Bonnyville Minor Hockey Association with the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs announced that this team will be integrated into an academy style program between the two organizations.

“We’re excited to build this partnership,” said Pontiacs associate General Manager Neil Langridge. 

The head coach of this so far unnamed team will also be a Jr. A Pontiacs assistant coach, as they take the lead on hockey operations and amenities, dedicated to the growth and development of these young hockey players.

Those on the team will be on the ice as part of their school day for practices 3-4 times a week.

“This new academy style, like Neil said, is catching on,” said BMHA president Terry Rupp.

“We’ve seen locals in the community leave for this exact thing, whether it be U13 up to U15, even U18. We’ve seen the success of it, and it’s a hybrid model we’re going to try.” 

Bonnyville will be competing with Hockey Edmonton (4 teams), Grande Prairie, Leduc, Lloydminster, Sherwood Park, Strathcona and St. Albert, according to Hockey Alberta.

There has been success with the smaller steps previously taken by integrating Jr. A coaches into running skates at Lakeland Catholic school for a few years now.

Rupp said this team will be a great advantage to developing local talent.

“This is for our local Lakeland kids. There aren’t boundaries set like in the AA model, so we can go beyond that, but it’s with the local athlete in mind. We’re giving this opportunity to be a part of this team.

Langridge added on the point of who’ll be on the team, “To ensure we’re competitive and our development model stands up against larger centers, we’ll open it up, but focus on development over sheer numbers. Proper development will allow us to compete against big city teams.” 

More information on how this program will work will be announced in the coming weeks.

WATCH: The full announcement