The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
A rule passed by Hockey Canada prevents local Midget aged kids from playing in Flin Flon with the Bombers. This includes exhibition games, as a few Midget aged players found out after attending the Flin Flon Bomber camp recently. On August 28, one day before the start of camp, all teams in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League were sent an e-mail, reminding them that: "any Midget aged player from outside Saskatchewan is not eligible to be carded unless an appeal is filed and the home branch approves the transfer. No out of branch midget aged player may participate in any exhibition game until an appeal is filed and a decision rendered". The rule is apparently K6-A, which falls under the jurisdiction of Hockey Canada. Flin Flon minor hockey had been granted an exception for any kids registered in Flin Flon Minor Hockey, but this does not include local kids who played for the Norman Midget 'AAA' Northstars, a regional team. "Obviously, parents and the players were upset about that," said coach Ryan Hoffman. "They were looking forward to being able to play, and weren't allowed to do so." Being in hot water already this offseason, Hoffman and the Bombers were in no position to allow the local kids to play. However, other teams in the Manitoba and Saskatchewan Junior League did apparently choose to ignore the memo, and allowed out of province kids to play. One of those kids was Jared Kissick, who was told by the Melfort Mustangs that he would be able to play through exhibition. He played in one contest, before the Melfort coaching staff sent him home, telling him that they had been unaware of the ruling. Jared, who was listed by the OCN Blizzard, did not want to play in the MJHL. He saw the SJHL and the scholarship tournament as a better chance to get noticed by NCAA schools. "We knew about the ruling," said Murray Kissick, Jared's father. "We hated it, but Jared did not want to play in OCN, he wanted to play in what we perceive as a better league. He knew he was coming back to play midget, but the ruling on exhibition games was a real blow." Midget kids from Flin Flon really get hurt. They can watch their friends from Creighton play, but can't put on the Bomber Burst themselves. Kissick feels that Midget aged players should be given the choice of where they want to play. If Jared would have made the final cut with the Mustangs, this would open up another spot on the Norman Northstars, thus allowing another player to develop and further their hockey career. "The ruling discourages kids from playing," said Kissick. "Let's not forget that each team is only allowed eight imports. How many Midget aged players are we talking about? The top Midget kids are playing in the WHL, which are not affected by the ruling. The next group of top midgets usually play in their own province, close to home. We must only be talking about less than 100 kids across Canada." Flin Flon, who chose to play by the rules, ended up looking like the bad guys when they told their local kids they couldn't play. "With the way things have gone this summer, I can't afford to test the waters," defended Hoffman. "If I do make a mistake, I seem to be punished to the full letter of the law without much mercy. We're surprised that nothing has happened to teams that broke the rule. It was our understanding that when you play an ineligible player, it has pretty severe consequences." SJHL president Laury Ryan explained that Flin Flon is in a very special situation because the fact that it lies on the border of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Flin Flon's Minor Hockey system falls under the Manitoba jurisdiction, but the Bombers play in Saskatchewan. "Quite frankly, I don't think Manitoba likes the fact that Flin Flon is playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League," suggested Ryan. "That creates a lot of difficult situations and requires a lot of cooperation on behalf of Hockey Manitoba. They aren't really serving their constituents very well. The people of Hockey Manitoba should be serving the people that are their members, and that would include the people of Flin Flon." Ryan went on to say that his predecessor Wayne Kartusch and the Saskatchewan Hockey Association have tried numerous times to gain a level of cooperation that would allow the Flin Flon Bombers a little more flexibility, including the use of local Midget aged players. There is an informal agreement that allows players registered right in Flin Flon to play, such as the Bantam or Midget 'AA' Bombers. "We haven't got a situation where the regional team, which would be the Norman Northstars, who are in reality, in part a Flin Flon team, do not have an agreement where those players, even if their principal residence is in Flin Flon, are able to participate freely," said Ryan. "The bottom line is really, when you look at the picture, there are people in Hockey Manitoba who are not willing to meet the needs of the Flin Flon residents." Residents of the Flin Flon hockey community are very cognizant of the rule, because it seems like the Bombers get burnt at every angle. "It's really an unfortunate situation," said Ryan. "We will as a league, carry this forward to our sports governing body, which is the Saskatchewan Hockey Association, and have them pursue Hockey Manitoba to create a stronger and more flexible working arrangement that meets the people's needs in that area." Although Ryan says that Melfort was wrong to play Kissick in an exhibition game it is unlikely that any further punishment will be handed down. "We're talking about preseason games," he said. "Who really cares if they forfeit their games or not? It is simply a situation where a coach was not aware of the rule, he was informed of the rule, and he didn't play him again." Hockey Manitoba's executive director, Peter Woods says that the entire situation goes back to Hockey Canada rule K6-A. He also added that he wasn't aware of any Manitoba teams breaking the rule. "We notified the teams in the MJHL right away that (playing out of branch Midget players) would be a violation of the rules," he said. "It might have been . . . from a position of ignorance, but just for clarification on our end, that those players were ineligible to participate." Woods circulated a memo to all other branches west of Manitoba to remind them of the ruling and ask for their cooperation. Woods also stated that the possibility of allowing Flin Flon Midget aged kids to play in Flin Flon has been discussed, but no agreement has been reached. "Flin Flon has certainly championed the cause in promoting their local players," said Woods. "I think Hockey Manitoba is sympathetic to that, but are working within the framework of the Hockey Canada rules, and have adopted the position that (these players) are branch members of Hockey Manitoba, and are not eligible to participate with another branch." See 'It' P.# Con't from P.# Hockey Canada created the rule in order to encourage players to stick closer to home until they finish school. Ironically, this is the same rule that prevents kids in Flin Flon from playing here until they graduate. "I don't know if that argument has been presented," said Woods. "I know there are a lot of issues there, and on the surface, I don't know if it is that simplistic." Flin Flon Minor Hockey President Greg Phair has been working with both Hockey Manitoba and the Saskatchewan Hockey Association for a number of years, and is optimistic that an agreement may finally be reached in the next couple of years. Last year, an agreement was reached that allowed kids from Creighton who were registered with the Norman Northstars to affiliate with the Bombers. This year, players registered in the Flin Flon Minor Hockey system are allowed to affiliate with the Bombers. Phair hopes that next year, or soon after, Flin Flon kids playing with the Norman Northstars will be allowed to play Junior Hockey in their home town. "Minor Hockey in Flin Flon has been tackling this one bite at a time," he explained. "We've had more success this way. The way it was handled before, there were letters going back and forth between Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Hockey Canada. Having Kim Davis in the MJHL has been a tremendous help, because he understands our situation. Hockey Canada has told the leagues to deal with it. It's not happening as quick as we like, but it is going to happen." Lloydminster is the only other team in Canada that falls on a border, but they do not have the same problem. All of their kids are registered in Alberta, and they play in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. For now, Flin Flon Midget aged players will have to be content to play in Thompson, some 400 kilometres from home, and put their dreams of donning the famous Bursting 'B' on hold.
