Haliburton County Huskies owner Ryan Ramsay said calling time on his team’s five-year stay in the Highlands is one of the hardest and most emotional decisions he’s ever had to make.
The team announced May 29 that the franchise would be relocating to Cobourg ahead of the 2026-27 season, closing the curtain on Jr. A hockey in Minden. The Huskies had been playing out of S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena since September 2021.
In the end, Ramsay said it simply cost too much money to ice a Jr. A program in the Highlands. With an annual operational budget of around $500,000, Ramsay noted the team had lost an average of $30,000 to $50,000 a season. The team’s previous owner, Paul Wilson, who is Ramsay’s father-in-law, bore those costs for five years.
“Even though we do have significant income from donations, sponsorships, ticket sales, player fees etc., there is never enough to cover our costs,” Ramsay and Wilson said in a joint statement last week.
Ramsay took ownership of the team in February and, while initially committing to keeping the team in Haliburton County for the 2026-27 season, he told The Highlander in a June 1 interview that the numbers just didn’t work. He had been in talks with the Cobourg Cougars ownership, which are relocating that franchise to Toronto, shortly after the Huskies 2025-26 season ended in March.
“It was a little bit of everything,” Ramsay said when asked why the team was leaving. “We were going to see some more loss of sponsorship, loss of season tickets, lack of billet families (to house players). When you look at it as a whole, we were in a difficult position. This coming year we were looking at increased transportation costs, increased league fees. The bills just kept piling up.”
The OJHL ratified the move May 25 with the Ontario Hockey Association rubber stamping it May 29.
While he sees relocating as a practical decision, Ramsay said it has been a tough pill for him to swallow emotionally.
“I literally picked up everything and moved my family here to make this work. I spent five years trying to make this work. Every single day I put everything I had into this,” Ramsay said. “Most people go home from their jobs at 5 p.m., but I’ve carried this with me pretty much non-stop since the Huskies came to Haliburton County.
“This was definitely a hard decision, one of the hardest I’ve ever had to make. I love it here. This is my home and the Huskies are something very close to my heart… but we couldn’t keep going in the direction we were heading,” he added.
Ramsay coached the team for four seasons, from 2021 to 2025, before handing the reins to Jordan Bailey for the 2025-26 season, though he stayed on as general manager.
The Huskies amassed a record of 173 wins, 80 losses, seven ties and 16 overtime defeats in 276 regular season games. They made the playoffs in all five seasons they played in the Highlands, playing a further 41 games and going 18-21-2.
Fans will remember the 2024-25 season fondly, with the Huskies consistently ranked among the best Jr. A teams in the country. They finished third in the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s East Conference after their only 40-win season and made a run to the conference finals in the playoffs, knocking off the Cougars and Toronto Jr. Canadiens before losing out to eventual champions, the Trenton Golden Hawks.
Proud memories
Ramsay said he takes a lot of pride in guiding the Huskies to the playoffs every season and while there are lots of great memories on the ice and behind the scenes, he said his best moments were ones shared with fans and volunteers.
“It’s the relationships and the connections you make with people that I look back on best. Going to the rink and seeing the same 200-250 people every single game. In the hockey world, players and coaches come and go, but those fans, volunteers, billet coordinators, game day staff, they were with us through it all for five years,” Ramsay said.
“Even knowing the result and where things ended up, I wouldn’t change anything. I would still bring this franchise here again tomorrow. It was a special five years for me, and everyone involved with this team,” he added.
Ramsay hopes this isn’t the end of hockey in Haliburton County. While he’s accepted that running a Jr. A program locally isn’t feasible, he believes a Jr. C franchise could work. Talks are underway to bring a team back for the 2027-28 season, with Ramsay saying they could operate under the Huskies banner.
“The budget would be half of a Jr. A team – they don’t practice as much, they don’t bus as much, the league fees are 75 per cent less, they don’t require hotels. If we can bring a Jr. C team here, it’ll be a turnkey operation. We’ll hand over all the Huskies gear. They’ll be ready to play the very next day,” Ramsay said, noting it will be a locally-owned team. “Hopefully more news to come later this summer.”
