AJAX, ON -- July 22, 2009, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- The Ajax Attack Jr. A Hockey Club is pleased to announce a revamped game day presentation for the upcoming 2009-10 season.

"We saw a need for improvement to the game day experience from a fan's perspective," said Derek Sharp, Director of Promotions and Marketing for the team. "I think, most importantly, we wanted to build on the momentum created through our success on the ice last season."

This season, fans will be treated to the music of Rob MacArthur, of Puck and Beaver Entertainment and the ROBMAC group. Rob is one of the best professional disc jockeys in the area, and will provide a significant upgrade over previous seasons. "With a professional disc jockey and sound system, we are looking at having possibly the best music and announcing in the entire league," says Sharp, who notes that most teams rely on volunteers using the arena sound systems, which are not always the highest quality.

Thanks to the addition of Rob MacArthur, the team will also be having excellent singers for the National Anthem at every home game. Rob's wife, Lorraine Davies, is a local recording artist, and will sing O Canada at a number of the games. The team will also rely heavily on MacArthur's many music industry contacts to provide a great variety of singers for the fans.

As part of the game experience, fans will also have the opportunity to participate in several contests. In addition to the 50-50 draw, always a popular staple at Attack games, there will be intermission shootouts. The adult shootout prize has already been confirmed as a 2010 membership to Annandale Golf and Country Club. The team is trying to confirm the sponsor for a kids shootout as well. There will also be other contests to be announced.

The season will also see a more professional game layout, because of the team's inclusion in the Central Conference. The Central features professional standards for pre-game player introductions, as well as fifteen minute timed intermissions, all of which will streamline the overall game presentation.

Sharpie nice to see that the Attack will have much improved gameday presentation for the upcoming 2009/2010 season for the fans..... great job!!

Very good for the fans it would also be nice if they had a team Mascot for the children that attend games,we bring our two children ages 6 and 8 but hard to keep them entertained it would be an added enjoyment for them and us aswell!

Dallasgirl88 great idea for the kids every club should do this at their home games,giving out balloons and prizes and meeting the kids,maybe the Attack team can do this for your kids and others that attend!

The OHL does this for children and dont see why Ajax cant,it would be fun for the children and a big draw for Ajax attendance in the 2009/2010 season.

I agree children would love it!

These are great ideas. Maybe some other teams will catch on to them as a way to boost attendance. A twist on the kids activities idea might be to give out free kids tickets at local schools with "when accompanied by an adult" priinted on them. The following game might find some of these kids saying "Let's go to the game again, Dad. I had fun the last time." Before long Dad will get hooked as a team fan and supporter too.

This is actually a program I am working out logistically. It is going to be two-tiered, first Attack players will be going into schools to read to primary aged students, kindergarten through grade two. The second will be giving out tickets in the schools they go into. Watch for a future press release on this.

The Attack had a skate with the TEAM for adults and children last year plus a tour of the dressing room with gatorade and pop for all attending,the children had a fantastic time and also got autogaphs from the players and free Attack pucks aswell signed by the players,if they do the same this year and have a Team Mascot skating on ice aswell the children will have a ball!

Its true when the game is being played children will loose some focus and there is nothing to keep them amused,a Team Mascot would fix this problem and make the whole game exciting for all the children and also i would guess the parents to,the idea of giving the children free balloons,candy,prizes and pictures taken with the Mascot,would generate fan support and lots more children at games raising the attendance all season long,Ajax should do this plus other clubs in the league!

Also at the Attack skate there was 150 tickets given out to the first 150 children for the Attacks next game,and very many children did attend that game,to bad they did not have a Mascot for the children in the stands it would of put the icing on the cake!!

i am for any promotion to attract more fans to games, one thing that bothers me at alot of games is kids who don't watch the game and make it less than enjoyable for others.some parents either drop their kids off at the arena or just set them loose after they get inside the arena.

As i said earlier there is nothing to keep the children ammused at the game and intermissions, as the same for my children a mascot would be fantastic for all children and myself and my hubby!

Maybe Sharpie can put this together in regards to a mascot for kids at games,maybe have name the mascot contest and win season tikets and a signed jersey for the kid with the best name and mascot outfit!!

Super idea its a "NO BRAINER" kiddies will come!

This will be good for not only the fans and children but also the club,and if they can put a Mascot in the rink for games it will attract the kids and families!

"and if they can put a Mascot in the rink for games it will attract the kids and families"

Will the mascot be a beaver?

Maybe the owner has another son that wants to be a beaver!

