Left to right: Blackfalds Mayor Richard Poole, AJHL Commissioner Ryan Bartoshyk, Jodie Schreiner, Al Parada and Doug Quinn (Photo: AJHL)

By Troy Gillard

It's official!

AJHL franchise moving to Blackfalds for 2021-22 season

Oct 23, 2019 | 2:34 PM

What has long been rumoured is now official as Junior A hockey is coming to Blackfalds.

The Alberta Junior Hockey League announced Wednesday morning that its Board of Governors has approved a bid from local businessman Doug Quinn to purchase the Calgary Mustangs Hockey Club and relocate it to Blackfalds where they will play starting in the 2021-22 season.

“I am very excited for the opportunity to bring a Junior A team to Blackfalds,” Quinn said in a release. “It is a growing and dynamic community, which has shown tremendous support with their commitment to build a new arena. On behalf of myself and the rest of the team, I can guarantee we will be highly motivated and committed over the next two years to build the best culture and team we can. We can’t wait for the rink to be built so we can finally give Blackfalds the Junior A team they have been waiting for.”

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The Calgary Mustangs were granted a leave of absence from the AJHL ahead of the 2019-20 season in order to “secure a sustainable future for the franchise either in Calgary, or through relocation” after years of low ticket sales and advertising revenue. The sale of the team to Quinn comes after a bid to move the team to Strathmore was denied.

AJHL Commissioner Ryan Bartoshyk says the league is excited for the franchise’s move to Blackfalds.

“The AJHL is enthused about the opportunity to bring a team into a new Alberta community and add another first-class facility to the League,” said Bartoshyk. “We are confident that Mr. Quinn and the Town of Blackfalds will provide a successful new home for the Alberta Junior Hockey League. I would also like to recognize the significant commitment and contributions of the Calgary Mustangs and thank the organization for their efforts in securing the future of the franchise in Blackfalds.”

The Town of Blackfalds has fast-tracked the $20 million expansion of the Blackfalds Multi-Plex, which includes a new indoor arena, in order to capitalize on a favourable construction market and accommodate a Junior A franchise. Final designs for the expansion are expected in February with construction beginning in March and wrapping up in July 2021.

A rendering of what the Blackfalds Multi-Plex will look like following the $20M expansion (Town of Blackfalds)

“The Town of Blackfalds is excited to welcome an AJHL team, under the ownership of Doug Quinn, to our community. The calibre of hockey coming out of the expanded Multi-Plex Arena in 2021 will provide tremendous opportunities for our youth – and young at heart – to not only inspire their hockey careers, but to also watch their community team in action,” said Mayor Richard Poole. “We look forward to continuing the work with the new ownership; the leadership and desire that they have exhibited will create a wonderful partnership.”

In June, the Blackfalds Wranglers Jr. B team announced that they were moving to Sylvan Lake due to the prospect of a Jr. A team coming to Blackfalds.

Quinn has coached the Midget AAA Red Deer Optimist Chiefs in eight out of the last 10 years, winning five provincial championships, three pacific championships and two Telus Cup national championships. Quinn will serve as head coach for the Blackfalds team. Al Parada will serve as Director of Hockey Operations.

“We were looking for some new opportunities,” Quinn said. “We had looked at other franchises in central Alberta and nothing was really that attractive for us. But when we came across the group in Blackfalds and had some discussions about what they were planning, then we were real excited to get involved.

Quinn is confident the team will be a big boost to the Blackfalds community.

“They’re going to spend money on tickets and advertising. But it also spins off to other businesses within this community, whether it’s restaurants, there could be other events that are brought here because of the new facilities and how good they’ll be,” he noted. “There’s a great opportunity for everybody to benefit from this experience.”

(With file from AJHL media release, Town of Blackfalds video announcement)