Northern Maine is getting its 1st junior hockey league

Presque Isle will soon join the junior hockey ranks when a new team claims The Forum as its home ice.

The Presque Isle Frontiers will launch this fall, owned by Chris Reaves of Raleigh, North Carolina, founder and owner of Outrival Sports and BladeEdge Ventures.

The team’s debut will be a first in Aroostook County. Presque Isle has had strong hockey programs with both the Wildcats high school team and Presque Isle Youth Hockey, but has never delved into higher-level junior leagues. It’s also the first Maine team for the National Collegiate Development Conference, a 31-team division which strives to prepare players for college-level play.

One goal is to bolster existing hockey programs, said Tyler Brown of Presque Isle, the team’s business operations manager. Organizers have already talked with SAD 1 Athletic Director Mark White and youth hockey leaders.

“This is not to compete with the high school. This is to augment the local programs and offer a different level, and we will cooperate with Presque Isle Youth Hockey as well,” Brown said. “This is all about our players being connected to the community and building and growing the sport.”

The idea started brewing in October, he said. Hockey has been a popular draw, and the Forum’s ice is underused at times, so introducing a junior league team will benefit the venue and the community.

The tuition-free program attracts players from all over the U.S. and Canada, as well as other countries, said Reaves, who owns 11 hockey teams from Casper, Wyoming, to Wisconsin and Vermont, and now New Brunswick and Maine.

The Frontiers are one of five new teams debuting this fall in the National Collegiate Development Conference. Four are in Canada: The Woodstock Slammers, which Reaves also owns; Quebec Universel in Quebec City; and as-yet-unnamed teams in Eastern Charlotte and St. Stephen, New Brunswick.

Players are 15 to 20 years old and are billeted with host families throughout the season.

So far feedback has been positive, Reaves said. He visited Presque Isle several weeks ago and found the area to be passionate about sports with a lot of local pride.

Reaves is excited about the new team not only because he loves hockey, having played himself and watched his son play, but because he wants to see young people strive for excellence.

“My desire is to see that they’re becoming the best version of themselves on and off the ice,” he said. “I believe strongly that as you develop athleticism, it translates into your relationships, into your link to society and the way you function.”  

He wants to see the Frontiers inspire local youth to develop their skills.

Erik Caladi of Slovakia will coach the team. Caladi, 37, a retired professional player who most recently coached the Slovakian team HC Nove Zamky, will move to Presque Isle and will bring considerable expertise to the players, Reaves said.  

The Frontiers will be a Tier II team, which is the second rung of the junior hockey ladder for elite players, according to the North American Hockey League. While Tier III teams play in their own region, Tier II players compete nationwide. Tier III is the top amateur league.

It costs an average of $500,000 per season to run a Tier II hockey team, Reaves said. Since it’s tuition-free, funding comes from ticket sales and sponsorships.

Since home ice at The Forum won’t start until October, Reaves plans to bring players to Wyoming to play with another of his teams, the Casper Warbirds, and some other league organizations.

The season will run from October through March and will consist of 24 home and 24 away games.

The goal is to keep prices affordable, said Joseph Iorio, vice president of in-game operations for Outrival Sports. Tickets will cost $15 per game for adults, $12 for seniors 60 and older and $10 for youth 18 and under.  

Season tickets will also be sold, which offer a discount over per-game prices.

It takes a community to make a successful youth hockey team, Reaves said. Besides looking for host families for the players, he anticipates offering both paid and volunteer positions, including one as the team mascot. A booster club is also being formed.

For information, contact Brown at pifrontiers@gmail.com or call 207-473-8639.

The Forum welcomed the Frontiers in a recent social media post.

People are also looking forward to hosting the players in Presque Isle, Brown said, adding there’s a double benefit: the team will pay The Forum for use of the ice, which will bring revenue to the city.

And in a region that craves entertainment close to home, he thinks the Frontiers will become a draw.

“The hockey community has been very excited,” he said. “We’re bringing a sports and entertainment option to northern Maine, and people won’t have to travel that far for that entertainment. It’s all about the experience.”