Jonathon Brodie - Recorder.ca

Brockville Tikis co-owner Dustin Traylen wants to make one thing very clear - the team isn't for sale and isn't going to be moving anywhere.

Traylen has heard the rumours saying otherwise, dumbfounded every time they come his way and somewhat astonished he's even having to address the talk in the media.

"There is absolutely no truth to the rumour whatsoever," Traylen said. "I just want to squash it.

Being in Brockville and knowing what I know, this probably comes up a lot every year. There's just always speculation and I'll put the speculation to bed."

People have inquired about buying the team, but the answer has always been, "unequivocally no," added the owner.

One person, who Traylen is less than enthusiastic talking about, messaged him through social media at 10 p.m. on Christmas Day about buying the club and he believes, "It's probably that one guy that's starting all the non-sense."

Traylen was unsure if the contract him and co-owner Hani Greiss had signed when they bought the Tikis in 2015 had a clause in it saying they had to hold onto the Jr. B club for a particular amount of time, but he said the point would be irrelevant even if it was included in the agreement.

"We're committed for the long haul, so whether it's two, three, five or ten years, whatever it is we're not going anywhere," Traylen said.

The fact Traylen is so adamant he's keeping the club might raise some eyebrows amongst some fans as the Tikis are down in the standings - 16 points out of a playoff spot with nine games left in the regular season - and have slouching attendance numbers - like most CCHL2 clubs do.

Traylen does, however, view his team as being successful. He praises first-year coach Grahame Hughes and appreciates his team's compete level that has seen them go from six wins last year to 14 this season.

Success, in Traylen's point of view, comes from what the CCHL2 was supposed to become when it made the change from the EOJHL - a feeder system to grow players to higher leagues.

He points to Tikis wingers Adam Van Ettinger and Trevor Finch, who have both suited up for the Brockville Braves this month and are regularly practicing with the Jr. A club. There have been a few others that have been called up throughout the season.

"Obviously you want to win a championship, but a successful season for the Tikis is one where players from the Tikis get to play Jr. A hockey," Traylen said. "We're trying to promote kids and that's the success part. We've been able to find two regulars on a team of Jr. B players so far and there's probably more to come. That to me is successful.

"These aren't stop-gap players that a Jr. A team is in a pinch and call-up a guy. These are guys we plan on having in the lineup in the future."

He'll have to keep the Tikis in order for that to happen.

Original article at Recorder.ca