Despite recently overseeing the most successful season in Haliburton County Huskies history, head coach and general manager Ryan Ramsay is worried about the organization’s long-term future in the Highlands.
The team recorded the first 40-win regular season in franchise history this year and made it to the third round of playoffs, the conference finals, where it lost to eventual OJHL champions the Trenton Golden Hawks four games to one.
The Huskies have made playoffs in each of their four seasons in Haliburton County. They will be back for a fifth season next fall, with about half of last year’s roster expected to return. Ramsay said forwards Isaac Larmand, Daniel Vasic, and Chase Del Colombo, blueliners Nolan Ling, Kaiden Thatcher and Tyson Rismond, and goaltender Stephen Toltl will all be back.
“I’m really happy about what we’ve done and how we’re shaping up on-ice, it’s the off-ice stuff that’s concerning,” Ramsay said, noting the team desperately needs new billet families.
Because the team attracts mostly underage players from all over North America, it needs a healthy roster of locals willing to open their home and take youth in. It’s a seven-month commitment, with players arriving in late August and leaving in April.
Ramsay said billets have been a concern for years – most other Jr. A teams have between 16 and 20, while the Huskies have topped out at between 12 and 14. Last year, the team was forced to double up, with five families taking two players and one family taking three. This is in addition to renting accommodations for overagers – players between 18 and 20.
With a new season just two-and-a-half months away, the Huskies currently have just five billets registered.
“Some of our long-time billets need a break – they’ve been with us for a few seasons and want to start travelling… so we really need some new families to come onboard,” Ramsay said. “There’s a little bit of desperation. Billets are the only thing we cannot control and we’ve had a problem there from the get-go.
“Billets are crucial in running a junior team at every level. Without that buyin from the community, it makes it very difficult to run a team,” he added.
With the Huskies posting a financial loss for the second straight season, Ramsay said the team can’t keep subsidizing player accommodations forever. He hinted at a potential sale should the issue persist beyond next year.
Families receive a $600 monthly stipend per player, a pair of complimentary assigned season tickets, and two deliveries of fresh meat from Haliburton Foodland throughout the season.
Wendy Hampton, a billet for the past two seasons, said she’s gotten way more than she bargained for after hosting seven players since 2023.
“I lost my husband in 2022… this has reinvigorated my life, introduced me to an entirely new lifestyle and social circle. I’ve loved it so far,” she said.
In 2023/24 she housed Hunter Martell and Adam Smeeton at her Caribou Road property. Last year, she had Smeeton, Ryan Fairbairn, Luke Hampel, and Toltl.
Not having any children of her own, Hampton admitted she was wary of welcoming teenage boys and all the baggage they typically come with. She noted, though, there are no parties, players have been helpful with household chores and have a curfew most nights. She noted the money she gets from the team “just about” covers the cost of hosting.
When he played junior hockey from 1999 to 2004, Ramsay stayed with three billet families in Peterborough, Kitchener and Plymouth, Michigan. All three were at his wedding years later, with the coach saying he still keeps in touch with them now.
“The connections you make and relationships you form are really special. It’s a lifelong thing,” Ramsay said.
Anyone interested in becoming a billet for the 2025/26 season can contact Jess Jackson at huskieshousing@gmail.com.
“
