The Nipigon Elks of the Lakehead Junior Hockey League (LJHL) unveiled a partnership Wednesday with the Black Bear Sports Group.
Elks Head Coach and General Manager Malcolm Sutherland said this is a unprecedented opportunity for his players.
“[The agreement] reaches a little bit beyond our region, and even outside of our country,” Sutherland noted. “A lot of our players are looking for that experience to know what it is like to move to the next level, to go to an open training camp and to try their skills against an entirely new group of players.”
The group includes former NHLer Keith Primeau, who is now the current president of hockey operations for the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League (USHL).
Sutherland noted the work on the idea with Primeau recently picked up within the last week or two.
“We have discussed this [venture] in the past, and I have been lucky to work with him on a big project for a number of years around preventing concussions and serious head injuries in our sport,” said Sutherland. “I just reached out to him and leveraged that relationship and asked him.”
On May 30, the Current River Storm announced an affiliation with the Thunder Bay North Stars, while the Thunder Bay Bandits have a similar agreement with the Kam River Fighting Walleye.
In terms of preparing for 2022-23, Sutherland said most of their players will be returning, which may give them an advantage on the four other clubs in the league.
When asked about the Storm joining the league, he said, “it provides another opportunity for players to continue to play. Our organization, the Nipigon Elks, supported their entry. It’s going to be challenging for them to fill a squad and be competitive but I think that they have the right people in place and we are glad to have them involved.”
The team will unveil its leadership group later this summer along with details about their training camp.
