Ironwood Lumberjack Hockey

Good morning.

You're listening to 92 3 classic country WJMS and I'm here along with Rod Halverson.

Good.

Thanks for waking me up, Rod.

I was I was I'm here for some reasons.

I don't always listen to you, but I was doing some research, you know, I know a little bit, but I was looking up some research and what?

What'd you get lost?

Nothing.

Oh, you

should.

Okay.

Nothing.

Nothing.

I just got confused for a second.

We good?

You've only been in here once probably, huh?

No.

All right.

Well, we are here with a special guest this morning.

Doug Lean, the

second.

Hello.

Thanks for having me.

Ironwood Lumberjacks Hockey Coach.

Again, welcome.

We are so happy to have you here.

There's so much to talk about with the Lumberjack organization because it's, uh, I think this is fantastic that you guys came to Ironwood.

And let's start, let's go back and start with, uh, how the Lumberjacks.

got to Ironwood.

Yeah so we uh you know we started pre-COVID and we were in Wisconsin and uh having a great first year COVID hits kind of everybody knows that story yes uh you know the next year when things were still kind of opening up here

the the border was shut down we couldn't play couldn't get across the border couldn't couldn't do anything so we you know we were dormant for what should have been you know second second year and then from

there on, you know, the area we were in was retirees, vacation.

You were in Spooner.

We were in Spooner and retirees, vacation homes, things like that and younger families.

COVID really hit that area hard and whatnot.

And as we were kind of moving through, got back to playing our third year, the border was still closed.

and all the way through into Christmas even, and almost Christmas.

And so we were playing North American League teams, teams in other Canadian leagues that were American teams on this side of the border.

And as that started to happen, as we started to reopen and be able to play, it became glaringly obvious that the area was just

It wasn't able to sustain the entertainment anymore.

When families have to choose between buying a gallon of milk or a ticket to go to a hockey game, that's not...

That's not something that the hockey wins, right?

The expenditure on an entertainment item does not win over, you know, necessities for your family.

And so we started to kind of know that maybe we were, you know, not long for that area and things weren't really sustainable for us business-wise.

And so we started the process of exploring where we would go with the team and

We had always done our training camp up here stayed out at the Wolverine Lodge And so we'd come up here Stay for a week bring our guys up stay out at the resort do our do our training camp and and team building and things out here and and So we had connection in Ironwood

You know, we had connection with Ironwood when the Upers were here, Scott Collette and Luke Penrose and those guys that had the team going.

And so I had a good relationship with them.

I knew them through hockey stuff.

And, you know, so I talked to Luke and Scott and those guys as the time was going on and they loved it up here.

And, you know, they loved being able to do that for their area.

And so as we went through things, Ironwood kind of became the obvious choice for us.

So got in touch with Jay Cavisto, the manager out at the rink there, and started the conversation.

And then it steamrolled.

And then

it kind of just steamrolled.

The ball kind of got rolling.

It got traction.

And once it kind of got downhill, then here we are.

Wow.

And it's been two years now.

We're going into year three.

And we love it, right?

The sponsorship has been great.

The fan support has been phenomenal.

You know, just the community as a whole is very

much like where we're from, my family's from Hayward and not too far, but similar.

You know, it's that similar environment.

It's a similar culture.

And so it's, you know, you're never going to be a local.

You got to remember that.

Even if you're from the outside, you're never going to be a local at moving into any small town.

But at least if you can understand how the workings of a small town in the northern Wisconsin, the, you know, Western UP, how it operates, you can keep yourself out of trouble pretty much.

So I think it's a great.

Great thing that happened.

I think this is I think I would this area is a hockey Hockey area.

We had Jason beccalon last week talking about the polar bear hockey's and how that that age group there, you know And he was talking about when he played hockey back in the back in the 90s and stuff like that So it's you know with the polar bears and and we brought up that For the polar bears.

It's got to be quite awesome for these polar bear hockey players to see the lumberjacks

Because they come and help them to write.

I mean, they mingle.

I mean, you're looking at the big boys playing hockey.

So

yeah, our guys are on the ice Monday through Thursdays with them.

Our players are signed to youth teams, the different teams and the different groups and levels.

You know, it's.

It kind of connects the dots for the younger players, right?

It's one of the reasons we need to get our high school hockey team back here in Ironwood.

And, you know, and I know there's controversy behind that.

And, you know, when you look at a co-op team, this statement might be controversial, but when you look at a co-op team and a team that's not hosting the co-op is the team producing the majority of the players, that doesn't, for me, balance and equate,

right?

And

I've been a part of, you know, in Spooner, we were a big

a big part and I was a big proponent and pushed maybe sometimes too hard to get the high school team back in Spooner and they were in a co-op with Baron and you know it's not easy up front it's really not people don't understand that but

we need to get the high school hockey team back in Ironwood playing under the Ironwood flag and and banner and team name because it's that next piece of connecting the dots from minor hockey up to say us and then into college

and

you know it's so important for the community and you know so for these younger players right now

in the absence of high school hockey with us, it allows those younger players and those families that maybe don't understand like what is the pathway, right?

What are we doing this for?

I understand youth sports are important in development and social skills and these types of things.

But what is that?

What's the pathway?

Where's the investment here going?

And, you know, so when you look at these players, whether it be starting out or they're, you know, or all the way up through, you know, our Bannum team, even, even the onto Noggin team, right?

And, and the midget program there.

You know for them to be able to see that okay, there is a next step

right?

