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Golden Hawks reach deal for sale to Arsenault Hockey Group

June 20, 2019   ·   0 Comments

Written By JAKE COURTEPATTE

The Caledon Golden Hawks family just got a lot bigger.

The junior C club announced on Monday its sale to the Arsenault Hockey Group, joining the ranks of the junior A Brampton Admirals and the junior B Brampton Bombers.

In a press release, AHG President David Arsenault said the acquisition was “another piece in the AHG mandate of providing a vertical affiliation for hockey players aged 16 to 21.”

With the sale, Arsenault Hockey Group becomes what is known to be the only group in Canada to host teams at a junior A, junior B, and a junior C level.

“We are the only entity in Canada which provides the ability for this vertical movement,” added Arsenault.

In a move to relocate both of his teams to under the same roof, Arsenault moved the Orangeville Flyers out of their home of seven years to Heritage Memorial Arena in Brampton in 2018, maintaining their position in the junior A Ontario Junior Hockey League.

There they share the facilities with the junior B Bombers, who compete in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.

The division’s top brass have no plans in place to move the franchise: they made sure to establish early that the team will continue to compete in the Provincial Junior Hockey league, while maintaining residency in Caledon East Arena for the 2019-20 season.

The executive staff should remain fairly untouched, as well: Robin Inscoe returns as the Director of Hockey Operations, while the coaching staff will also be returning.

“I am very happy to reunite with one of the best hockey people I have dealt with in the past,” said Arsenault, referring to Inscoe. “Robin’s dedication to the various aspects of junior hockey are unmatched and I am excited to have him as the Director of Hockey Operations for the Golden Hawks franchise.

“We are also pleased to have GM Sandy Bell and Head Coach Stan Kondrotas staying on with the hockey team to ensure a seamless transition. We look forward to working with Sandy and Stan, and the Town of Caledon and their staff this season.”

Inscoe added his own pleasure in completing the deal.

“It’s great to be back working with David and his AHG team and help them develop a junior hockey model that is much different than the junior hockey community has seen in the past,” said Inscoe. “It’s our hope that players will be able to start and finish their junior hockey careers in one organization, allowing them to develop and to move up the ranks at their own pace, whether it be from the PJHL to the GOJHL or the GOJHL to the OJHL, and even in some cases from the PJHL to the OJHL.”

It is an innovative and not-often used model of framing a junior hockey organization, with affiliations between clubs of different leagues often being quite vague and mostly symbolic. Inscoe believes the acquisition of the Caledon club completes the model.

“I believe that the AHG team has the people in place to support Caledon in the areas that are needed, to help with scouting, sponsorship, and marketing strategies, helping to make them a force to be reckoned with in the Carruthers division year after year.”

The 2019-20 PJHL season is set to begin in September, with prospect camps held throughout the summer months.

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