Nor-Pac hockey franchise nearly done deal
Whitefish is a few administrative-hurdles away from being home to the Northern Pacific Hockey League's newest team — the Glacier Nationals.
Butch Kowalka, of Kalispell, who is attempting to purchase the ice hockey franchise, still has to meet with the Whitefish Parks Board, the city council and get final approval from the league after paying a franchise fee. Despite the web of red tape in front of him, he's confident there'll be a junior hockey team in Whitefish by the 2011-12 season.
"The biggest hurdle will be having the league say, 'You can have a team,'" Kowalka told the Pilot.
The Nor-Pac Tier 3 Junior B league features up-and-coming skaters between the ages of 16 and 20 who are looking to earn college scholarships or professional contracts. Players are housed with local families, which receive a stipend for providing food and transportation.
The Nationals will likely play at the Stumptown Ice Den if the facility is brought up to standards. An additional locker room will need to be added to accommodate the league's needs, and parking issues will have to be hammered out. Attendance to Nor-Pac games in Missoula and Helena typically runs around 1,000, and Kowalka hopes to average at least half that in the first season.
While the games will be played here, Kowalka went with the moniker Glacier Nationals in an effort to give the franchise "county-wide appeal." He didn't want to peg the team as strictly a Whitefish endeavor.
"This will be the best hockey played all across the Flathead, period," Kowalka said.
It's his hope residents from Kalispell, Bigfork and Columbia Falls will travel to Whitefish for evening games. To address parking concerns, Kowalka is looking at a bus system from downtown to the Ice Den. Spectators will be dropped off in the heart of Whitefish after a game and hopefully spend their money in local restaurants and bars.
"This team will be a real positive to community," he said. "It can be a good revenue source and attraction to downtown."
KEEPING LOCAL TALENT
Kowalka played hockey at Ohio State University in the late 1980s, so he knows well the obstacles young skaters must overcome to make it to the collegiate and semi-pro level.
As a coach in Kalispell and with the Whitefish Avalanche squirts, he often sees many promising skaters hitting dead ends without the necessary "next step" available locally to propel their careers.
"Anytime we've had local talent, they've had to leave here," Kowalka said. "Kids who graduate from the Glacier Avalanche, that's the end of their career, and they go to the local men's recreation league. They have no idea at 17 years old if they're going to blossom."
The passageway he wants to build for local skaters will take them from the midget league to the Tier 3 level, and then on to college or a semi-pro team.
"That's the long-term path I'm trying to establish," he said. "The missing link is a Tier 3 team."
There isn't an abundance of local talent now that can play at the junior level, he said, but the addition of the Nationals will bolster the Glacier Avalanche and Kalispell Flames farm systems. He notes that other cities that have brought in junior teams have seen a dramatic boost in their midget league's skill level.
"The talent level has exploded in Bozeman," he said, referring to the introduction of the Ice Dogs junior team in the mid-1990s.
For now, Kowalka will likely recruit players from the Midwest near his roots in Toledo, Ohio, and in California. He hopes that in a few years about a quarter of the roster will be local skaters.
"Ten years from now, I hope my own kids play on this team," he said. "Or that they're good enough to go right past me.
"I'm trying to do something for the betterment of my kids and my friends' kids, and that's a positive benefit to the community's youth."
ABOUT NOR-PAC
The Nor-Pac league currently features 11 teams and two divisions.
The Nationals will join the America West division, with the Billings Bulls, Bozeman Ice Dogs, Butte Roughriders, Helena Big Horns, Missoula Maulers and Yellowstone Quake. An expansion team from Great Falls will also join that conference in 2011. The league is looking to expand to 14 teams by 2014.
Nor-Pac skaters pay between $5,000 and $6,500 to play in the league. This provides them with the high-level coaching and amenities needed to make it to the next level, the league suggests. They point to former National Hockey League star Mario Lemieux, who played in the junior ranks before going pro.
The 48-game regular season starts in late September and ends in February. Almost all games are played on Friday and Saturday evenings. Teams play a mid-season tournament called 'showcases' that are attended by top college and pro scouts. Playoffs take place in March, with a national championship in early April.