The Grande Prairie Storm is brewing up a pre-season stew to serve the Prince George Spruce Kings for the start of the junior A hockey exhibition season in the Alberta city, Aug. 31.
The Storm, a team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, will also move into Prince George for a two-game set at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, Sept. 2 and 3, in what will be the Kings' final preseason tests before they begin their 22nd season in the B.C Hockey League.
Fourteen of the Spruce Kings' first 18 games this season will be played at home, including their opening games against the Merritt Centennials in Friday, Sept. 9, and a date with the Penticton Vees on Saturday, Sept. 10.
In January and February, the last two months of the regular season, the Kings will be on the road for 18 of their final 22 games. Kings general manager Mike Hawes explained why there is such as discrepancy in the team's schedule, with 14 of their 30 home dates happening the first two months of the season and the bulk of their 30 road games late in the season.
The motivation was strictly financial. The community-owned team needs the revenue it will receive from home games and its show home lottery to pay the travel, accommodation and meal costs when the Kings leave the city for road games.
"We definitely wanted it to be home-heavy at the start and a lot of that has to do with trying to schedule in conjunction with when we have funds coming in when we're selling show home tickets," said Hawes.
"For us to be on the road a ton in September and October is a significant expense with not a lot of money coming in at that time. For that reason, we went a little home-heavy at the start and road-heavy at the end to pay those road trip bills. It isn't cheap in this league to be on the road.
"It is a business and you have to make smart business decisions. I think we'll be fine, our fans are loyal and they understand we are the furthest (most northerly) outpost of the league so we have to try to accommodate scheduling for teams that travel into Prince George. Sometimes it's easier for them travel in September or October than January or February."
Show home lottery tickets will go on sale November 1. The lottery is usually a sellout, annually providing more than half of the team's operating budget.
Training camp is only about five weeks away, with players expected to report to the team on Thursday, Aug. 25.
Starting in September, the Kings will introduce a new high performance youth skill development program, a series of 10 on-ice practice sessions taught by Kings associate coach Adam Maglio and assistant coach Ryan Howse.
Two age groups will be eligible. Players born 2006-2008 start their program on Sept. 12, with instruction offered Monday mornings until Nov. 21. The older group, players born 2003-2005, starts Sept. 14 and will meet on Wednesday mornings until Nov. 23. The one-hour sessions start at 7 a.m. each day.
The Spruce Kings hockey school begins Aug. 8 with the first of three five-day sessions at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena. The team is also offering the school, Aug. 15-19 and Aug. 22-26. For more information on registration call, 250-564-1747 or go to sprucekings.bc.ca.
Hawes said the team continues to press city staff to provide a better public address system at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena. There are dead zones in the municipally-owned building where announcements made during games cannot clearly be heard.
"We know lot of our fans and people who attend our games aren't happy with the sound system and it is something we've addressed with the city," said Hawes. "I've been told by the city they are going to be looking at that issue this summer and will remedy it hopefully by the start of our season."
