Lacombe should have a hockey team. Of course, Lacombe already has minor hockey teams, but there hasn’t been a competitive adult hockey team in the City for years.
To the west, Bentley has a fantastic Senior AAA team, the Bentley Generals. To the north and south, both Ponoka and Blackfalds have teams in the Heritage Junior B Hockey league, the Stampeders and the Wranglers respectively.
In the past Lacombe has been home to a few teams that competed in a higher level of hockey. While it was a long time before the Lacombe Express existed, we have still heard about the Lacombe Rockets Senior Hockey team that was renowned in its day.
Before moving to Blackfalds, the Wranglers were also based in Lacombe. However, it has been years since there has been a team above midget level competing in this community.
There are people in Lacombe who wish to change that. Earlier this week, we received a letter from local resident Sandy Douglas that explored the possibility of bringing a new junior league team to the City. Due to space constraints in this week’s edition, we are unable to print the letter but would like to take this opportunity to discuss this possibility nonetheless.
To put it simply, this sounds like a fantastic idea. Lacombe could certainly support such a hockey team if one could be founded in the City once again.
In fact, many newcomers (and some not-so newcomers) to Lacombe have often wondered why there is no junior or senior team playing at the Lacombe Arena during the winters.
However, the community of Lacombe would have to do just that, support a team for this to become a reality. Luckily, it sounds like something residents, businesses and other organizations within Lacombe and area would be happy to get behind.
There is a current theme in Lacombe to grow and build the community to be the best place in Canada to live. Attracting a new hockey team would certainly be a step in that direction.
Douglas is currently inviting other interested individuals to discuss and “Start the puck moving” to organize a proposition to bring such a hockey team to Lacombe, hopefully by 2019. Anyone wishing to join the discussion can contact Sandy Douglas at 403-352-3376.