It doesn't just end at a brick wall and even you know Even if it hit a brick wall that'd be one thing at least you'd know that there was finality with no Anything it's just this empty void It just kind of dies off and these kids just kind of you know It's kind of like the end of sandlot as the as the you know The players start fading out from the field and moving on with the backstory of what goes on

in the rest of

their lives

That's great.

You have those memories, but what about the players that have that ability to move on?

And so for us, it's kind of multifaceted.

You know, these are our fans.

So we want to be engaged with them.

These are the kids that are telling mom and dad they want to come to a game on Friday, Saturday night.

But, you know, we want to see the players, the boys and girls that have the ability to have that drive or that passion that want to move on as far as they want to move on, no matter how long or how far that takes them, at least for them to understand that there are

There's an avenue and there's a pathway for them for more.

And I think that we right now we offer that it would be strengthened by getting

Ironwood High School hockey back.

But it's it's great.

We love our guys love it.

And I'll be honest with you, one of the biggest questions we get from families in recruiting with players and moms and dads and and whatnot is what's what what does the team do to be involved in the community?

Are you working with minor hockey?

It's it's an important life piece.

It isn't just hockey.

It's our guys.

Uh, they're learning from that experience.

They're learning about patients.

They're learning about, you know, that giving that time back to people that are supporting you.

And, uh, there's a lot of life lessons for 17, 18, 19, 20 year olds that they can get that they may not have or, or they've gotten in the past and it was been good for them.

So.

Which you just kind of answered my next question.

I was going to ask you what for the lumberjacks.

it's 17 years old is the youngest 16 16 so you can still be in high school somewhere

Yep.

And then they come here and they're, of course, they got to keep up with their studies, right?

Yes.

So kind of a interesting process there.

We can take 16 and 17 year olds.

There's minimum playing requirements for those kids at that age.

We have to meet with, you know, games they have to play and how many minutes and different things that go into that because it's development, right?

If you're pulling a kid out of high school, you've got to continue to develop them.

You can't just collect them up and put them in the stands in a suit and tie.

And so we

rules for that but with with this anybody that's still in school in our program they Sophia who's our team president she's our education coordinator as well she's the education coordinator for our league and what she does is she maintains a watchful eye on their schooling she's got access to their online schooling portal she checks on their grades we have a minimum GPA

for our team.

Kids have to come in with a minimum GPA.

If they don't, we don't take them.

And then on top of that, whether they're choosing to take classes at the college level,

as just wanting to keep ahead or if they're taking high school because it's mandatory they have to maintain that GPA they have to maintain that active and it's actually a higher GPA we make them maintain during the season versus the a little bit lower which still is above the NCAA but so we're big on the education piece and you know the the the other part of it is is is that you know with these kids

You know, it's it's got to make sense for them, right?

Just to take a 16 year old out of high school or a 17 or even an 18 year old that's going to graduate as a senior, you know, we it has to be certain parameters.

So we're the only junior team, I believe in the entire country that has an agreement with our with our state, with our region to not steal high school kids from our state in our area out of high school early.

Now, if a player is going to be

released from high school.

He's going to go play junior somewhere and we get a call from a high school coach and he says, listen, somebody's going to take him.

We'd rather see him stay local or see him stay, you know, in the state of Michigan or, you know, if it's a Wisconsin kid, see him stay close to the area.

That's a different animal.

We don't actively go out and recruit to steal players from Wisconsin, Minnesota,

or Michigan,

and

we have an agreement with all three states.

And I'm pretty confident.

I'd love for somebody to call in if they know of another team that does that and let me know.

But I think we're the only ones that do that.

We've stood behind that.

This is year eight for us.

And we've stood behind that and never, never broken that for eight years now.

So.

Okay.

So when I look at your rush, you get kids from all over, all over the country, all over in some are from Canada too.

So.

let's say you have a let's say i'm just going to use uh buffalo new york yep you've got it you've got a kid in buffalo 16 or 17 years old they're they're very good on their high school hockey team or they don't have a hockey team something like that right and you want it so if he's really good on this hockey team that's what you're getting at they may get picked up by somebody yep

but you wouldn't go after him unless well he was moving that's

a little different right because i'm i'm gonna go get my kids from somewhere right i'm gonna get my guys from somewhere um there's a lot of areas that uh

They just don't have that developmental infrastructure.

It can take them so far, but it's not going to take them further.

And so we look for those kids, if they're of that age, we're looking for those players that are looking to seeking more.

They want better competition, better coaching, better structure, opportunity to be seen by colleges, better programs at higher levels, things like that.

Alright, we'll take a break here.

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now.

We

are here with the Ironwood Lumberjack coach and Rod Halverson and we are talking Ironwood Lumberjack hockey.

And right now it's also the Swap Shop.

So the Swap Shop is sponsored by Avante Home Care for your home care that's made to order for your individual needs.

Ask for Avante 906-932-5999 is the number to call.

If you have something to buy, sell or trade, do not hesitate to give us a call during this interview, but we're going to continue on.

So go ahead, Rod.

Joe,

we don't have a studio cam, so people can't see what I'm wearing, but

you notice.

You're classy.

It's a good

looking sweatshirt.

It actually.

I saw him walk in with it.

I'm like, where'd you get that from?

Well, we'll have to, we'll have to have worked something out.

Maybe, maybe one falls off the back of the truck on the way by the studio.

I'll

have, I will definitely come and get mine and support because I think this is great.

So we're having a great interview, Rod, and continue.

