It was a sad start to the final week of the regular season as the hockey world was given the news that long-time president of the British Columbia Hockey League passed away. Ron Boileau will be forever remembered for his dedication to the Junior A game that led him to spend countless hours running the BCHL from a makeshift office in his home.
A builder of the premier Junior A league in Canada, Boileau is also known as a founding father of the Canadian Junior A League. For 13 years he served as president of the BCHL and guided the league through many changes and periods of growth. The entire time staying firm on his desire to not only provide a respected venue to play hockey, but also to pursue educational goals.
Boileau touched many people, far too many to mention here, but safe to say that they include owners, coaches, players, officials, volunteers, fans and members of the media. When Prince George first approached the BCHL about the possibility of expanding into the heart of the province, it was Boileau that welcomed the idea and worked with the team to ensure a successful expansion of the League.
Although a few years removed as the president of the BCHL, Boileau's impact made it feel as if he was still pulling the strings and still guiding the league. Perhaps a fitting tribute to a man that really never left the game is to ensure that he is always associated with the league through the renaming of the championship trophy.
Currently known as the Fred Page Cup in honour of another junior hockey builder, the championship trophy could become known as the Ron Boileau Cup. Fred Page has his ties to the British Columbia Hockey League, but his biggest contributions were with the International Ice Hockey Federation. There is another Fred Page Cup in the CJAHL won in a round-robin tournament between the winners of the Central Junior A Hockey League, Maritime Junior A Hockey League and the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League. Changing the name of a championship trophy never comes without controversy.
Perhaps this time it would be a little easier to endorse given the amount of hard work and dedication that Ron Boileau extolled for the love of the game in the province that he called home to his last days.
Ron Gallo, the voice of the Prince George Spruce Kings, will be blogging the Interior Conference during the 2008/09 season. Check back often for Ron's insights into the latest news from the BCHL's Okanagan and Northern-based teams.
