The new owner of the Wellington Dukes, along with his brain trust, stopped by Quinte News Thursday, just hours after the deal closed to transfer the team from Ken Clemen to Andrew Gunning.
Gunning and his wife Nicole are the owners of Farnsworth Construction, along with Oak Hills Golf Club.
We asked him about the decision to acquire the OJHL club.
“I care a lot about our local community and our hockey community as well, and I was keeping tabs on this for some time. It got to the point where I felt it was time to step up and get involved, or I could potentially be on the sidelines and watch this team disappear.”
In our conversation with outgoing owner Ken Clement, he told us it was important to find a local owner.
Gunning says having a strong junior hockey program in Wellington is important for the entire region.
“We’re one big rural area. For kids that grow up in a rural area, it’s an excellent option for them to not have to go to a big city somewhere.”
Darcy Murphy says Gunning will bring stability to the program.
“Wellington’s had a lot of ups and some downs, and I think moving forward Andy’s going to bring some stability there. Wellington’s still the perfect place for someone to grow, develop into a young man and a hockey player as well.”
Murphy says they want a culture to grow the entire player.
“You know, we want good people first, good hockey players second and I think Andy’s also on board with that motto. It goes a long way because, at the end of the day, a lot of these kids are going to go pro in something other than hockey, and they need to be prepared for life that’s going to come at them quickly.”
Jacob Panetta was playing professional hockey just 18 months ago and returned home to coach his former team last summer.
“We’re incredibly thankful for Andy stepping up in a grave time of need to the community of Wellington and in Prince Edward County as a whole. The Dukes’ identity is almost ingrained in the community identity out there. I know it means just as much to them as it does us.”
Panetta was also recently named executive director of the Quinte Red Devils AAA program.
“When I was growing up and going through the Quinte system, Wellington was the team for me that I wanted to go play on, and I think that held true for most of the kids that I played with. I think over the years, it’s kind of drifted away from that a little bit. We began to take steps last year to kind of bring back that connection.”
Gunning says he is looking forward to meeting with fans, volunteers, sponsors, billets, and supporters of the team over the coming weeks.
Gunning says the team can be contacted at – wellingtondukescamp@gmail.com.