We were talking about recruiting right now.

You talked a little bit about Buffalo, New York.

And

first of all, I got to say that I have my lumberjack hoodie on.

even though it's middle of August that felt they better not say that just now but no you didn't say what i was wearing you didn't say it it's all about you rod it's all about you but i had to let people know what i had these are really nice i know they are a big selection yes

I love it.

We're getting Lumberjack fever going here, middle of August, first part of August.

I love it.

So you're in the process of recruiting and looking for billet families.

Let's go with that for a while.

We are, yep.

We're in the process of our recruiting real hot and heavy right now and signing guys.

you know the recruiting platform is already and you know breadcrumb trails already been laid down uh you know to a lot of the players that we want to sign and and now we're just in those final stages of signing guys as they make their decisions the holdouts and you know the better players are constantly waiting as long as they possibly can for you know they make sure they've got all their opportunities on the table and make their their final decisions and

So some exciting things happening there really the guys we've signed really happy with that extremely happy with the guys we've got Conversations actively going on with them and some some trade potentials that we're gonna be bringing in a little bit more trade active this year Bringing in some more established players and some guys that fit the culture and mindset that we want to have the work ethic So

I'm just getting used to the guys from last year now and you lost

them guys.

Well, we

moved we moved 11 guys on to call

college five onto the NCAA and six onto ACHA club hockey and which nowadays quite a few of these club hockey programs are the equivalent of D3 or and even for that matter some of them the equivalent of D1 NCAA they are they're real strong they're supported by academics or scholarship money and and whatnot and and you know so any opportunity for a guy to

continue playing go get an education whatever that looks like that fits them best you know we focus on school first what what is the what is the school that's gonna fit you the best hockey is second and you know that doesn't always line up with what they had in their mind for the hockey but

I've not had a single player call me back after they graduate college and say, boy, that was a horrible plan.

That was a horrible pathway.

But yeah, so recruiting's going great.

And that leads into, as you said, the building.

And we were talking before the show.

It's so important that I think people understand the role that Billeting has with the program.

It doesn't happen, right?

The Lumberjacks aren't here and can't continue to be here or anywhere for that matter without Billets.

You know, and I stated earlier, you know, I'm good friends with the guys that did the Upers and

You know, I was just with Scott Collette and who had the Eupers and him and Luke Penrose and we were talking ahead of Heritage Days and they're doing their new food grill.

trailer and we were talking and we were talking about the struggles they had with Billets and whatnot that the things they had to jump through for housing for the kids and you know one of the things that he said is it's been amazing the support that you guys have gotten he's made him really happy to see the support with the Billets and you know that's the key.

is homes for these kids to live in.

They're moving away from home, whether they're an older player, whether they're an older player, and that's going to cost you a beer.

I'm

sorry.

Leaving your phone on in the studio is going to cost you a beer.

I get these important phone calls.

You know, Ron Hellerson is here, and it's his fan club, and they get a hold of me because they can't get a hold of him.

I got to find out where I can get my membership.

But that's for sure going to cost you

a cold

beer.

That's all right.

I can do

that.

you know we um you know we we really try to you know we work hard to try to get um the best billets we possibly can that are going to be the right ones for these kids and and it's about pairing the players up with the right families and um you know i think that

I think sometimes families think there's more that goes into it than there is.

You know, we've cleaned up a few of the problems that we had with kind of keeping tabs on the kids.

You know, kids will be kids and run around and do things.

You know, so we've put some things in place.

We have a meeting tonight.

They're up at the arena at 530 and Sophia our team president and and my mom Cindy who's our team vice president She and and my mom will be up there answering questions for billets They're gonna be meeting with some new billets starting to lay out kind of the new direction for Accountability with with supporting the billets and and how the billets can support the team But it's so important like I said it doesn't happen

The team isn't here.

It's not anywhere.

It doesn't happen.

The boys aren't on the ice, and there's nothing to do with the Lumberjacks if we don't have billets.

And we are still currently looking for billets.

We've got some amazing billets that support us.

Brittany Petilli, Gina Thorson from over at Stormy Cromer.

We've got amazing billets that have supported us from day one.

And so many others that I

can't even remember, right?

Like you try to name all the names and people that have supported us.

And a lot of them are polar bear families.

They're ice crystal families, business owners.

And we have some retirees that are empty nesters.

And so if you're interested in billeting,

reach out to the team, call Sophia, come out to the meeting tonight.

We would appreciate it.

Even if you're interested and just aren't sure what goes into it, stop on out and questions will be answered.

And just to clarify, people might be out there listening and say, what's a billet?

You're looking for homes for these players.

If you have extra bedrooms, like you said, retired couple, their kids are gone.

um maybe they have one or two bedrooms

yeah and it doesn't have to be they don't need their own you know it's not doesn't need a palace right like it's just needs to be a clean environment safe uh

a supportive, they get paid, you know, there's a stipend, a food stipend and a housing stipend.

They get $400 a month, which, anyway, that's raised a kid knows that's

per player.

Yeah, per player, $400 a player.

And, you know, and that goes for food and things like that.

And, you know, all the requirement is, is that they have their own bedroom, a door that can close.

You know, it doesn't have to have their own private bathroom.

They can share a bathroom.

We just, we want good, healthy homes for these kids.

and they give back, they can take out the trash, they can walk the dog, they can shovel the snow, they might be grumbling by inch 300 like we had last

year,

but you know, these kids become part of the family.

