NPHL Media

Gig Harbor, WA - The Northern Pacific Hockey League (NORPAC) announced today that the Tri-Cities Outlaws will be fielding a team for the 2012-2013 season. The Outlaws will be skating out of Toyota Arena in Kennewick, WA which already supports a large hockey community. Tri-Cities joins Eugene, Vancouver, West Sound, and Glacier in a regional junior hockey league that just finished its 11th season. "It's exciting to have a team back in Tri-Cities after a two year absence as that market is excellent for the development of the junior aged hockey player," expressed Flint Doungchak, Deputy Commissioner of NORPAC.
At the helm of the team will be local entrepreneur and experienced referee Jordan Owen, "We are excited to have NORPAC back in the community and we again have a place not only for the kids in this area to pursue junior hockey close to home, but also for kids around the region to have another place to play. Hockey is something that has been growing in this community for over 20 years and we want to keep developing skilled players."

Part of the USA Hockey Junior Program, the Outlaws will be looking for players between the age of 16-20 who are looking to play at one of the most elite levels of minor hockey with the aspiration of playing Tier I or Tier II  Junior or College. Tier III Junior hockey is generally held as an essential stepping stone for players looking to advance. Many of the players will still be in high school while practicing 15 to 20 hours a week both on and off the ice. "NORPAC was just a great fit. It's local, it's established and has a history of player advancement. It's just what this town needs for both its local player pool and for those players who come from all over the country seeking for a chance to learn and grow," said Owen when asked about why he chose NORPAC as the league to enter.

NORPAC players have enjoyed success in the NHL, Division I and Division III NCAA college as well as Tier I and Tier II Junior leagues in both Canada and the US. Fans of Tri-Cities can recall Spokane American's player Tyler Johnson who started in NORPAC and ended up representing the USA National Junior Team at the World Junior Championship. "NORPAC is full of stories just like this. Regional kid, local development, big time success," smiled Doungchak. "At a time when times are tough, yet people are looking at first class player development and exposure, NORPAC's grass roots, localized and focused strategy is best for players looking to develop and advance. In the end it's about getting on the ice to play and practice not traveling all of the western US to play."
 

Tri-Cities is part of the larger NORPAC plan to eventually serve cities in middle and eastern Washington and Idaho. Tri-Cities becomes the center of the league with a 350 mile radius. "Our farthest trip this year will be to Eugene, OR or Whitefish, MT. That's a reasonable travel length as education is also a priority for our franchise and the league. We can't ask our players to constantly skip class to play hockey or skip practice to ride on a bus. How's that help anyone?" remarked Owen, "If a player comes first doesn't that mean focusing on academic and physical development?"

Tri-Cities will hold its Evaluation Camp on May 25-26 and will have Main Camp on August 3-5 at Toyota Arena and begin its playing season in October.

For more information on the Outlaws, you can reach Jordan Owen via email at jowen88@clearwire.net. For more information on NORPAC visit www.norpac-hockey.com

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