Our friends at Atlantic Puck shouted us today about where we feel would be the best place to put another MHL Junior ‘A’ franchise (tweet here). Numerous people tweeted back “why not NL” and “St. John’s would be a great place to have a team” and while their intentions are noble, there is no way in hell that NL is going to get a single Junior ‘A’ Hockey team (before you get all fired up, readers… read to the end).
It’s because of cost. The almighty dollar. It’s all about the Benjamin’s. You get my point.
The St. John’s Fog Devils (QMJHL team – a step higher than Junior ‘A’) averaged around 3,000 fans per game during their tenure in Sin City, but the team didn’t last longer than a couple of seasons. It’s easy to blame the parking, the Dobbin’s, the franchise not having a Sidney Crosby – but at the end of the day, the major issue was cost related to isolation. The ‘Devils (to my knowledge) had to subsidize teams to make their travel obligations. The ‘Devils had to play 34 games on the road, and the closest game to them is a 100-minute flight away. Buses. Hotels. Per diem. Meals for a small army of people on top of multiple flights per season – it’s a lot of work, with little to no (or negative) pay-off. Try telling a super wealthy businessperson that their investment is going to take a lot of work, and make pennies on the dollar at seasons end. There won’t be many hands raised to take it on.
NL is just too far away from the rest of the world to field a Junior Hockey team (singular). Especially one in the Maritime Junior ‘A’ League, a circuit where most teams operate on tighter margins than their Major Junior cousins. In order for expansion to happen, a majority vote from all member teams would have to go the NL teams way; do you think that the Edmundston Blizzard are going to sign off on expansion to NL? The closest possible team in NL to them would be (roughly) an 8 hour bus ride + a 6 hour ferry to Port Aux Basques. That’s assuming all goes to plan – all NL’ers know how a routine ferry crossing can turn into a multi-day stay. Hurricanes, ice, high winds, anything can happen out in the Strait of St. Lawrence.
How about an NL Division?
If there is hope for Junior ‘A’ hockey lovers in the province of NL, it is to have a full division of teams in the MHL. The “Rock Division” could operate inside the province only; 4-6 teams, imports, and the winner of the Division earns the right to play in the MetalFab Cup tournament (winner of NB division, NS division, NL division and host team). Memorial Cup style. The winner moves on to play in the Centennial Cup Junior ‘A’ championship. This would be the only logical way to make Junior ‘A’ hockey a reality in NL.
Final Jeopardy – will the above ever happen? I never say never. Especially with the Galway arena project gaining steam and ideal Junior ‘A’ rinks in places such as Paradise, Gander, CBS, Port aux Basques, Deer Lake, and Corner Brook (etc etc), the supply of ice may finally be there. That said, no decision of this magnitude is linear and – since I am powerless to the decision-making – I will sit back with my bowl of popcorn and see what materializes.
Until next time
Coach AP