By SooToday Staff
SooToday.com
Monday, September 11, 2006

NEWS RELEASE

NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE

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The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) is pleased to announce that North Bay solicitor Wayne Stickland has been appointed as the new league commissioner, replacing Sault Ste Marie native Art Yeo.

A 35-year old alumni of the league, Stickland suited up for a year with the Powassan Passports in the early 1990s after spending the bulk of his minor hockey career within the North Bay Minor Hockey Association system.

He also spent a few years coaching in the minor hockey ranks in the 90's as well as playing one year of CIAU football at Concordia University. "I got involved with this league because I love the game of hockey", Stickland said Saturday after his appointment had been confirmed.

"My dad is a huge hockey fan and the Canadian tradition, Saturdays with Hockey Night in Canada and such, were clearly passed on to me from him." While Stickland had no previous involvement with any of the NOJHL teams since his playing days, the young lawyer is very candid in his assessment of becoming involved at this point in time.

"I would like to make a contribution to hockey in Northern Ontario", he stated. "The NOJHL is a strong developmental league…I want to strengthen and market that fact." Stickland enters his new role with a clear vision as to some of the direction he wishes to pursue as league commissioner.

"We have a very strong alumnus that we need to publicize. And the on-ice product is excellent. We need to find a way to make more people aware of that fact" he said. North Bay Skyhawks General Manager Guy Blanchard, a member of the internal league committee assigned the duty to come up with a successor to Yeo, was pleased with what the new face of the NOJHL will bring to the position.

"I think we have a commissioner who is a young entrepreneur, who is going to work very hard to make our league better", acknowledged Blanchard. "He is focused on areas that we as a league believe are important – the stability of all seven current franchises, the need to see expansion as an important issue, the search for increased sponsorship" said Blanchard, adding that he sees expansion as hopefully finding a way to add one more team.

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