For Edmonton's minor affiliate, I would venture out to Spruce Grove, Alberta. Just 11 kilometres west of Edmonton, there's a really close knit community there who love their hockey. I fully believe they would support a local minor league team. Spruce Grove actually started out as a village town and that's really how they made their name. When coming up with the team, we decided to honour that by calling the team the Spruce Grove Villagers.

In terms of running the team, the co-GM of the Blizzard has actually been tasked with building the Villagers. Tony Pepperoni has been scouting out the minor leagues across the globe so he's been diligently working to get them up and working. The owner of the Blizzard sent Pepperoni on this job to help get him more experience building a team. He usually answers to Connor Tanner, but now he can build a team in his vision which is great practice for the SHL.

The town of Spruce Grove is excited about this new team to cheer on. Season ticket sales are through the roof and the Villagers are ready to make their mark as the newest minor league affiliate of the Edmonton Blizzard.

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