(AJHL)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

cold lake also a possibility

Devon getting new AJHL team, and Whitecourt Wolverines staying put

Apr 26, 2024 | 4:34 PM

As it turns out, the Whitecourt Wolverines don’t appear to be going anywhere, and expansion, not relocation, is on the horizon for the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL).

The Wolverines now previous ownership team, NAX Athletics Group, was granted an expansion team on Friday by the AJHL, which will be located in Devon. The franchise will begin play in the 2024-25 season.

It was just a couple months ago that reports surfaced of the Wolverines owners wanting to relocate the club to Devon, where NAX is headquartered.

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At the time, the AJHL couldn’t say much, and the now-previous owners of the Wolverines had kept entirely silent.

All that in mind, the AJHL now says it is working with multiple groups in Whitecourt who could possibly take ownership of the Wolverines.

Charla Flett, AJHL communications, says the goal is to get that formalized by the end of May, otherwise all the players on Whitecourt would become free agents.

“I would like to welcome the community of Devon to the Alberta Junior Hockey League and congratulate the Northern Alberta Xtreme (NAX) Athletics Group,” says AJHL Commissioner Ryan Bartoshyk. “The league welcomes the opportunity for the group to enhance their program through the addition of an AJHL franchise and provide elite development for its athletes and exposure for the entire AJHL.”

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rdnewsNOW reached out to NAX’s Craig Kibblewhite on Thursday with questions about the Wolverines, but didn’t hear back.

Kibblewhite did however issue a statement via the AJHL on Friday.

“NAX is excited to bring Junior A hockey to the town of Devon.The AJHL is the top sanctioned Junior A hockey league in Canada, and it is a great pathway for those players looking to move to the next level,” says Kibblewhite.

“The partnership between the Town of Devon and NAX is allowing us to operate out of a brand new arena with a state-of-the-art training facility, a dedicated dressing room, and an amazing atmosphere for the fans. These amenities, along with the integration with NAX and our dedicated coaches, trainers, skills development professionals, and staff, will help to attract, retain, and develop new and current athletes. NAX is dedicated to continuing with our inclusive and winning tradition that has been created through our CSSHL teams over the past decade.”

Commissioner Bartoshyk goes on to reassure fans in Whitecourt that it is working diligently to ensure the community’s team can maintain its status in the league.

Whitecourt recently made the AJHL league final, losing, however, in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Calgary Canucks.

Additionally, Flett says the league cannot comment on rumored decisions involving Wolverines staff, only noting that as of this moment, the franchise is not operational.

Flett, saying that Whitecourt is an integral piece of the AJHL, and the Wolverines are beloved in Whitecourt, is a believer that expanding now after the recent contraction by five teams, will only make the league’s overall talent level stronger, not the opposite.

“Having only 12 opportunities in the AJHL to fight for a roster spot will make training camps more fierce than ever this fall,” she says. “Our board, when it comes to reviewing expansion, is very conscious of not watering down the talent pool, and are not looking to rush back to 16 teams, but we are very much open to new applications and reviewing communities who could be a part of our league.”

To that point, the AJHL board of governors has also reviewed an expansion application from the community of Cold Lake, Alberta and the state-of-the-art Cold Lake Energy Centre.

The league is working with the group there for potential expansion starting in the 2025-26 AJHL season.

The Alberta Junior Hockey League says it will announce a new league structure and schedule format in May 2024.

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