A significant moment in hockey took place on Thursday at Meridian Centre, where the Niagara Ice Dogs hosted their inaugural town hall meeting ahead of the franchise’s 20th season in St. Catharines.
During the hour-long Q-and-A session, fans had the chance to ask incoming general manager Dale De Gray about recent trades and new coach Jake Grimes about his plans for the team. They also discussed the recent challenges faced by an Ontario Hockey League team that has struggled both on the ice and at the box office.
The Ice Dogs, who made their move from Mississauga at the start of the 2007-08 season, haven’t secured a playoff series win since 2019, and average attendance at their 5,300-seat arena has dropped from 5,035 to 3,156 over seven years.
Jake Grimes is now serving as head coach for Niagara Ice Dogs after winning a Memorial Cup with Saginaw Spirit in 2024.Bob Tymczyszyn/
In addition to being “tough opponents,” under Grimes’ leadership Ice Dogs will work on reducing puck possession time for other teams.
“You’re going to see honest efforts in every game,” he assured.
The fifth head coach since ownership changed hands in 2022 is already impressed after two days into training camp followed by one day of main camp.
“The guys seem like great individuals who’ve worked hard; they want improvement; they listen exceptionally well,” Grimes noted. “All signs point toward having good kids here eager to develop further in their careers.”
Also joining during town hall was Jason Diplock-the OHL’s senior director focused on franchise business-and league development supporting daily operations.
Jason Diplock assists Niagara Ice Dogs regarding daily operations as OHL’s senior director responsible for league development.
Bob Tymczyszyn/ diplock added explaining league’s desire replicate nhl standards across its arenas.
Diplock shared thoughts on declining attendance rates in Niagara during interview:>
“Well it’s sports there exists old win-loss issue certainly tonight we discussed much player movement leading roster changes requiring adjustment periods resulting possibly sacrificing wins initially.”>
“It seems fan expectations around performance may not fully align lately causing lower turnout.”>
“Moreover folks felt less satisfied regarding ticket value paid,” he continued suggesting need introspection enhance overall experience.
No specific metric guiding decisions
‘Players have a lot of say’
De Gray defended his decision to trade team captain Ethan Czata and star player Ryan Roobroeck to Guelph Storm as unfortunate yet essential for future success. He acknowledged that these decisions often come down to players’ wishes. Dale De Gray spent 19 seasons as general manager for Owen Sound Attack before taking on a similar role with Niagara Ice Dogs. Bob Tymczyszyn/ “With certain players, when they become 19, if they believe they can get an opportunity to win somewhere else, that usually gets pushed forward through the player and through the agent,” he said. “Is it something that you want to do, is it something that I want to do? Probably not, but when you deal with players now, if you watch the NHL even, players have a lot of say. “A lot of say in what they do, where they go; sometimes GMs just have to follow suit and make the best out of a tough situation.” De Gray remarked after someone pointed out that it seems like the Ice Dogs are always rebuilding. When asked if 2026-27 would finally be their breakout year fans have been hoping for he replied: “Well, it won’t be this year; but I would say in a couple of years from now we should be a really deep and solid team,” De Gray stated plainly. “Sometimes you have to take your lumps before moving forward.” “I think this year will showcase an exciting young team; we might even surprise some stronger teams because we won’t know any better.” Grimes comes from last season’s associate head coach position with Guelph men’s hockey team and won a Memorial Cup with Saginaw Spirit in 2024. He prefers fast-paced hockey.‘Tough to play against’
“I love pace. I think pace is tough for opposing teams to handle; we’re going to focus hard on that every day,” he shared. “We’ll implement aggressive defensive systems-more ‘in-your-face’ type hockey.”OHL aiding growth opportunities
Diplock has come aboard because “the league believes strongly in this team.” “This facility is remarkable; it’s an exceptional market deserving our utmost effort,” he explained. “We aim at supporting existing staff and ownership – enhancing all avenues possible towards improvement.”No specific metric guiding decisions
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The league hasn’t set precise attendance goals they’ll require before stepping back completely from daily involvement however…”>
I don’t think there’s particular benchmark necessary saying ‘mission accomplished’” according standard remarks assuring past history surrounding franchise documentation confirms potential unfulfilled currently present limits available resources could change future outcomes significantly enhancing appeal among audiences enjoying games thus attracting larger crowds again.”
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