AJHL Holds 2011 Annual General Meeting

Press Release

The Annual General Meeting of the Alberta Junior Hockey League was held on Saturday, May 14th in Red Deer, Alberta. In conjunction with the AGM, the AJHL also hosted the annual Coaches Meetings, Marketing Meetings and 2011-2012 League Scheduling Meeting.

A brief summary of the reports and decisions approved at the 2011 AJHL Annual General Meeting are as follows:

Attendance across the Alberta Junior Hockey League in the 2010-2011 AJHL Regular Season remained consistent with the previous year as over 357,000 fans attended AJHL games in the regular season.
The 2011-2012 AJHL Regular Season will consist of 16 teams playing an unbalanced schedule of 60 games apiece, including two regular season games at the 5th Annual AJHL Showcase. The AJHL Regular Season, consisting of 480 games, will officially commence on Friday, September 9, 2011 and conclude on Sunday, February 19th, 2012.
The 2011-2012 AJHL League Schedule will be announced on June 15th, 2011.
The 5th Annual AJHL Showcase Weekend will be held at the TransAlta Tri Leisure Centre in Spruce Grove, Alberta from September 29th - October 1st, 2011.
A committee, including a selection of team governors and coaches, was created to evaluate the reduction of team rosters, age restrictions within team rosters, and the League playoff format. Recommendations from the committee will be presented at the AJHL Semi-Annual Meeting in January 2012.
The AJHL will enter its second year of the Junior A Supplement Pilot Project. Five member leagues with the Canadian Junior Hockey League launched the pilot project at the start of the 2010-2011 season in partnership with Hockey Canada. The Junior A Supplement is an unprecedented joint effort of the CJHL to eliminate violence and bullying from Junior A hockey by addressing actions such as blows to the head, dangerous hits, accumulated major penalties, instigating and unnecessary fighting.
The AJHL Management Committee has expanded from two representatives per division to three. Al Doll (Canmore Eagles) will join Jim Ross (Olds Grizzlys) and Ken Morris (Calgary Mustangs) as the South Division Representatives. Darren Myshak (Spruce Grove Saints) will now represent the North Division alongside Ray Mildenberger (Grande Prairie Storm) and Don Sydora (Bonnyville Pontiacs) for the 2011-2012 AJHL Season.
The Alberta Junior Hockey League will continue to operate under the direction of Chairman Greg Wood and League President Craig T. Cripps. The Alberta Junior Hockey League staff currently includes George McCorry (Vice President, Officiating), Ryan Bartoshyk (Vice-President, Marketing), Charla Flett (Communications / Statistics), Kirk Lamb (Special Advisor) and Bob Clark (Special Advisor).
The 2012 AJHL Semi-Annual Meeting will take place in Red Deer, Alberta on January 14th, 2012.

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)