Blizzard Announce New Partnership

The Blizzard Junior ‘A’ Hockey Club of the MJHL, and the Town of The Pas, are announcing today that the team has signed a 3 year agreement to play out of the Roy H Johnston Arena, in The Pas.

“There has been a lot of chatter around the communities as our agreement with the GLMC ended this past season.  Despite offers to move the team out of the region, we were committed to accomplish our original goal when we took over the team – to keep a world class Junior team in the North, where we call home. We’re excited that we can keep our team here for our fans in our three communities, and in the North.  We are very grateful to the hard work of the staff of the Town of The Pas over the past months to create this deal.  We are also extremely thankful to the fans of our club from The Pas, Opaskwayak, and the entire region, who wanted to ensure that MHJL Junior A hockey continues to have a home in Northern Manitoba.” – [Blizzard official]

“With any move of this size, yes, we know there will be some challenges.  However, to us, the economic and community impacts of the team staying outweighs this, and I’m proud how our staff are committed to making this work to the best of our abilities.  So many communities without a Junior team wish they had this opportunity.  Our kids can still look up to a local Junior A program, which is a goal that many players from The Pas, Opaskwayak and the RM have had.  It should also be noted, that there are no new direct costs related to this deal that will come from the taxpayer.  This is an arrangement of in-kind support, which is best suited to our community’s needs.” – Andre Murphy, Mayor.

“We hope to continue to build relationships within the North, as we have so much talent emerging, that we’d love to have part of this club.   As we look to grow, we are exploring options on a restructure to a community-based, board-led organization.  Be on the look out for many new exciting announcements in the days to come.  Thank you fans from across the North, and all our volunteers, staff and sponsors.  Looking forward to an exciting up-coming season.” – [Blizzard official]

(Pictured – Mayor Andre Murphy and Ownership Usman Tahir)