Windsor-LaSalle Minor Hockey Merger Falls Through

While the sport of hockey has been in the forefront of Canadian sports-especially in youth athletics, but in recent times the sport has seen a drastic decline in registration the many leagues either merging to stay afloat or folding all together. 

The Windsor Minor Hockey Association and the LaSalle Minor Hockey Association pitched a merger for the 2025-26 season but, the LMHA has voted against moving forward.  The WMHA voted 70 percent in favour of the merger, but the LaSalle Minor Hockey Association voted 58 per cent against the merger which has led to the merger falling through. 

Don Durham, president of the LMHA said he believed the merger was best for both leagues. 

“I do, with the landscape of minor hockey in the region, with the mergers that have gone on and the ones that are potential, and the enrollment, for both Windsor and LaSalle, I think that would have made us a stronger organization and more viable for the long-term future,” said Durham.

Durham also said that with registration declining, he believes that “the major cost and the demographics” were the driving factors in kids not signing up. 

He said “soccer and cricket are one of the fastest growing sports in Canada right now because of the New Canadians. That’s what their parents grew up with, so that’s what they play.” 

Registration is down significantly from previous years with both leagues getting smaller. That number will shrink if interest in the league continues to slip by the wayside.  

“We have anywhere from four to six teams per age group, which is down from previous years, but we still have a pretty good strong house league. It just would’ve made an even bigger house league with more talent, more variety, better pool of volunteers to be able to feed the travel program,” Durham said.

With other sport like the previously mentioned soccer and cricket continuing to grow, it’s looking like minor hockey isn’t going to be at the top of youth sports in Canada for much longer.