My wife and I got married seven years ago, June 29th in Canada, in a far off land outside of Calgary, and you know, I'm 43, so I was older,

two of my billet families when I played when I was in my teens came to our wedding they traveled planes trains and automobiles to get there it wasn't like it was just you know in Minneapolis or you know or in the backyard in Green Bay or whatever it took a planning money to get there these are people I still talk to like I if I'm having a bad day

I call one of them up and just chat.

And they become surrogate parents, as

you

will.

They're there to support these kids.

This isn't an easy process.

There's times when days don't go the way they want them to.

And with the absence of mom and dad at home, they're going home to their housing, their billet parents.

They're kind of like foreign exchange parents, in a sense,

for

probably more of a widely known concept

foreign exchange students in a house that would host them, a host family.

So, you know, these kids come home and the ups and the downs of all this wins and losses and the good and the bad, you know, these people are there to kind of support them.

And we've got a billet Don Martinson.

I don't know if you guys

know

Don

or not.

Don's amazing.

He's one of our billets.

He you know, he's had a house full for the last two years and quite a few his guys have gone on to play NCAA and and he still talks to him You know, we we have billets that we'll we'll talk to and or shoot us a picture in the summertime and kids come back You know, they're coming back after they've left us and they come back to visit right so they're coming back to the area you apart you become a part of a family and You know, so it's it's a it's

There's so much more to it than I think what most people realize.

How long are they here for than the kids that you recruit?

Are they here for five months, six months?

So our guys report this year, they're reporting in September 1st.

We're starting a little bit later this year.

We've got a big project going on over at the ice rink, which we can touch on.

But they're here from September 1st.

And then if we were to make it all the way, win our league, make it all the way through playoffs, win our

and then make it to the national championships.

So every league champion, there's nine leagues across Canada.

each league plus the host team make it for a 10 team tournament.

And that happens starts the first week of end of the first week of May.

And it's it's about 10 days that you're there competing for a national championship.

And that's going to happen this year.

That's

the plan.

I feel

it.

That's the plan.

We're really, you know, we're shifting gears.

We're we've we've been a run and gun offensive team.

We're going straight defense this year.

You made a comment in the paper last week that you're looking you're looking to shift.

the focus of the team.

I forgot how it went.

I have it here.

Do you remember what your comment was regarding shifting?

Let's see if I can find it here.

I'm not sure if I will find it here.

I should have circled it.

That's all

right.

But you're looking to

We're looking to turn a corner essentially with with what direction the team what's the what's the mindset what's the culture what is our you know what's the

You know, the best way to probably put it is what's the identity of the team.

Right.

Shifting that identity.

And while you look for that quote, I hope it doesn't get me in trouble.

No, I won't.

You're recruiting a little different.

We're recruiting entirely different.

Yes.

We want hard workers.

We want guys that will go through walls for each other.

We want guys that are going to build a strong culture in the dressing room, play for each other, play for what the team needs.

If guys play and give and do what the team needs it to do, they

get theirs.

They're going to get their points.

They're going to get their opportunities to shine.

You know, we want guys to, I want a group this year that says, you know, my way of contributing tonight is I'm going to block four shots and I'm not getting scored on, right?

And that's kind of the mindset that we didn't have last year or the year before, which was we, you know, we wanted to be offensive, but we were always one foot in the bucket heading up ice.

Well,

That's not feasible because you're gonna give up 50 plus shots a night and you're you know, you might get up early, but as the game settles in

The other team is gonna be consistent.

They're gonna stick to systems They're gonna stick to just the basics with things and they're gonna outlast you and you know We had a lot of games last year We got up early and then we just threw it away and and you know and then we'd lose by four It's kind of hard to go up by three or two and lose by three or four like that's a big swing and you know that mentally drains you but

Unfortunately, I'm the one that has to take responsibility for that as the general manager of the team and the coach.

And I'm going out and getting those players that did that.

They made those decisions.

And so that falls on my shoulders.

And it also falls on my shoulders to make the change for this year.

And that's the direction we're going.

I'd rather have a group of guys that, you know what, if we're going to lose, we're going to lose one nothing.

But our focus is to

more on defense.

I think you found the court, didn't you?

No, I didn't.

No, I'm

wondering.

It's

all right.

But I was looking at your website.

So can you give your website out and let people know?

Because I think it explains the Billet family.

Yes,

yes, we have a building section on the site.

It's ironwoodlumberjacks.com So with an S at the end lumberjacks So you can head over there.

You can you know, you can check out and stay up on everything You can see all of our billet stuff You can you know, you can check out different pieces of our program and and different things like that But definitely the billet thing it's I might get brownies my wife might bake me brownies

when I get home for plugging the billet thing so much, but it's really honestly the most important piece of the

program.

That's pretty much the backbone of the program.

It is the backbone.

It's rewarding for both.

you know I was reading some of the things and he were talking about the stories with the kids that come back and visit and everything else it is it's rewarding for both groups it's the kids and the families get rewarded

yeah we have you know we have a couple players that come back in the summer they've they've started a little dry land hockey camp in the summer times and and two of our former players that did that and and and I'll be honest they came to us and said you know we want to start this are you okay with it we said

You guys want to give back to the community.

You want to come back here, you know, and once from Illinois, once from Michigan and, you know,

You know we are I'm sorry once from Minnesota and once from Illinois and they they choose to come back here in the summertime put that camp on and do what what they feel is is them giving back and repaying the favor that was done for them and You know being here both of them played for us for two years and and they loved it They love coming here, but it's just it's amazing to see the guys come back to the area

That's

nice.

