Minor hockey players in the Tri-Cities, New Westminster and Burnaby will be able to attend Coquitlam Express games for free this season, as long as they’re accompanied by an adult.
The general manager of the BC Hockey League (BCHL) team hopes the initiative will eventually inspire some of those players to pull on an Express jersey.
And it’s been a busy off-season for Tali Campbell, who’s working to rebuild a roster depleted from its lineup in 2020 that won a regular season championship by graduations or players who moved on to other opportunities in leagues that continued to operate as the BCHL was shut by public health restrictions to limit transmission of the COVID-19 virus.
He’s rebuilding the team’s finances by reconvening talent identification camps across the province that also had to be scrubbed last summer, as well as reengaging sponsors and billets for their support.
And he’s rebuilding interest for an organization that’s been largely out of the public’s consciousness for more than a year because of the lack of access for fans when the league was able to play exhibition games last fall and a shortened season in five regional pods in the spring.
The latter, Campbell said, will be achieved at the grass roots, getting kids excited again about hockey and the Express after many became detached by a season away from the game as players and fans.
Opening the doors of the Poirier Sports and Leisure Complex to minor hockey players is one part in a five-step initiative that also includes:
- Hiring the team’s first minor hockey coordinator to liaise with local associations
- Assigning each of the team’s players to work with a minor hockey team
- Setting up a mentorship program for minor hockey coaches to get guidance from Express coaches
- Establishing a $5,000 scholarship fund to help families with financial struggles pay for hockey equipment or registration fees, as well as achieve academic goals
Campbell said it’s all about embedding the Express deep into the community.
“This is a no-brainer,” he said. “Let’s put our money where our mouth is.”
It’s a credo the 26-year-old general manager takes to heart.
In July, Campbell stepped up to helm the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association’s female district development program. He’s also the new president of operations for the Burnaby Lakers of the Western Lacrosse Association.
Campbell said the former is a natural evolution of his own interest in developing opportunities for female hockey players that includes a mentorship program with the Tri-Cities Predators.
The latter, however, raised some eyebrows when it was announced as Express owner Fayaz Manji lives in Burnaby and the team played at the Copeland Arena in that city while Poirier was undergoing renovations from 2005 to 2010.
Rather, Campbell said, the new relationship should help create synergies that could expand the reach of the Express to new fan bases while infusing the lacrosse team with new energy and ideas from the hockey side.
“We want to venture into New West and Burnaby as well as Port Coquitlam and Port Moody,” he said. “All those communities have potential to become Express fans.”
And if some of those younger fans grow up to become Express players, it will be a win-win.
“We’re creating memories,” Campbell said. “We want to make sure all the local players coming out of our area want to come play for the Express.”
The Express opens its main training camp Sept. 17 and the team plays its first regular season game Oct. 8, against the Surrey Eagles at the South Surrey Arena.
Campbell said he’s confident both of those will happen despite rising numbers of COVID cases in the province due to the proliferation of the highly infectious Delta variant. But he’s less certain how many fans might be allowed to attend.
“It’s a big concern,” Campbell said, adding the team has made it mandatory for all staff and players to be fully vaccinated.
