10/08/2026
Authored by Ed Hitchins:
‘Cautiously optimistic’: FSJ Flyers president talks team’s season hiatus.
Following training camp this week, the Fort St. John Senior Flyers have announced their 2026-27 season has been put on ice.
In an announcement from team president Paul van Nostrand, the Flyers have requested and received a temporary leave of absence from the North Peace Hockey League (NPHL), effective this season.
The statement notes the team was unable to “secure enough capable, committed players” to field a full squad this year, and thanked fans, supporters and volunteers.
In an Oct. 8 interview, van Nostrand said discussion regarding withdraw came as a result of the Oct. 5 training camp, where just 21 players came to skate at the North Peace Arena.
“We had serious concerns after our opening skate on Monday night,” said van Nostrand. “We only had 21 guys on the ice, and five were goaltenders.”
“On Tuesday, [Flyers GM] Lee Hartman and the coaches got together [and] had a bit of a phoning blitz, [and] after that it wasn’t very encouraging.”
The Flyers are the second team to withdraw from the NPHL in little over a week, following the Fahler Pirates’ decision to sit out this season for reasons similar to the Flyers.
van Nostrand advised that 14 players from the roster last January were not available.
This includes last year’s team captain Cayle Bell and Jayden Syrota, both of whom moved away from the area.
van Nostrand said there are other factors at the senior hockey level, including job commitments and family responsibilities, which create further barriers for potential players.
“There are so many obstacles,” said van Nostrand. “These guys have families, have spouses, have responsible jobs.”
“Many of them are in camp often…a combination of all those things results in just not having enough guys available to ice a team.”
Work is underway to put together a team next season, and van Nostrand said head coach Reid Campbell and his staff will be retained pending a return.
van Nostrand said he felt “disappointed” for some very good young players who came to camp for the first time, were not going to be able to skate for the Flyers this year.
Following the announcement, players are free to try out for any NPHL team.
The withdrawal is the second for the Flyers in less than a decade.
A hiatus by the Flyers from the NPHL during the 2019-20 season eventually turned into three years following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m cautiously optimistic to be very frank with you,” said van Nostrand. “I like to think that my glass is half full the vast majority of the time, but I do have concerns.”
“Senior hockey is very hard. All the guys have spouses and families and responsible work commitments. Injuries were a big downfall for us last year. A combination of those things can make it very, very difficult.”