Sounds like a smoke and mirror show to me. Trying to take the focus away from the on ice product, which will be extremely weak this year. Rumour has it Attack have 1 returning defencman and we all know with the trading of Jenkins they don't have a returning goalie. Hopefully the forwards can score 8+ goals a game because with red light stein in net they will need that many to win

"Sounds like a smoke and mirror show to me. Trying to take the focus away from the on ice product"

I wouldn't say that, in so much as I would say that this is an effort to market the team, which I was hired to do. I am not going to waste time worrying about the on-ice product, I trust the hockey people involved with the team to take care of that. It's not my department.

I think alot of forum readers are taking this anti-Stein thing too far and i for one would like it to stop,this is a young goaltender and the son of the owner, but i still do not think he deserves the abuse of others on this forum people are hanging him before the season has even started,he may surprize alot of you who knows i hope he does then this bashing can stop,this POST was not about the Stien goaltender or his father.... is was about gameday operations which Sharpie is doing things in the wright direction for the Attack and the fans of that club!

Sharpie i do agree that a Mascot would be a very good thing for the young children and also the Attack organization in attendance this upcoming year, it would not cost the club that much to put it in motion.

greggy09 & wannacoach need to grow up and as for rippedskate, he maybe will be the first person applying for the MASCOT position then he can still keep himself unknown to all!

Do you honestly think they are doing that kid a favour by putting him somewhere he so evidently does not belong?

"I think alot of forum readers are taking this anti-Stein thing too far and i for one would like it to stop,this is a young goaltender and the son of the owner, but i still do not think he deserves the abuse of others on this forum people are hanging him before the season has even started"


I agree that it's gone too far, but again, it's the by product of a father putting his son in an impossible situation....I feel for the kid, although sometimes I wonder if spoiled rich kids become immune to this kind of thing

Last word from me. How do you think the players feel that belong there?
This is not a fourth line guy or sixth defenceman. Why do you think the great hockey fans of Ajax will not support this team. The juvenile team gets 2-3 times more fans. Ask around.

I believe that the point that was being made was that it has absolutely nothing to do with this thread though. Zero. Zilch.

Bring it up in a thread about the goaltending situation in Ajax, that would be the ONLY appropriate and correct place for such a discussion. A thread about the marketing of the team is not the place.

Sharpie thankyou for clearing this up for the others on this post,this is about gameday not the stein family or the goaltender if they want they can post that somewhere else,but.....i will not read it as it condems a player in this league shame on you all!

That is your right not to read it, however, I will never say that someone cannot state their opinion. I just wish that they would do it the right and proper way, and through the right and proper channels...namely, a thread on that topic. I have been involved with a lot of forums, and moderated more than fifty myself. Posting off-topic in a forum like this is considered spamming the thread, and is generally frowned upon.

If you want to state your opinion, and spark a healthy debate on a topic, I'm all for that. But start a new thread topic for that. Don't hijack thread that is otherwise meant to be informative and promotional.

This is nonsense. In an ideal world, yes, all threads would remain on topic, but in practice it rarely happens. Sharpie, if you really have moderated 50 forums and they all stayed on topic, where were they? North Korea?

This forum only reflects real life. Start any topic anywhere with a real live bunch of people present and you will repeatedly go off topic. In the same way, any hockey forum will always veer off topic. you should be grateful, as in this case it has kept a fairly tedious thread near the top much longer than it deserved.

greggy09 i agree with Sharpie "POST IT" yourself if it bothers you that much,but dont forget that 95% of the forwards have all signed with Ajax already and these are players from last season,and have 4 new "D" coming from the States in August and one of those players racked up mega points as a "D"!!

I see you are doing some big things in promotion for the Attack this season and i give you cudos for this,dont listen to the non sayers about Ajax this season,these forum readers dont know what it takes to create revenue and at the same time keep everyone happy.

Rome was not built in a day....but forum members think it was!

I will enjoy Attack games as i did last year,but what you have organized for this season i will enjoy it more.

I did read on this post about a Mascott for the Attack club, and think this would be an attraction for the young at games very good idea!

Great to see Ajax improving on their Game Day events as i read it will be a huge turn around from last season,and a mascot would be kool for the kids on hand at games this season..get ur done Sharpie!!

Sharpie will the Attack have an actual gameday mag this year,last season it was a piece of paper with no information or player picks it was terrible to be given out to the fans for a Jr"A" game!

Junior27 i agree is this the best the Attack could put together as a program for a Junior"A" Hockey Club,i hope they do something about this as our family attended 90% of home games last year,and we had no idea whom was on the team or information on the Attack organization.

It is in the works. We have a printer working on getting us a proof as I type this. It was one of my top priorities in terms of gameday presentation. Even higher on the priority list than a mascot, believe it or not!!!

Sorry Sharpie it was not Toros1977 idea.....it was Dallasgirl88 creation for the Mascot,send her the tickets and a free bus ride for an away game!