The owner of a junior hockey team in B.C. has decided to sell, citing current provincial health orders that have prevented his team from playing a single game for nearly a year.
Wes Mussio, owner of the Nanaimo Clippers BCHL team, announced on Facebook on Saturday night that he is putting the team up for sale and looking for a serious buyer.
“Time to pass the torch on the Nanaimo Clippers Junior A ice hockey team,” wrote Mussio. “With games suspended for one year now and Dr. Bonnie Henry giving the league no indication of any starting up this year, I see no path forward to any full return to normal in hockey.”
While NHL hockey has been allowed to resume play in B.C., other leagues such as the BCHL and WHL have been on hold for more than a year due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Mussio blamed the current NDP government for failing to provide financial support to BCHL teams and giving no clear indication as to when the league can resume play.
“The NDP has offered zero financial support to the suffering teams of the BCHL or for that matter, any hope of a full return to hockey for year(s),” he wrote.
Mussio, a personal injury lawyer in Vancouver who purchased the Nanaimo Clippers in 2017, said the new ownership group will need to be able to wait out the current restrictions.
“Nanaimo needs an ownership group who can wait out the PHOs,” he wrote.
The announcement that the Clippers are for sale comes days after a petition calling for the resumption of both the WHL and BCHL was launched by former NHLer Garry Valk.
Time to pass the torch on the Nanaimo Clippers Junior A ice hockey team. With games suspended for 1 year now and Dr…
Posted by Wes Mussio on Saturday, February 27, 2021
Youth mental health matters. Please help get BC kids back on the ice.
Please sign and retweet to get the message out before it’s too late!
Thank you for your support!🙏🙏 @GoBCHL @TheWHL
@BCHLSmokeEaters
Community Petition Platform
https://t.co/Ex9VjSErWO— Garry Valk (@garryvalk) February 26, 2021
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