That's nice.

You know, so the sponsorships pay a big role.

Huge role.

Uh, it's, I think it's the second biggest piece, uh, in the process, uh, you know, behind building.

Um, I don't think anything comes close to building.

I don't want to ever use the terminology that it's a close second because it's not, uh, there's no bigger piece than, and more important than building.

But the, the, you know, the partnership piece of this has been,

Outstanding through through the area not just ironwood not just hurley or or besmer but the whole area And it's built on small businesses.

We've got some larger businesses that sponsor us But every every facet since the day we we stepped foot here moving the team and the first moving truck rolled into town You know businesses have have supported us You know right away one of the things was with the Civic Center was a lack of locker rooms and

Businesses jumped in.

Bezmer Plywood and Bill Thomason, who I don't think anybody could question the level of commitment that he's made to the community or hockey or sports in general, even outside of his own kids.

Other businesses that stepped in and helped us, we built together, we built new dressing rooms for youth hockey to make up for the space we were gonna take and displace minor hockey from and figure skating.

So worked on that together.

The corporate partner,

are amazing and it's great when we see new businesses coming in now in year three.

Even though we haven't found the success that we would have liked to in year one and two, we're hopeful that year three is moving in the right direction.

you know, taking those steps to find those wins that we have coughed up the last two years.

So, but when you see a new business come in and say, you know, we, we, we're all in, we want in here.

Um, you know, it's, it's great, but you know, you've got.

Sponsors that are committed long term you've got sponsors that are coming in and and doing what they can and we try to work and find things that you know are beneficial this isn't sponsoring a banner for.

minor hockey or for figure skating.

We draw really well with our fan support.

Our website, our social medias get massive traction.

NACI Construction just had their 50th anniversary and we made a post with them and my gosh, the engagement that we had with that was fantastic.

Congratulations for being in business for 50 years because that's amazing.

But and they're a great family.

They're one of our sponsors.

And, you know, it's we try to work with them.

Stoffel's Country Store is a good example.

They're they're celebrating 20.

I think 20, 20 years this week here.

And Friday, Friday, they've got a big event going on out there.

And, you know, you know, Lori, Lori, in the process of coming on as a new sponsor with us, she she says, can you bring the bus out?

Are there players

in

town yet?

You know, and so

that's she's like we that's be awesome if you can have the bus here fortunately the bus is getting finished up and we had a lot of work a lot of work done this summer on on that we we had a moose incident last year we had a curb incident last year and we had some things that needed to get taken care of maintenance wise so the bus is going to be rocking and rolling again and ready to go tip top shape and but when a business says we want to partner our brand with your brand it's not sponsorship we we we try to I hate I hate that word is sponsorship

It's a partnership and and these are you know, we want to find mutually beneficial partnerships and and People to work with and partner with and and help them grow.

This isn't just about the team.

So yeah Sponsorship is massive.

How do you?

How do you recruit from all over for when you look at your roster?

I mean before we went on here.

It was you your wife your mother and your dad.

Yep now You have contacts

all over the country with that.

I do

I have contacts all over.

I have a network of people that I've built relationships with over a lifetime in hockey and, you know, people that we work together with and advisors, agents that, you know, player agents that have, you know, clients and things that we have good relationships with.

And so we explore those and and then it's just boots on the ground.

You know, we have we have some people that keep eyes out for kids.

But, you know, it's it's me grinding and watching players.

It's CJ Sorenson, our assistant.

one of our assistant coaches, you know, he's checking kids out from the Michigan area.

You know, he gets all around.

He works for an inspection company, Big Moose Inspection.

And so he's all over,

Mark Hatton.

I mean, my gosh, CJ is traveling all over the place all the time.

And so he'll come into the office and be like, Hey, man, we got to look at this kid.

We got to we got to look at him.

I was somebody was telling me about it.

So, you know, it's it's it's it's just a lot of legwork, you know, getting out and recruiting these guys.

I can see some some kids

Southern Iowa.

Mom, I'm gonna go to Ironwood, Michigan and play hockey this year.

That's funny.

We've

got a guy right now.

I'm just waiting on confirmation whether he signs or not.

He's from Ames, Iowa.

And it's like, hey, I'm gonna go to the UP.

So

let's take our last break and then we'll continue the conversation.

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it

is going to be mostly sunny today with a high right around 79 this afternoon tonight partly cloudy this evening becoming mostly cloudy after midnight low of 54 tomorrow partly cloudy 77 on Thursday partly cloudy with a high right around 74 I meteorologist Sean Cable

Currently, it's 69.

92.1

FM and AM 590 WJMS.

92.3 Classic Country WJMS.

It is five minutes left of this wonderful interview with Rod Halverson.

I'll turn on your mic.

Hold on.

Say that all again.

I said I

could go on for an hour with Doug.

There's so much more I

wanted.

I don't know about it.

We appreciate you so much coming

in.

Absolutely.

We got a few more points to hit before the top of the hour.

So go ahead.

Fundraisers.

Any fundraisers?

Yeah.

So we we have a few different events going on.

We're going to be we'll have a booth out at Festival Italiano and you know, season tickets and merch and getting going.

Players players will be in town by then meet some players and come on

out and get autographs and meet the new guys on the team and see some returners.

So that'll be good.

Last year we did something that was...

fantastically received by the Amazingly received by the the community was we did a movie night.

We played Monsters Inc.

