Finally – Game On For Cloverdale!!

Far too many questions and depending who you ask there weren’t simply enough answers from anyone, which given the delicate nature of the topic is anyone surprised.

As one individual told me it was a situation that if it wasn’t figured out not only were the players pondering where they would play but it was making the league “second class” given the lack of updates on their site.

Communication is the key to success for any team and while they all rely on volunteers any news is good news for any sports organization or any organization in general.

So what happened and what would happen to the 24 players who were signed and how it would affect their career is where and when Chris McNally stepped up and got involved and from what we are hearing was a key player in getting this resolved after the PJHL and the 15 teams finalized a deal dating back to Sept. 17. 

Chris mentioned to some “It’s official and the Cloverdale team are finally back on the league schedule which is an extremely positive step for those kids.”

Any other resolve could have meant that there would be simply no way the team would have been reinstated as a unit if the kids hadn’t stuck together.

McNally mentioned “They deserve so much credit for keeping the faith and for not giving up on each other or the process and they had every reason to lose hope and the fact that they didn’t gave us something to keep fighting for. So the kids and their families deserve so much credit.”

The first regular season game is scheduled for the Cloverdale Jr. Hockey Club at “The Barn” or the old (still in use) Cloverdale Arena at 7 p.m. Sept. 18th as they host the visiting Mission City Outlaws.

The Cloverdale team franchise had been suspended by the League noting that the league issued a 4-sentence statement Sept. 9th about ending of club operations. 

It read as follows “Regrettably, the Cloverdale Hockey Club has not been able to satisfy necessary league bylaws in order to operate as a member club in good standing, and as a result is not eligible to participate in PJHL-sanctioned activities which lead to a court battle between 7 teams vs. the league’s other 8 teams including the league office.

McNally mentioned this resolution centred around all 15 teams working together to find a solution that benefited the kids. The matter was not resolved in court.

“Essentially, the league got together with the teams and worked through a bunch of things, but in the end, it was determined that we could find a way to have the team play and we agreed to set (the court case) aside so we could get into proper negotiations.”

No question that the decision came down to what was best for the kids and the league which had to eventually happen.

“It was only ever about these kids—getting these kids their chance to play,” he added.

McNally noted a lot of credit goes to the community of Cloverdale for supporting the team even when they hadn’t played a regular-season game. 

There is no question that the topic had it continued was a “black mark” on the league but you have to give credit to everyone on the outside gaining stronger as the days went on.

“If folks hadn’t started petitioning, if folks hadn’t started raising awareness, if folks didn’t care, then I don’t think we’re here today,” he explained. “If people had just sort of ignored it, because it didn’t matter to them, because it didn’t affect them, this wouldn’t have happened.”

He said the publicity that was raised was also integral to getting the kid back on the ice.

“It raised an awareness about the responsibility we have as a league to find a way to get it right,” McNally explained. “Had we not had the community support, I don’t know that the players would have felt they had hope. People were behind them. And had they not had that, then it really would have been hard for them to not go and sign with other teams or quit hockey or be frustrated with it and just not stick together.”

The game is back on the ice for all 16 member teams and moving forward maybe it’’ll be back to business as usual