Rimbey Royals to open inaugural HJHL season

RIMBEY -- The Rimbey Royals are set to open their inaugural HJHL season this coming weekend. 

The league's newest team will open their season on the road on Friday, Sept. 25, in Strathmore against the Wheatland Kings. One night later, they'll return home to Vern Poffenroth Arena to play their first regular season home game in team history against the High River Flyers. 

The team will hope to fill the void left by the Ponoka Stampeders, who quietly exited the HJHL this past off-season. Royals' Assistant Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Garrett Dick says they're set to ice an exciting team for their inaugural season. The group will be led by Rimbey-born forward Reed Toussaint, who will serve as the first captain in team history.

"We've got a strong group on defence, and up front, we have our local boy Reed Toussaint who is going to be our captain this year," said Dick. "We have two good goalies in net. One is from Austria, and the other is from Winnipeg. They're both great goaltenders."

Toussaint, who stands 6'3", 187 pounds, joined the Royals during the off-season after spending the 2025-2026 HJHL campaign with the Mountainview Colts. In 24 games with the Colts the 19-year-old tallied 11 points (3G, 8A). In terms of expectations, Dick says that the main goal for their inaugural year will be to build a team culture and set the standards for the future. Valentino Elias Harson and Anden Bieganowski are expected to split the duties between the pipes this year for the Royals.

"The strongest aspect for our team this year is going to be a strong defensive game," said Dick. "We have to build from our net out, and we feel that if our players can defend well, get pucks out, get pucks deep, finish checks, then good things will happen."

Saturday's home opener will mark the first Junior-B hockey game played in the Town of Rimbey since the former Rimbey Rock were disbanded fifteen years ago. Dick encourages members of the public to come down and support the team as they make their home debut.

"We're a community team, non-profit organization, and we want our fans to support us," said Dick. "We need our fans in there cheering the boys on and bringing that energy to the rink." 

Saturday's home opener is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at Vern Poffenroth Arena.