A Letter from General Manager Burke

Dear Niagara IceDogs Fans:

It brings me much pain to write this note to the greatest fans in the OHL, but I want to start by saying, we will be back.

There is no doubt about it, this one stings. It stings for every single one of you who pours your heart out for this team night in, night out. It stings for every staff member who works long hours all season long to contribute to the success of this team every year. It stings for every player who worked their absolute hardest in pursuit of junior hockey’s greatest accomplishment and fell short.  Lastly, and perhaps mostly, it stings for myself, my brother and our family, as we feel we have let you down.

This past week and a half, since our exit, at the hands of a very talented Oshawa team have been the most trying of my career, and from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry. I am sorry that this season didn’t end the way we had hoped, but what I will never be sorry for is trying and failing. I would much rather look back knowing we did everything we could to give ourselves a chance to be champions, then to go ‘half in’ and wonder ‘what if’. I know in my heart we did that, and that is what Niagara IceDogs Hockey is. We will not be mediocre, our fans deserve more.

I am proud that this year’s team won our Second Central Division Championship in our 12 year history, I am proud of the scoring titles we won and the franchise records we set. Most importantly, I am proud of the amazing support the great fans in the Niagara region show this organization every game, every year.

Every season we strive to provide a winning culture for our athletes, and to be an organization that players want to be a part of. There is no doubt in my mind that we are at the top of the league in this regard and this is what we are defined by, as an organization. We are not, and will not be defined by 7 days in April. It is this championship striving culture that leads to my excitement for the future, and I assure you, now is the time to be excited again.

With our elite 2019 Draft Class, our deep prospect pool of players, our upcoming player signings, and our bona fide league stars who will be returning, 2019-20 is set to be an extremely exciting year for the Niagara IceDogs, and we cannot wait for the puck to drop in September.

I cannot thank you all enough for your continued support, you are the life-blood of this team and the reason we can continue to strive for greatness. I promise you we will be back, so get ready!

Go Dogs Go.

Sincerely,

Joey Burke
General Manager
Niagara IceDogs Hockey Club