The Frontenacs Put Family First
OHL Kingston Frontenacs

The Frontenacs Put Family First

Published on October 20, 2025 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kingston Frontenacs News Release


Hockey isn't always the name of the game.

Sometimes, the name of the game is family, whether that be hunkered around the television watching hockey on a snowy Saturday night, whether that's on the bench as a player or coach or trainer, inside the dressing room or crowded into the stands at Slush Puppie Place on a Friday night during Ontario Hockey League season.

This season, family is THE name of the game for the Kingston Frontenacs.

From the introduction of the brand new Fronts FanZone to family friendly ticketing options to partnerships with local businesses, the action behind the scenes will be almost as torrid as it is on the ice. Almost!

Heading out of a highly successful 2024-25 OHL season, Frontenacs staff at all levels set to work on preparing for the 2025-26 season, with eyes on improving not only on the ice, but off it as well.

This season, the club has put family first with a comprehensive overhaul of its in-game experience, and its overall approach to the community.

Colton Robb, the club's Director of Ticket Sales and Marketing Strategies, explained how the club took one of its theme day experiences and expanded it this season.

"Every Sunday used to be called Sunday FunDay, which allowed fans to come out on Sundays where we had face painting, games, inflatables and other activities," Robb said. "We asked ourselves, why are we focusing just on a few games? So we created the FanZone as a way that families can come out and kids can enjoy fun activities on the main concourse, like bubble hockey, box hockey, NHL 26 on PlayStation 5, but for every single home game this season. You can come here and watch a terrific game on the ice and at the same time have entertainment throughout the game that's different from what we were offering before with the in-game experience. It just allows families and youth to have a lot more fun at our games."

Young fans, families and community are staples at Slush Puppie Place throughout the season. And it's not by accident. Long before the opening puck drops, young hockey players can be seen lining the benches during warmup, leading the Frontenacs to the ice at game time or holding a giant Canadian flag during the national anthem.

"Our sales team works with local minor hockey organizations to make sure that they get to have a little bit of an extra experience when they come to our games, because young kids are our next generation of fans, right," said Jordan Jackson, the Frontenacs Manager of Game Operations and Communications. "We want to make sure when they're here, their experience is a little elevated, so they really feel connected to us, and they can enjoy growing up and becoming a Frontenacs fan for life. From Benchwarmers, where they get to be on the bench for warm-up, to the Flag Team, where they're holding a giant Canadian flag on the ice to the Scotiabank 7th Skater, where a local youth hockey player is introduced as part of the starting lineup, it's a great way to get them to feel like they're part of what we're doing here and the more people feel like they're part of our organization, the more support we get from the community."

The Frontenacs have also set to work on creating family packs to make their games affordable, offering ticket packages through the club, as well as through local businesses like Canadian Tire, Rona and at Cataraqui Centre.

"We are always going to be a community-first team," Robb said. "So being able to be out there in the community and then offering special packages that allow people to come at more affordable rates to our theme nights - Hockey is for the Dogs, our Hockey Fights Cancer nights, our Military themes, games all season long - that is about trying to bring the community together, just like how we try and go out with Barrack the Bear and our crew to make sure we're kind of always serving the community."

And oh yes, Barrack, that lovable, photogenic, cuddly No. 1 Fronts fan. It's truly not a full Frontenacs experience without a hug or high five from Barrack, who can be found wandering through the stands, shooting t-shirts from a cannon or posing for selfies at every home game. You'll probably even catch him in the sharp new warm-up jerseys the players are sporting this season, a throwback to Kingston's junior hockey history and it's deep military roots; the brainchild of Fronts' Manager of Marketing and Digital Media, Spencer Loeb.

"We've kind of been looking at honouring our history in different ways," Jackson said of the jersey design. "Last year, we had the Count Frontenac jersey as a warm-up jersey. This year, we're bringing the Count back in a different way yet to yet to be seen. When we realized what this history was to the city, bearing a Frontenacs name, it was a great little add for us and a cool new logo. I know the team has really bought into it, and I think the fans are liking it, too."

Be sure to check it out for yourself at a game.

A closer look at some of the changes and enhancements for the Frontenacs season this year:

Fronts FanZone: Games featured on the main concourse all season, including NHL 26, giant Jenga, giant Tetris, giant Connect Four, bubble hockey, box hockey, stick-handling challenges, accuracy shooting and more.

Family 4-Packs, Flex Packs: The club is partnering with local downtown restaurants to offer Family 4-Packs with four tickets, two autographed player photos, food vouchers/coupons for $84.95+HST. With Flex Packs, fans can choose the games they want to attend and decide how many vouchers to use each time. Use them all for one big night out, spread them across multiple games, or mix and match to suit their schedule.

Community engagement: The Frontenacs are always in the community. whether it's visiting schools before practice, player autograph signing sessions at partner stores, the annual March Break full team signing at Cataraqui Centre, or players fundraising for charitable causes. Last season, newly minted captain Jacob Battaglia became the official spokesperson for the Canadian Mental Health Associations 'Talk Today' program. This season, Battaglia is still the official spokesperson, but he is aiming to raise $15,000 for the cause. In the crease, Gavin Betts announced that he is a Hockey Gives Blood partner and is donating $1 for every save he makes this season back to Hockey Gives Blood in addition to hosting blood drives in Kingston.

Theme nights: Whether honouring the military on 'Fronts Salute the Troops' night, throwing Teddy Bears on the ice to donate to less fortunate children during the annual 'Teddy Bear Toss' or celebrating impactful women on 'Women in Sports' night, there is no shortage of fun and meaningful experiences.

Check out the Kingston Frontenacs Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 20, 2025


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