INNISFAIL – The Innisfail Eagles AAA senior men's hockey team has a new leader to steer the provincial champion squad into the future.
Following the team’s unsuccessful quest to win the Allan Cup last April in Ontario, the Eagles hosted their annual general meeting (AGM) on May 29.
There were many issues to discuss, and one of the most important ones was to officially announce key management changes, including the resignation of president Brian Spiller, who has stepped down.
Spiller, who was appointed club president in 2018, told the Albertan he is leaving the team to deal with family issues.
“I wasn’t able to give them (Eagles) 100 per cent and I don’t like doing anything that I can’t give 100 per cent,” said Spiller, adding he’s keeping the door open to return to the team in some capacity down the road. “Maybe sometime in the future I'll be back to help again. But right now, I don't have the time to do it.”
Kent Wing, the Eagles’ vice-president and director of operations, said the team has “nothing but respect” for Spiller and for what he did for the organization.
“(Spiller) got us through that hump of some difficult times, and he gave us good guidance the last few years,” said Wing, adding longtime team volunteer and historian Mike Bennett has also resigned after 32 years of loyal service.
“He decided to step away for personal reasons. I have the utmost respect for everything he did for this organization in the past 32 years. It’s been huge,” he added.
“There are big shoes to fill for both those positions.”
As for Spiller’s replacement, the club is bringing back Randy Graham as president; a role the longtime Eagle has held before.
Wing noted Graham, whose history on the team goes back to 2000 when he was a player, been on the board for the last 15 years and is committed to help the team move forward.
“It's awesome to see a guy like him stepping up and accepting the nomination to be our president,” said Wing, adding the Eagles will still be playing next year in the resurrected three-team AAA Chinook Hockey League. “Back around the time that Brian Sutter came to coach our club. Randy was our president then, so it's nothing new for him.”
With the 2023 Allan Cup now history, the team is setting its sights on a return to the national championship, which they desperately want to claim after two unsuccessful attempts in 2019 and 2023.
However, while April’s Allan Cup tourney was played this year in Dundas, Ont. and the host team is considering another bid for 2024, there is serious discussion within Eagles’ management to host it in Innisfail – if the conditions are right and Hockey Canada is willing to help with the finances.
“We have intention to host. We are hoping to put something together. We have a limited window on when that is going to be, whether it is the next year or two,” said Wing, noting Dundas did not have any financial support from Hockey Canada as that organization was stripped of federal funding that was linked to its handling of alleged sexual assault claims dating back to 2018.
However, in April the federal government announced it was restoring funding but it’s not known yet how this will impact senior men's hockey and the Allan Cup, which had long depended on Hockey Canada funding before it was frozen on June 22, 2022 by federal sport minister Pascale St-Onge.
“They (Hockey Canada) still haven't stepped up and said what's happening,” said Wing, adding if Hockey Canada ultimately decides not to support the Allan Cup the Eagles might have to go to Hockey Alberta as the sanctioning committee the team must deal with. “It is still up in the air until Hockey Canada rules on what is happening or not.”
