With all the excitement in Alberta over the AJHL and BCHL, not much is being mentioned about the NJHL or the Hockey Genius Derek Prue. That is until now.
TJHN has learned from multiple sources that the Hockey Genius Derek Prue may be using a “front man” and attempting to gain entry into the AJHL. Crazy right? To think that the AJHL would allow the Hockey Genius into their legitimate league is like believing one of his teams could get kidnapped by a UFO mid season.
TJHN can confirm that an application to join the AJHL has been submitted for the city of……wait for it……wait for it…Lac La Biche.
Yes, it was just a few weeks ago that the Hockey Genius announced Lac La Biche as an NJHL expansion team and that the league had a three year lease with the building.
Suspiciously missing from the NJHL’s release about the Lac La Biche agreement is the mention of any ownership group or management team. Crazy isnt it? Why would Lac La Biche sign a three year agreement with any league without mentioning who the owners are?
If the NJHL has a three year agreement, then why would an application for membership be made for a franchise in Lac La Biche? Is the arena seeking to own and manage an AJHL team? Maybe it is the city itself looking to own and manage a team.
It wasn’t two weeks ago that Derek Prue talked to the local press about how great this program in the NJHL would be. With Lac La Biche already hosting a Canadian University team, and multiple sheets of ice, it is not as though multiple teams cannot survive in the city.
What is highly questionable is the amount of available billet families there will be available. Given the failed revival of Junior B hockey in Lac La Biche just two years ago, who from the local area is going to be willing to risk involvement with anything Prue has set up?
I wonder if the other “owners” in the NJHL knew or know anything about this before reading this article today? Surely the Hockey Genius wouldnt screw over his business partners.
One thing is for sure though; if the AJHL gets a sniff of Derek Prues involvement, any application will be dead on arrival.
Stick around, we have more great NJHL coverage coming soon.
