Wayne Purboo is a name that not many people would be familiar with, but should be.
He is a co-owner of the Oakville Blades who play in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) and has two sons that have carved successful careers in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Purboo purchased the Blades alongside Tony Canade a few years ago. Both had kids that they thought would play for the team, but there was one other reason the two bought the Blades.
“There was a strong desire by the former owners to keep the ownership in Oakville,” said Purboo. “There was a lot of interest in the franchise from outside of Oakville. The team is one of the absolute top franchises in the OJHL with an unparalleled track record of helping local kids advance, so they were looking for someone from Oakville to buy the team.”
Canade sold his portion of the team to Andre Christensen and former NHL-er Jamie Storr before the start of the 2019-20 season. Storr was also named Head Coach and General Manager of the team. Purboo had talked with Storr when both lived in Los Angeles about purchasing a portion of the team. The two of them hit if off immediately, and it made sense for Storr to purchase a majority stake in the team and become the day-to-day operator.
Purboo kept his stake in the Blades, because, as he puts it, “I still have an affinity for hockey here, and it’s fun to own a team.”
As if the success of the Blades wasn’t enough proof of how big hockey is here, Rogers’ Hometown Hockey broadcast their show from Oakville on November 26, 2017.
“It was great to recognize Oakville and be able to show the strength of the community and the love of hockey in Oakville,” said Purboo.
Purboo has two sons who have forged successful careers in the OHL. Cole Purboo spent four years with the Windsor Spitfires, with his final two as one of the team’s assistant captains. The big power forward led the team in scoring in the 2018-19 season with 55 points and finished second the season prior. Not to mention he won the Memorial Cup in his very first season with the Spitfires.
He recently committed to playing for the University of Toronto, where he’ll be studying commerce this fall.
“They’re a well-known program, and I really liked what the coaching staff had to say,” said Cole. “My uncle had gone there, so there was a bit of familiarity as well.”
Christian Purboo was the only one of Purboo’s sons to play for the Blades, but his career in the OHL has, so far, been successful as well. While playing predominantly as a backup with the North Bay Battalion, he was traded prior to the start of the 2019-20 season to the Sudbury Wolves.
“I was pretty nervous,” Christian recalls. “When you get drafted to a team, you think it’s your home and you’re never going to leave. So when a bunch of teams were interested, I was pretty nervous, but my dad, my goalie coach and my GM all told me it would be for the best.”
Christian would start most of the Wolves’ games this past season. They went on to win the Central Division by six points over the Barrie Colts, and finish second in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, the playoffs were cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Luckily, Christian will most likely be heading back to the Wolves when the new season starts to improve on last season.
While watching hockey can be a great way to relax and relieve stress, as well as watch the future of hockey, a much bigger issue faces the world of sports.
The shooting of George Floyd in the USA sparked outrage amongst black Americans, causing protests to erupt all over the world. Professional and amateur athletes of all races spoke about the brutality and made statements of their own.
While the Blades as a team cannot provide a definitive answer to the injustice facing visible minorities, Purboo is an advisor to the newly formed Hockey Diversity Alliance.
“I’ve been helping them on the planning and the execution of creating a more diverse hockey environment for everyone,” said Purboo. “Being a black person in Oakville, and one of the few black owners in Canada, I have a strong desire to see hockey become more diverse.”
Christian also sent out a tweet addressing what was happening in the USA.
While recent events have greatly affected the world of sports, Purboo still finds joy in owning the Blades.
“It’s been great every year to see brand new kids coming into the Blades,” said Purboo. “Having a championship-winning season and going as far as we did last year was incredibly exciting, and you start to see how important hockey is to the kids. We’re still talking about last season and using it to build on from here. We won’t have a winning season like that every year, but seeing how much the kids go through, there’s so much passion.”
Success breeds success in Blades hockey. When asked how the Blades would do next season, Purboo was clear and confident.
“We’re going to win.”
You heard it here first.