Nearing the end of the Calgary Surge’s 2026 season, team leadership views the season as a win despite ups and downs.
For the first time since moving to Calgary in 2023, the Calgary Surge, who made the finals in both 2023 and 2025, will miss the CEBL playoffs, finishing last in the Western Conference.
As the 7-15 Calgary Surge prepare for their final games of the year, Team President Dylan Howe said that he views the season in two halves.
After starting their season with a single win through 13 games, the Surge rattled off wins in six out of their next eight games.
“Not the best start that we wanted, but the team turned things around and showed the character that they have not only as athletes, but as individuals and people to bite down and turn things around,” he told LWC.
Internally, staff knew wins would come, Howe said. Before they did, leadership’s message was to stay the course.
“We knew we had the pieces, but the puzzle wasn’t coming together. When things started to connect a little bit, we had the realization that what we believed was ringing true,” he said.
“It was refreshing to know the hard work was coming to light.”
Howe said he has a lot of respect for the Surge faithful to stuck with the team through what was their first true dry-spell since their move to Calgary in 2023.
To those who have doubts about the team moving forward, he said he’ll let their on-court play, both past and future, speak for itself.
“Look back at our track record and see those three-straight Championship Weekends in three straight years,” he said.
“There’s a lot of learnings we took away from this season that we’re going to apply to 2027 to come back stronger. I know that fullheartedly.”
Howe released an open letter to Surge fans earlier this week.
Missing the playoffs: A unique feeling
With the CEBL playoffs now around the corner, Howe said it will be different watching without the Surge in the mix.
“It’ll be a first, I haven’t done that in a while,” he said.
“It’ll be useful for me, I’ve been with the league since day one, so I’ve been able to see the growth to where we are today. I’ll be interested to see how it shakes out with the new format.”
As for the Surge’s post season, priority number one will shift to their outreach goals for next season.
“We’re looking at our season ticket renewals as our focus and we’re going to do a deep dive organizationally on where we can grow and where we can improve,” Howe said.
“Ideally, (next season) we can go back to (host games in) Red Deer and Lethbridge, we can continue to grow basketball here locally, we can continue to build with our partners, such as the Downtown Strategy.”
After the season, the Surge’s calendar will consist of a 3×3 tournament at the beginning of September and a tournament with CF Chinook Centre, among other open events.
For the two final games of 2026, Howe wants the players, organization and fans to leave on a positive note.
“We’re going to enjoy our last games of 2026, let’s leave with our heads held high and leave our fans in a great spot this Friday.”
The Surge will host their final home game on July 31 against the Niagara River Lions, before wrapping up the season in Saskatoon to take on the Mamba on Aug. 3.
