THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Kings U-18, U-16, and U-15 teams were officially welcomed to the Greater Toronto Hockey League on Nov. 12.
The night included welcome packages for each player, a mini media day, and a ceremonial puck drop to kick things off.
“Obviously the Kings have been pretty well known around Thunder Bay, but to kind of take it to another level, I think, for our teams to be able to join one of the best leagues not only in North America, but the world, is a significant step for Thunder Bay Hockey,” said Jeff Ricciardi, U-18 head coach,
“And the exposure that our kids will keep getting as we move forward in that league is an incredible part of this whole process.”
The ceremonial puck drop included speeches from the GTHL’s chief operating officer and executive director Scott Oakman and Thunder Bay Kinds Hockey president Michael Power.
The Kings played their first games in the league on the weekend of Nov. 12, and will travel to Toronto biweekly, an added cost that’s not quite as steep as some would think.
“There was a lot of budgeting done behind the scenes and the board has done an incredible job with a couple of partnerships, so the cost is still significant, but it isn’t a dramatic increase from what was happening before,” said Ricciardi.
In the first of seven weekend trips for the Thunder Bay teams, each team played four games. The U-15 Kings posted three ties and a loss. The U-16 Kings had four losses, while the U-18 Kings had two wins and two ties. Ricciardi is hopeful about the teams’ chances against such good competition moving forward.
“This is a very good team here in Thunder Bay, I think at every different level we will have a good chance to compete,” Ricciardi said.
“I think that’s the ultimate goal, especially in our first year, is to give our best and to take advantage of what we’re being offered.”
Thunder Bay Kings GTHL weekends:
- Nov. 12-14
- Dec. 3-5
- Dec. 17-19
- Jan. 7-9
- Jan. 28-30
- Feb. 11-13
- Feb. 25-27
