The Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) are delighted to announce the organization’s most wide-ranging partnership with Brooks Minor Hockey (BMH) in franchise history.
The new agreement will see BMH teams adopting a new “Junior Bandits” moniker, the Bandits’ home opener serving as a minor hockey fundraiser, Bandit players assisting local minor hockey teams, and free tickets being provided to minor hockey tournament players.
“We are pleased to be working with Brooks Minor Hockey in this new capacity,” said Bandits general manager and head coach Ryan Papaioannou. “This is the closest partnership both organizations have ever had and it will serve the interests of young hockey players in our community.”
“Brooks Minor Hockey is excited to have the Brooks Bandits teaming up with our organization,” said BMH director Scott Good. “As we worked through the details, it only made sense to have one of our major sponsors be our local Brooks Bandits.
“We have two community-minded organizations that work to develop kids through hockey,” Good added. “Brooks Minor Hockey is committed to our community and feels that a strong working relationship with the Bandits will be beneficial to all kids.”
Brooks Junior Bandits
BMH teams will be changing their teams’ jersey style and logo to represent this new relationship with the local Junior A team.
The new “Junior Bandits” logo was designed by Matthew McElroy, who also designed the Bandits’ charity ALS jersey and current third jersey. It retains a unique identity for Brooks’ minor hockey teams while adding the characteristic “Bandit” character to the centre of the logo.
Use of the new logo by local minor hockey teams will be phased in over the next three years.
BMH Bandits Home Opener
For the next three seasons, the first regular season Bandits home game of each season will be known as the “BMH Bandits Home Opener.”
The game will serve as a significant fundraising opportunity for Brooks Minor Hockey, while also allowing both organizations to showcase the new partnership and rebrand of BMH to a capacity crowd.
The tradition will begin with the Bandits’ 2015 home opener on Saturday, September 12th against the Canmore Eagles at 7:00 PM at the Centennial Regional Arena.
Bandits for BMH
The new “Bandits for BMH” program will see participating minor hockey teams assigned Bandit players to assist their coaching staffs for the duration of the season.
These Bandit players will attend practices, home games, and occasional road games, subject to their team schedule, and assist the coaching staff to help add value for players.
Both organizations look forward to the relationships that will be fostered between Bandit players, local coaches, and local minor hockey players who will establish a season-long partnership with their assigned players.
Tickets for Tournaments
Extending the Bandits’ existing relationship with local minor hockey tournaments, the organization will now offer free tickets to every participating player in a local tournament that coincides with a Saturday night Bandits home game.
Through this, both organizations hope to give parents and players from out of town an extra activity to highlight their visit to Brooks, at low cost, while also ensuring local players are given every opportunity to watch their local team defend home ice.
It will also add to the benefits that BMH is able to offer to participating teams that travel to Brooks for these events.
Bandits Honourary Captain
For every home game over the course of the next three seasons, one lucky Brooks Minor Hockey player will have the honour of skating onto the ice with the Bandits and being announced as a member of the starting lineup as the Bandits’ “Honourary Captain.”
Further details on selection of the local player and other elements of the role will be announced as the season approaches.
New Relationship, New Opportunities
“We are proud that Brooks Minor Hockey is adopting a rendition of our logo, which will show how close this partnership truly is and give the “Bandit” brand more recognition throughout the province,” Papaioannou added. “There is also a tremendous opportunity for our players to work with minor hockey teams, creating relationships with young players and learning mentorship skills.
“It was a seamless process working with the Brooks Minor Hockey board to put this partnership in place, and we are looking forward to our home opener with them and years of positive collaboration to come,” he concluded.
Season Tickets for the Bandits’ 2015-16 campaign are on sale now! Reserve your great seat for all 2015-16 games, get the first crack at seats for the 2016 Playoffs, have a chance at great prizes, and more! More information is available at tickets.brooksbandits.ca.