The Kamloops NorthPaws ownership group will use the next 14 months to make the 2022 season a memorable one for fans (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

KAMLOOPS NORTHPAWS

‘This isn’t deterring us from bringing the team here’: NorthPaws ownership group hungry for 2022 season

Apr 14, 2021 | 3:26 PM

KAMLOOPS — Norbrock Stadium was set to host the Kamloops NorthPaws’ inaugural season in the West Coast Baseball League.

The city has been working on a new infield and upgrading the seating just for the new semi-pro baseball team. However, COVID-19 has had other plans, and the NorthPaws are part of the remaining four Canadian teams that have officially pulled out of the 2021 season.

“Yeah, we’re all very disappointed. We were really hoping the season was going to happen, and obviously planning like it was going to,” said Jon Pankuch. “There were a lot of moving parts and we had to continue to go. I don’t think it’s a surprise to anybody that the season is cancelled, but it is disappointing.”

The team’s manager Cole Armstrong shares in the disappointment. He’s been working hard all offseason to put a team together. The NorthPaws had signed about 30 players to date — with Armstrong lining up a few other recruits just prior to the official cancellation — and were ready to field a competitive squad.

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“It’s heartbreaking. Up until the very last minute, we did everything we could to get this season in, or what we could make of a season in any way,” Armstrong told CFJC Today over Zoom from Colorado. ”

The cancellation two months before the start of the season now gives the signed players enough time to find alternative places to play.

“A few of these guys are freshmen and sophomores that just, not by the nature of their talent but just by the nature of the fact there are older guys ahead of them, didn’t get a lot of playing time this spring need to play this summer for their development,” noted Armstrong.

Pankuch says with no fans allowed at the ballpark under the current restrictions, the season simply wasn’t going to work.

Travel was a big hinderance as well. Even with an all-Canadian season, Pankuch says it would’ve proven difficult to bring a lot of the players across the border. While a difficult decision, it’s actually a relief to the ownership group with uncertainty now behind them.

“We can now focus on 2022. We’ve got a firm date. June of 2022 is when the team is going to happen. I’m hoping we’re out of this by then,” he said. “This isn’t deterring us from bringing the team here, it’s just delayed us. It’s inevitable, the team is coming to Kamloops. We’re excited to have it, the ownership group is excited, the fans are excited. There is not a place that I go where people don’t mention it to me that they’re excited to see baseball here in Kamloops. It’s coming.”

The NorthPaws are working on staying relevant in the community this season, despite no season. The team plans to go ahead with some of the tailgate-like activities it was planning if the season went ahead.

“The idea of, if restrictions do ease, we can start serving some food down at the ballpark [Norbrock Stadium], have some live entertainment while we’re down there,” said Pankuch. “Do some fun things, keep the [NorthPaws] name alive. That’s our goal, that’s the excitement.”

Fans who have purchased season tickets can request a full refund or forward their tickets to next year.