Elliot Lakers will see a familiar name again on the ice at Centennial Arena with the rebranding of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) Jr. A Red Wings to the Elliot Lake Vikings.
The league announced the rebranding Wednesday after a deal was struck with lifelong resident and former Viking hockey player Jef Jarmovitch to take over the team.
“The name Vikings is the first name that comes to mind when you think of junior A here in Elliot Lake,” Jarmovitch told ElliotLakeToday. “So when the opportunity came up to purchase the team it was a no-brainer for me. I partnered up with my mother Sue and we got the deal done.”
He played in goal for the Junior A EL Vikings from 1994 to 1996. Jarmovitch worked as an assistant coach with the Elliot Lake Wildcats prior to COVID and then as an assistant coach with the EL Red Wings for the last two years.
Chris Keleher is returning as head coach and GM for the upcoming season and Jarmovitch will be there again as assistant coach.
The Viking franchise was first started in the mid-1960s as a Junior B club and played under the same name for many years before becoming a Junior A club.
Since the rebranding was announced, Jarmovitch said, “The support and words of encouragement we’ve received in the last two days have been awesome. From Facebook posts, to businesses reaching out for sponsorship opportunities, it’s been great.”
“We’ve committed to support local businesses as the team has and will continue to purchase all or most of our products here in Elliot Lake,” he added.
The Vikings have signed a handful of new players and made a few trades as well as having some players returning from last season’s team.
“One of the newest additions is Connor Desbois who is a local player here who grew up playing his minor hockey in Elliot Lake,” Jarmovitch said.
The team is expecting to sign a few more players in the next few weeks.
The plan is to sell season passes for $200 plus HST and an announcement about the price game day tickets is also pending and will be posted soon on the team’s website currently being designed to be operational in a week.
“I’m also introducing a Junior Vikings club for children under 14 which will include a season’s pass and a Vikings T-shirt for $125 plus hst.”
The Vikings are also looking for billets and residents interested are asked to contact Erika Jarmovitch 705-261-0685 for more information.