Cloverdale is getting a new hockey team.
The as-yet-unnamed franchise will begin play this fall in the Pacific Junior Hockey League’s (PJHL) 2025-2026 season. The club will play in the Jr. "A" Tier 2 league as the B.C. Hockey-sanctioned league splits into Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams for play next season.
Ronnie Paterson, founder and partner of the White Rock Whalers, and new owner of the Cloverdale team, said he is excited at the prospect of hitting the ice this fall and excited for the community.
“It’s great for the league, but it’s even more important for the community,” Paterson told the Cloverdale Reporter. “With the growth and development that Cloverdale's experiencing, I think the team's going to be a tremendous fit.”
Paterson, who will remain a co-owner of the Whalers, said the short travel time between franchises in the area “opens up” the opportunity for some good rivalries.
“It's a great fit and it's going to give a lot of kids a great opportunity to develop their skills, not only on the ice, but off the ice as well."
He said partnering with organizations in the community, which includes the Cloverdale Minor Hockey Association (CMHA) is very important to the franchise.
“We're very much about developing alliances within the community, particularly with minor hockey,” he added. “We want it to be an extension of what they do in the community. Minor hockey is an integral part of what we try to do in developing our athletes. So, we plan to work extremely close with minor hockey in Cloverdale.”
A familiar face will head up the Cloverdale organization. Brien Gemmell has been named GM and director of hockey ops. Gemmell, the former White Rock Whalers head coach, coached in CMHA for years and is the athletic director at Lord Tweedsuir Secondary School.
Adam Rossignol and Royce Rossignol have been named HC and AC, respectively.
Paterson said he hired all three of them a couple of years ago to come into White Rock and help build the franchise. And he was very impressed with them.
“Brien has a passion for the game that really resonates with me,” he explained. “And the Rossignol Brothers have a level of commitment to the game that is very high. They both played at an elite level.”
He said all three will be important to the Cloverdale team as it gets going. He said they will help to make the program competitive from the start.
According to a PJHL release, the new franchise marks the return of Jr. "A" hockey to Cloverdale for the first time since the late ’70s. The Cloverdale Cowboys played in The Barn (Cloverdale Arena) in the old West Coast Junior Hockey League from 1977 to 1979.
In their first year, the team will play as the “Cloverdale Junior Hockey Club.” The plan is to get the community involved in finding a name for the team.
“Fans will have the opportunity to help shape the team’s permanent identity through public voting—a celebration of community ownership and spirit,” the release noted.
The Cloverdale Junior Hockey Club will play out of The Barn for its first two seasons and will open the 2027-2028 season at the new Cloverdale Sport and Ice Complex currently being built on the north end of the Fairgrounds.
The team’s website will be cloverdalejuniorhockey.ca. Its social handles will be: Facebook @CloverdaleJuniorHockey, X.com @CloverdaleJr, and Instagram @CloverdaleJuniorHockey.