We have a big outdoor movie theater set up and everything and it was free to the community We're gonna be doing that probably once or twice again this this fall here early I can't believe we're already talking about fall But you know what fall comes hockey and football and and and then fall brings snow and snowmobiling and

and whatnot and and then you know and then we're at uh you know we got snow cross coming in town and and whatnot um but yeah we'll we'll be at Festival Italiano um you know season tickets merch meet the guys uh some movie nights for the community um

You know, so that's really what we've got coming up in terms of that stuff.

Okay.

And then when we started back on 915, you talked about the new ice.

What's going on at the cemetery?

Yes, exciting things.

You know, I think, what was it four or five years ago now?

Five years ago is when the new rink was finished.

Right.

And one of the things that was done when that happened was they used the old ice plant.

and you know as that's going on that was aging and failing and so the the the rink really worked hard to Jay Kivisto who's the rink manager and those guys the board the rink board and and

The people that are you know put the hours and time into that they they went out and got a grant through the DNR and Then the city you know had to match it and whatnot it and I think that my number might be a little bit high But I think it's about an eight hundred thousand dollar project seven hundred and some odd thousand our project and new ice plant

Which, let me tell you what, that's going to be amazing.

It's going to up the fan experience because it won't be so cold in there.

The ice is going to be better.

It's a better product for the figure skaters and even for the younger skaters trying to learn better ice is better for them to learn on.

And then our guys who can tell the difference between good ice and bad ice are going to really love it.

So what I think the person that's going to love it the most is the staff over at the Civic Center.

They're not going to have to worry about it.

It's an amazing thing for the community.

and it isn't just hockey that benefits from it or figure skating I think that you know it gets lost that that's a that is a hockey rink it is a it is a hockey rink it may be named a civic center but it is definitely a hockey rink and without the with without hockey and figure skating because I think you can call it a hockey rink it's probably better to call it an ice skating rink without it being an ice skating rink it doesn't

service the other groups, baseball, golf, pickleball, community events that use the dry floor.

Those would be left without space.

And you know, unfortunately, those just aren't large enough to support the facility.

So you need the ice skating sports and open skate with the community and birthday parties and things like that.

But between the team and polar bears and ice crystals, that's it's an amazing thing, but it's it's keeping that building going.

And so that ice plant will will have a long lasting effect, even when it's not making ice in the summertime and those other groups that are able to use it because it is an ice skating rink.

So it's an amazing project that

that's

being done for the community.

Nice.

I got two things.

One, we'll touch on the bill at family real quickly here.

You start practice when?

Our guys report the first.

That's the last day they can report into training camp.

And then we'll start going on the second and third for training camp.

And

then we

open our season on the road the night of the 18th, 18th, 19th, and then we're back home.

We're back home that following weekend.

I'd like to have you back like

Mid like September 10th.

So we're on

there.

We can bring some guys in with us too.

Yes, that'd be great Because by then you'll have your you'll you'll have your training camp going you'll have an idea of who's here Yep, right and then we can talk about the season.

Yeah, so we can get you back in here for sure We can talk

about the guys that are here

guys.

We can't talk about the team right now because they're not yet Yeah, they're not

here and

you know

We've got guys that will be here and guys will be bringing in from other camps and stuff and and whatnot that won't be here at that time But but we can talk about what's going on at the rink and

We'll talk about the

schedule

and the schedule

and all that and get going.

And

yeah, I knew 45 minutes wouldn't be enough.

No,

no, definitely.

It's been a great interview, but happy to come back.

Push them to your website once more.

Yeah.

It's ironwoodlumberjacks.com.

Our social medias are on there too.

You can link through and stay up more with the day to day things and, and see sponsors and, and, you know, those partners that support us and who, you know, if you're a big supporter of the lumberjacks, go support our partners and sponsors that support the team and support these kids on the ice.

Right.

And you have a meeting tonight.

Yes, we

have the bill meeting tonight, 5.30 at the Civic Center in the lobby.

Sophia, our team president and bill coordinator will be there.

Other billets, people that have billeted for the last few years, new billets will be there.

Lots of questions answered, opportunity to kind of see if it's a good fit for you, but if you're on the fence, if you're just not sure what's involved in it, come on out.

It shouldn't be too long of a meeting, but good opportunity to see if it's something that fits for you and your family.

Very good.

Very good.

Doug, I tell you what, it's been a pleasure talking to you.

Thanks

for

having

me.

It has been.

Thank you so much.

And of course, there's the third beer.

That's a third beer now.

I'm totally throwing my phone out the window because I've shut it off.

I've put it on silent.

I don't like this new phone.

All right.

Well, thank you so much for coming in this morning.

We'll definitely have you back.

It's Ironwood Lumberjack hockey and the season starts pretty soon.

So and tickets are I looked online.

$10 for adults and then veterans and students are discounted prices from there.

I'll tell you what hockey night in Ironwood is that place is packed.

It's rocking and it is a great show.

Well, let's get out

support.

You're listening to what are we listening to?

Ninety two, three classic country WJMS Ironwood.

Good morning.

You're listening to 92 three classic country WJMS and I'm here along with Rod Halverson.

Good.

Thanks for waking me up, Rod.

I was I was I'm here for some reasons.

I don't always listen to you, but I was doing some research, you know, I know a little bit, but I was looking up some research and what?

What'd you get lost?

Nothing.

Oh, you should.

Okay.

Nothing.

Nothing.

I just got confused for a second.

We good.

You've only been in here once probably.

