A good year on the ice for the Battlefords North Stars also turned into a good year for the financial books.
At their annual general meeting Monday at the Civic Centre, the Battlefords North Stars Hockey Club Inc. reported an overall net income of $82,364 for the period from Jan. 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016.
It is much better than last year鈥檚 break-even showing for the club. Helping matters considerably was the strong season for the North Stars at the box office.
Their first-place season drew increased attendance during the regular season and some playoff sellouts at the Civic Centre. The net playoff profit was $63,429.48.
Their other fundraising also did well, with the agricultural project reported as bringing in revenue of $108,905.94.
Board members were pleased with the showing and were looking forward to 2016-17.
The belief was the North Stars鈥� revenues ranked somewhere at or close to the top of the league and attendance also ranked among the top as well.
Those at the AGM meeting heard updates about what is happening with both the team and the league.
Team president Troy Slywka reported on league happenings. He said the league is 鈥渄oing quite well and everyone鈥檚 in good standing鈥� with all 12 teams in the league coming back. He reported Bill Chow has also agreed to remain as league president for another three years.
The schedule has been set, and the league Showcase will again be in Warman at the end of September.
The league will also be honouring 鈥淢r. Hockey,鈥� Gordie Howe, during the season.
Perhaps the biggest piece of news from the meeting is that 2017 will be the final year for the Western Canada Cup.
That news came from GM and Head Coach Kevin Hasselberg.
The event will go on in Penticton as scheduled next spring. What happens in future years is still not finalized, but Hasselberg said he is assuming the discussion is leaning towards going back to the old Anavet Cup/Doyle Cup format in future years.
The thinking is the old format is better for teams generating revenue from home playoff dates, and also for cutting down costs.聽聽聽聽聽
Hasselberg also spoke about what to expect with the North Stars next year in his report to the meeting.
In general, the coach expressed confidence. The indication from Hasselberg is that the North Stars are gearing up for another title run again.
The team has graduated eight players 鈥� seven heading to university or college. Six will be playing hockey next season, while Igor Leonenko has two pro camps coming up 鈥� one in Toledo with the ECHL and in the 麻豆视频ern Professional Hockey League.
But much of the roster is coming back, and a couple of 20 year olds have been added. Hasselberg said he hoped by the end of the week to have added three more 20 year olds.
Hence, said Hasselberg, 鈥渨e鈥檙e not committed to rebuilding or anything. We had a young roster last year, we fell short of our goals. Obviously, our end goal as an organization here is to put a banner up there that says 鈥榗hampions.鈥� So I think we鈥檙e well on our way to achieving that.鈥�
Hasselberg also noted some rule changes coming in to the league. A 3-on-3 format for overtime has been adopted during the regular season, which Hasselberg said will be great from a fan perspective. It remains a 5-on-5 format for overtime in the playoffs.
He also expects officials to come down hard league-wide on rough play and violence next season.
鈥淭he biggest thing is the protection of the players and eliminating the dangerous hits,鈥� said Hasselberg. He expected more checking from behind majors and checking from behind penalties, as well as a crackdown on hits to the head and or any type of fight.
