The Flin Flon Minor Hockey Association has a new president after a close vote at last week’s annual general meeting.
Scott Eastman was victorious with 15 of 29 votes cast, with 14 going to Darin Mansell.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Eastman. “I’m happy that I won but sad that we’re losing a guy like Darin Mansell off the board.”
Eastman will take over the reins from now past-president Travis Rideout for the 2015-16 season.
Eastman says he’s pleased with the direction of the board and doesn’t see any changes that need to be made just yet.
“There’s nothing I would like to see changed,” he said, saying the board is going in a positive direction. “It’s a matter of keeping our eye on the prize, so to speak. But as for major changes, no, I don’t have anything [right now]. I think we’ve been doing it right.”
Enrollment
Aside from getting more players to enroll in hockey, Eastman hopes to see more players stick with the sport.
“We’ve increased the numbers and [now] we have to look at how to keep the kids in [hockey],” said Eastman, a father of two hockey players.
Campaigns like last season’s equipment giveaway helped to increase interest in the sport, which Eastman says is in the right direction.
Furthermore, the league had a high school hockey division, replacing a midget program this past season.
Five teams from Creighton, Flin Flon, Pelican Narrows and Cranberry Portage competed in an effort to generate more interest in hockey among teenagers.
Eastman says Cranberry Portage used to have a strong hockey program at the high school level, but it has since fallen by the wayside.
“The high school league…came through,” said the new president. “We were very impressed with a lot of the kids who had played previously and then suited back up.”
It’s too early to say, but Eastman hopes to see the program run again in the future.
“I’m hoping in some way, somehow we’ll be keeping that going.”
