Junior hockey set to return to Clinton for 2026/2027 season

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Junior hockey may be returning to Clinton (with the support of Central Huron Council) with the sale of the Goderich Flyers, formerly of the Provincial Junior Hockey League, now finalized.

 

Ryan Olmstead spoke to Central Huron Council at its Monday night meeting, asking for a letter of support for the establishment of a team in Clinton from council.

 

He detailed the history of the situation, saying that, earlier this year, the Goderich Flyers announced that it would be taking a one-year leave from Provincial Junior Hockey League play. After that decision had been made, the Flyers’ executive voted unanimously to explore future options, including the potential relocation of the team to Clinton, which he told councillors would help significantly with player recruitment, which is one of the problems that the team was facing when in Goderich.

 

“Given the longstanding success and strong fan support enjoyed by the Clinton Radars Senior AA team, we believe there is tremendous enthusiasm within the municipality for the return of competitive hockey to Clinton. We are confident that the community’s passion and support for junior hockey would be overwhelming,” Olmstead said in his letter to council.

 

The Clinton Radars enjoyed success and a passionate fanbase in the town for many years. However, the team took a leave for the 2022/2023 season and never did return to Western Ontario Athletic Association (WOAA) play.

 

Olmstead said he is unsure whether the team will play in Junior C in the Provincial Junior Hockey League (where the Flyers had played and the Wingham Ironmen currently play) or in Junior B in the Greater Ontario Hockey League, which, Olmstead said at the meeting, is looking to expand into southwestern Ontario.

 

“The establishment of a junior-level team in Clinton would bring significant benefits to the community, including increased arena utilization, enhanced community pride, economic situation for local businesses and new opportunities for local athletes to develop and compete at an elite level close to home,” Olmstead said in his letter to council. “The Central Huron Community Complex provides an excellent facility to support such an organization, both in terms of infrastructure and community accessibility.”

 

Facilities Manager Steve Duizer, at the Monday night meeting, said the only things, from an operational perspective, that would be needed would be dedicated ice time, which he said wouldn’t be a problem, and a dedicated dressing room. That, he said, would require a bit more planning and research, but that it wouldn’t be a problem either.

 

The hope, Olmstead said in his letter, would be for the team to be up and running in time to compete in the 2026/2027 hockey season.

 

Council expressed its support for the idea and for the return of competitive hockey to Clinton and passed a motion to pen the letter of support requested by Olmstead.