Summerland council supports return of junior hockey to community

The District of Summerland council has officially endorsed a proposal to bring junior hockey back to the community.

Terry Rolston, a longtime Summerland resident and spokesperson for a group of about a dozen local business and property owners, announced in June that efforts were underway to re-establish a junior franchise after the Summerland Steam relocated to Williams Lake in March 2024.

Speaking to Mayor Doug Holmes and council earlier this month, Rolston shared that plans for a new expansion franchise in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) are progressing well.

The Steam competed in the KIJHL for a decade. Rolston, also a former president of the Summerland Minor Baseball Association, Summerland Minor Hockey Association, and the Okanagan Mainline Hockey Association, emphasized the void the Steam’s departure left in the community.

“When the Summerland Steam left and went to Williams Lake, I think it left a big hole in our community,” said Rolston. “We are one of the few communities that have an arena that could support a junior hockey team in southern BC that does not have a junior hockey team now.”

The proposed new team would operate as a non-profit, community-owned junior B team, keeping all revenue and benefits within Summerland.

This structure, said Rolston, would ensure local player development and long-term franchise stability.

“I think one of the things that needs to be addressed is the fact that all the previous junior hockey teams in Summerland were all owner-based teams,” he said. “There would not be an owner, other than the society that we are forming to run the team.”

The plan includes selling 300 memberships at $1,000 each to cover the expansion fee and startup costs.

Rolston noted that after the BC Hockey League left the Canadian Junior Hockey League three years ago, opportunities for local players diminished. A KIJHL team would help fill that gap.

The group is already working in cooperation with the Summerland Minor Hockey Association.

“We’re not here to steal ice from Summerland minor hockey,” Rolston said. “We’re here to work in co-operation … and provide a pathway for our children, our players, to develop.”

Rolston asked council for a formal endorsement to include with the expansion application, as well as a commitment for practice and game ice time. “We need a commitment to work together with the recreation department to make sure that the ice allocation happens,” he said.

The KIJHL is planning to restructure into Tier I and Tier II divisions, and Summerland’s proposed team would begin as a Tier II franchise. Rolston said this would foster collaboration with nearby Tier I teams such as the Princeton Posse.

“This would create a pathway for our players to go from Tier II to Tier I and then hopefully on to the Western Hockey League and the new Penticton Vees.”

He also noted the need for upgrades to the Steam’s former dressing room. “We’ve got enough people together who would help us do that. We just need your permission.”

The goal is to launch in time for the 2026–27 season. A board will be formed once enough memberships are sold, followed by the hiring of a head coach and staff. A spring training camp is planned for April, with the main camp in August.

The KIJHL has agreed to allow the $225,000 expansion fee to be paid over time. Council voted unanimously to endorse the proposal and allocate ice time consistent with what the Steam previously received.

Rolston said the team name has yet to be decided, but hinted at “Jets” to align with local minor hockey branding.

“We want to make this a truly community-based team,” he said. “The idea is not for any one person or anybody to make a profit.”