The Meadow Lake Mustangs. (submitted photo/ML Mustangs)

By Nikita Ganovicheff

CUT TIES

Mustangs enter fold of Western States Hockey League for upcoming season

Jul 3, 2019 | 4:57 PM

Meadow Lake’s Junior A hockey team will be in a new association when it takes to the ice this season.

The Mustangs will play in the Western States Hockey League (WSHL) for the 2019-20 season. Last year, the team played its inaugural season as part of the Western Provinces Hockey Association (WPHA).

“We’re definitely staying with the Western States Hockey League,” Mustangs General Manager Glen Winkler said. “We’ll be up and running soon and play our 52 games. We probably have 10 or 12 players returning from last year and we’ve got three or four new players that we’ve looked at. We haven’t gotten any Europeans yet but we’re hoping.”

Winkler pointed at the legitimacy the WSHL has over its 25 years of operation and the showcase held in Las Vegas as major reasons influencing the club’s decision to work with the WSHL.

“It’s just a bigger more well-established association to be with,” Winkler said. “We enjoyed it last year and they invited us right away. We were at the meetings in Las Vegas when they decided not to have the WPHA and then the next motion they made was inviting Meadow Lake and Edson back into the league.”

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Winkler said they wanted to get away from the WHPA’s reputation of not paying fees and ice rentals. The Mustangs are joined by the Hinton Timberwolves, Edson Aeros and Barrhead, who joined Friday, as a part of the WSHL Provincial Division.

The WPHA was a part of the WSHL until earlier this month, and are now a part of the Greater Metro Hockey League (GMHL).

In a media release on the WPHA website dated June 15, the organization said it had entered into discussions with Flying Dust First Nation to bring in a team for the 2019-2020 season housed at the PineRidge Ford Place Arena.

“The WPHA remains committed to hosting Jr. A hockey in the area, and strengthening its already significant ties to First Nation and Indigenous players and communities,” the release read.

It went on to say how the WPHA is excited to have “local hockey legend, businessman, and community leader Jon Marasty (sic)” involved with the team this upcoming season.

“Jon’s involvement will no doubt help the team in many ways, including community support, player recruiting, development, and opportunity,” the release said.

WPHA Owner Jon Sawani is quoted in the release as saying a partnership with Flying Dust “makes sense on many levels.”

But PineRidge Ford Place manager Clay DeBray said he is not aware of any plans for Flying Dust to build its own Junior A team.

“We’re a facility,” DeBray said. “If any team wants to book ice time with us we’ll have a lease agreement with stipulations just like any other facility and that’s as far as we go as far as having Flying Dust be a part of it.”

No one from the WPHA or Flying Dust First Nation could be reached for comment.

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nikita.ganovicheff@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @meadowlakenow