Junior A Hockey headed for Charlotte County

St. Stephen's new $20 million Garcelon Civic Centre will soon be home to the County Aces, the newest addition to the Maritime Junior A Hockey League.

The team has hired former New Jersey Devils draft pick Jamie McKinley as coach and general manager.

The Aces are expected to be the anchor tenant in the new 1,100 seat civic centre.

"St. Stephen is where we're going to be operating, but our community is Washington and Charlotte Counties, said John Hyslop, the team president.

Their goal is to have an average attendance around 700 people at each game.

Junior A is a very high level of competition, said Hyslop. It's fast, it's entertaining, and players in it still have the dream.

The Aces will become the 12th team in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League joining places like Miramichi, Woodstock, Amherst and Yarmouth.

Paul Sweeney, the father of St. Stephen-born NHL player Don Sweeney, helped get the County Aces off the ground.

"We've had a few teams comes through. They come in they are successful for a while and they leave, he said. Well build this one as a franchise I hope."

The County Aces will play their first game in early September.

The Civic Centre is expected to be mostly complete by May.