Big Lake Amateur Hockey Association becomes Junior Avalanche program

April 3, 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - For quite some time, Jamie Smith has held onto the idea of merging the local junior hockey franchise with a local youth hockey association.

Now the idea is becoming a reality.

The Big Lake Amateur Hockey Association is joining forces with the Alaska Avalanche Junior A hockey franchise, and now the youth association will be known as the Junior Avalanche program.

&#8220I've been trying to sell this concept for a long time,” said Smith, who last week was named the head coach and general manager of the Wasilla-based North American Hockey League franchise.

Smith and Avalanche director of hockey operations Keith Morris see this plan as twofold.

&#8220On the short term, this is going to be a big help building a relationship with the community - building a fan base,” Morris said.

But in the future the Avalanche organization sees this as a way to develop local talent into Junior A caliber players.

&#8220There are some outstanding young players in the Mat-Su Valley,” said Morris, a former coach and scout at the collegiate level. &#8220We want to give them a chance to be part of the development, help get them to the highest level of hockey they can achieve.”

The new Junior Avalanche program will include a variety of Tier II teams from the squirt to U-18 levels, and the association will also possess the Valley's lone U-18 Tier I squad.

This, Smith said, could evolve into something like a feeder program for the Junior A squad.

Smith's idea is to take about a dozen of the best high school players the Valley has to offer and putting them on a Tier I squad with five of the younger players on the Avalanche roster.

This squad would play a 20-30 game season that basically would be done by the time the prep pucks drop.

&#8220That's a 20 to 30-game head start,” Smith said.

Then, Smith said, the five younger Avalanche players would return to the Junior A level, and the Avalanche would also sign one or two high school players to play for the NAHL franchise.

&#8220That's going to be the carrot for those kids,” Smith said.

The Anchorage based Alaska All-Stars and the Anchorage North Stars have Tier I teams, squads intended for the top players in their age group.

Until now, the Valley's elite-level talent has had to make the commute to the Anchorage area to play on these top teams.

&#8220Hopefully seven, eight years from now the young players of the Mat-Su Valley will be able to play at the Junior A level,” Morris said.

Smith hopes to use the merger to also spark community interest. Each player in the Junior Avalanche program will have a season pass to Avalanche home games.

The organization will also stress the involvement of the Junior A players with the Junior Avalanche program.

The Avalanche players will help coach each youth team, Smith said. That will add to what is already an impressive list of youth coaches.

Joining Smith, the longtime head coach of the Houston High School program who led the Hawks to five state championships, is Morris, a former college standout and coach.

There is Eric Troisi, a longtime prep hockey coach in the Valley who once wore the green and gold sweater at UAA. Also on the list is Jake and Wade Williams, arguably to of the prep top players to play in the Valley.

The list also includes Valley hockey mainstays such as Paul Friese, Todd Wohler, Gordan Dietz, Shawn Hull and Tracy Link.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@

frontiersman.com.