Navy Vets on a strong rebound
By Mark Schadenberg
Junior hockey in Woodstock appears to be on a revival.
After struggling for the past few winters in keeping (pun
intended) Junior C afloat (pun intended) locally, the Woodstock Navy Vets have
established a strong executive for the 2013-14 season.
A non-for-profit organization of local hockey-minded people
will be spending the next few months preparing for a new season after the need for
a new background base was made necessary after sponsor Darren DeDobbelaer decided
to place his focus on re-introducing Junior B hockey to Brantford as an
executive member of the new 99ers Jr B squad in the Bell City. You must
understand that DeDobbelaer has also backed the Simcoe Storm Junior C club for
a number of years and all involved in hockey locally would be quick to admit
there’s a conflict in having one person as a voice on two teams in the Niagara
Junior C West loop. (http://www.simcoereformer.ca/2013/03/25/brantford-team-to-complement-simcoe-storm
)
DeDobbelaer has a strong financial background in golf
courses, including the Ingersoll club 18-hole layout, and insurance. (Search:
BrokerLink)
Back in 1966-67 – my first winter in Woodstock and still wearing
baby booties – the junior hockey Navy Vets made its debut after previously competing as a
juvenile team. The Oxford County Naval Veterans Association and a hockey
committee led by Sam Keeping (the above pun), began icing junior clubs under the
Navy Vets moniker. It didn't take long to climb the ladder as future (current) Woodstock mayor Pat Sobeski was a member of a 68-69 provincial champion squad.
Way back when, Woodstock did have other junior teams,
including the Eureka Clippers, and 1950’s Warriors featuring Bobby Hull and
Walter Gretzky.
The true recent (?) dynasty of the Navy Vets coincided
with my years as sports editor of The Sentinel-Review with Dave Bogart as head
coach, John Thornton as an assistant coach, and GM John Jensen. Sharon Taylor,
Wayne Bertrand, Teddy Gilbert and Jim Morrison are four more names I quickly recall.
The Vets played at the antiquated Perry Street Arena then.
There have been some good clubs since then and many
dedicated area people – Jamie McLellan, Jeremy Lambert, Danny Dukes, Bert
Cowell, Dean Vollmershausen, Terry Empey, Scott Chahley, Bill Mayes, Jim Taylor . . . . -- but
no squad good enough to compete for a possible OHA title (Schmaltz Cup).
Read the link below from The Sentinel-Review, but this
new core or consortium led by club president Devon Young, is a strong framework
for the future along with Trevor Rose as general manager, and Frank Mueller as
head coach.
The bottom line is that the Navy Vets season this past year
ended on Feb. 9. You can’t attract players to a program and thereby develop
young (another pun) talent without a foundation. At the same time, ice time has
to be paid for and equipment purchased, so this group has a lot of work on the
horizon.
April 27
On Saturday, April 27 at 7:15 p.m. the current Navy Vets roster will skate against the Woodstock firefighters in a benefit game. With local people steering the ship, now is the time to get on board !
April 27
On Saturday, April 27 at 7:15 p.m. the current Navy Vets roster will skate against the Woodstock firefighters in a benefit game. With local people steering the ship, now is the time to get on board !
http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2013/04/15/a-new-local-ownership-group-has-taken-over-the-woodstock-navy-vets
Mark
Schadenberg
Sales
Representative
Royal
LePage Triland Realty
757 Dundas
St, Woodstock
www.wesellwoodstock.com
(519) 537-1553,
cell or text
Email:
mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter:
markroyallepage
Discussion
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