No.

All right.

Well, we are here with a special guest this morning, Doug Lean, the

second.

Hello.

Thanks for having me.

Ironwood Lumberjacks hockey coach.

Again, welcome.

We are so happy to have you here.

There's so much to talk about with the Lumberjack organization because it's, uh, I think this is fantastic that you guys came to Ironwood and let's start, let's go back and start with, uh, how the lumberjacks.

got to Ironwood.

Yeah so we uh you know we started pre-COVID and we were in Wisconsin and uh having a great first year COVID hits kind of everybody knows that story yes uh you know the next year when things were still kind of opening up here

the the border was shut down we couldn't play couldn't get across the border couldn't couldn't do anything so we you know we were dormant for what should have been you know second second year and then from

there on, you know, the area we were in was retirees, vacation.

You were in Spooner.

We were in Spooner.

Yes.

And retirees, vacation homes, things like that, and younger families.

COVID really hit that area hard and whatnot.

And as we were kind of moving through, got back to playing our third year, the border was still closed.

and all the way through into Christmas even, and almost Christmas.

And so we were playing North American League teams, teams in other Canadian leagues that were American teams on this side of the border.

And as that started to happen, as we started to reopen and be able to play, it became glaringly obvious that the area was just

It wasn't able to sustain the entertainment anymore.

When families have to choose between buying a gallon of milk or a ticket to go to a hockey game, that's not something that the hockey wins, right?

the expenditure on an entertainment item does not win over, you know, necessities for your family.

And so we started to kind of know that maybe we were, you know, not long for that area.

And things weren't really sustainable for us business wise.

And so we started the process of exploring where we would go with the team.

And we'd always done our training camp up here, stayed out at the Wolverine Lodge.

And so we'd come up here

Stay for a week, bring our guys up, stay out at the resort, do our training camp and team building and things out here.

And so we had connection in Ironwood.

You know, we had connection with Ironwood when the Upers were here.

Scott Collette and Luke Penrose and those guys that had the team going.

And so I had a good relationship with them.

I knew them through hockey stuff.

And you know, so I talked to Luke and Scott and those guys as the time was going on and they loved it up here.

And, uh, you know, they, they loved being able to do that for their area.

And so as we went through things, ironwood kind of became the, the obvious choice for us.

So, uh, got in touch with, uh, J Kavisto, the manager out at the rink there and, and, uh, started the, started the conversation.

And, and

then it steamrolled.

And then it kind of just steamrolled the ball, kind of got rolling and got traction.

And, and once it kind of got downhill, then, then here we are.

So it's been two years now.

We're going into year three and, um, we love it.

Right.

the sponsorship has been great the fan support has been phenomenal you know just the community as a whole you know is very much like where we're from my family's from Hayward and not too far but similar

You know, it's that similar environment.

It's a similar culture.

And so it's, you know, you're never going to be a local.

You got to remember that.

Even if you're from the outside, you're never going to be a local moving into any small town.

But at least if you can understand how the workings of a small town in the northern Wisconsin, the, you know, Western UP, how it operates, you can keep yourself out of trouble pretty much.

So

I think it's a great.

Great thing that happened.

I think this is I think iron with this area is a hockey Hockey area we had Jason becala on last week talking about the polar bear hockey's and how that that age group there You know and he was talking about when he played hockey back in the back in the 90s and stuff like that So it's you know with the polar bears and and we brought up that For the polar bears.

It's got to be quite awesome for these polar bear hockey players to see the lumberjacks

Cause they come and help them too, right?

I mean, they mingle.

I mean, you're looking at the big boys playing hockey.

So

yeah, our guys are on the ice Monday through Thursdays with them.

Um, our players are signed to youth teams, the different teams and the different groups and levels.

Uh, you know, it's.

It kind of connects the dots for the younger players,

right?

It's one of the reasons we need to get our high school hockey team back here in Ironwood.

And, you know, and I know there's controversy behind that.

And, you know, when you look at a co-op team, this statement might be controversial, but when you look at a co-op team and a team that's not hosting the co-op is the team producing the majority of the players, that doesn't, for me, balance in a Kuwait,

right?

And

I've been a part of, you know, in Spooner, we were a big

a big part and I was a big proponent and pushed maybe sometimes too hard to get the high school team back in Spooner and they were in a co-op with Baron and you know it's not easy up front it's really not people don't understand that but

We need to get the high school hockey team back in Ironwood playing under the Ironwood flag and and banner and team name because it's that next piece of connecting the dots from minor hockey up to say us and then into college.

And,

you know, it's so important for the community.

And, you know, so for these younger players right now in the absence of high school hockey with us.

It allows those younger players and those families that maybe don't understand like what is the pathway, right?

What are we doing this for?

I understand youth sports are important in, you know, development and social skills and these types of things.

But what is that?

What's the pathway?

Where's the investment here going?

And, you know, so when you look at these players, whether it be starting out or they're, you know, or all the way up through, you know, our Bannum team, even, even the onto Noggin team, right?

And, and the midget program there.

you know, for them to be able to see that, okay, there is a next step.

It doesn't just end at a brick wall.

And even, you know, even if it hit a brick wall, that'd be one thing.

At least you'd know that there was finality.

With no anything, it's just this empty void.

It just kind of dies off.

And these kids just kind of, you know, it's kind of like the end of Sandlot as the, you know, the players start fading out from the field and moving on with the backstory of what goes on

in the rest

of their lives.

That's great.

You have those memories, but what about the players that have that ability to move on?

And so for us, it's kind of multifaceted.

You know, these are our fans.

So we want to be engaged with them.

These are the kids that are telling mom and dad they want to come to a game on Friday, Saturday night.

But, you know, we want to see the players, the boys and girls that have the ability to have that drive or that passion that want to move on as far as they want to move on, no matter how long or how far that takes them, at least for them to understand that there are

There's an avenue and there's a pathway for them for more.

And I think that we right now we offer that it would be strengthened by getting

Ironwood High School hockey back.

Um, but, uh, it's, it's great.

We love our guys love it.

And I'll be honest with you, one of the biggest questions we get from families, uh, in recruiting with players and, and moms and dads and, and whatnot is, uh, what's what, what does the team do to be involved in the community?

Are you working with minor hockey?

It's, it's an important life piece.

It isn't just hockey.

It's our guys.

Uh, they're learning from that experience.

They're learning about patients.

They're learning about, you know, that giving that time back to people that are supporting you.

And, uh, there's a lot of life lessons for 17, 18, 19, 20 year olds that they can get that they may not have or, or they've gotten in the past and it was been good for them.

So,

which you just kind of answered my next question.

I was going to ask you what for the lumberjacks.

It's 17 years old is the youngest 16 16 so you can still be in high school somewhere.

And then they come here and they're, of course, they got to keep up with their studies, right?

Yes.

So kind of a interesting process there.

We can take 16 and 17 year olds.

There's minimum playing requirements for those kids at that age.

We have to meet with, you know, games they have to play and how many minutes and different things that go into that because it's development, right?

If you're pulling a kid out of high school, you've got to continue to develop them.

You can't just collect them up and put them in the stands in a suit and tie.

And so we have

have rules for that.

But with with this, anybody that's still in school in our program, they Sophia, who's our team president, she's our education coordinator as well.

She's the education coordinator for our league.

And what she does is she maintains a watchful eye on their schooling.

She's got access to their online schooling portal.

She checks on their grades.

We have a minimum GPA for our team.

Kids have to come in with a minimum GPA.

If they don't, they

We don't take them.

And then on top of that, whether they're choosing to take classes at the college level,

as just wanting to keep ahead or if they're taking high school because it's mandatory they have to maintain that GPA they have to maintain that active and it's actually a higher GPA we make them maintain during the season versus the a little bit lower which still is above the NCAA but so we're big on the education piece and you know the the the other part of it is is is that you know with these kids

You know, it's it's got to make sense for them, right?

Just to take a 16 year old out of high school or a 17 or even an 18 year old that's going to graduate as a senior, you know, we it has to be certain parameters.

So we're the only junior team, I believe.

in the entire country that has an agreement with our state, with our region to not steal high school kids from our state and our area out of high school early.

Now, if a player is going to be released from high school, he's going to go play junior somewhere and we get a call from a high school coach and he says, listen, somebody's going to take him.

We'd rather see him stay local or see him stay, you know, in the state of Michigan or, you know, if it's a Wisconsin kid, see him stay close to the area.

That's a different animal.

We don't actively go out and recruit to steal players from Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Michigan.

And

we have an agreement with all three states.

And I'm pretty confident.

I'd love for somebody to call in if they know of another team that does that and let me know.

But I think we're the only ones that do that.

We've stood behind that.

This is year eight for us.

And we've stood behind that and never, never broken that for eight years now.

So.

Okay.

So when.

You know, I look at your rush, you got kids from all over all over the country, all over and some are from Canada too.

So let's say you have a let's say I'm just going to use Buffalo, New York.

You've got it.

You've got a kid in Buffalo, 16 or 17 years old.

They're they're very good on their high school hockey team, or they don't have a hockey team, something like that, right?

And you want so if he's really good on this hockey team, that's what you're getting at.

They may get picked up by somebody.

Yep.

But you wouldn't go after him unless well, he was moving.

That's a little different, right?

Because I'm going to go get my kids from somewhere, right?

I'm going to get my guys from somewhere.

There's a lot of areas that they just don't have that developmental infrastructure.

You know, it may not.

It can take them so far, but it's not going to take them further.

OK.

And so we look for we look for those kids.

If they're if they're of that age, we're looking for those players that are looking to seeking more.

They want better competition, better coaching, better structure, opportunity to be seen by colleges, better, better programs at higher levels, things like that.

All right.

We'll take a break here.

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now.

We are

here with the Ironwood Lumberjack coach and Rod Halverson and we are talking Ironwood Lumberjack hockey.

And right now it's also the Swap Shop.

So the Swap Shop is sponsored by Avante Home Care for your home care that's made to order for your individual needs.

Ask for Avante 906-932-5999 is the number to call.

If you have something to buy, sell or trade, do not hesitate to give us a call during this interview, but we're going to continue on.

So go ahead, Rod.

Joe, we don't have a studio

cam, so people can't see what I'm wearing, but

you

notice.

You're classy.

It's good

looking sweatshirt.

It actually.

I saw him walk in with it.

I'm like, where'd you get that from?

Well, we'll have to have worked something out.

Maybe one falls off the back of the truck on the way by the studio.

I will definitely come and get mine and support because I think this is great.

So we're having a great interview, Rod, and continue.

We're talking about recruiting right now.

You talked a little bit about Buffalo, New York.

And

first of all, I got to say that I have my

Lumberjack hoodie on even though it's middle of August that felt they better not say that just now, but no you didn't say what I was wearing you didn't say it