Hockey: Coyotes bidders eye AHL team for Thunder Bay

No doubt there is some ennui toward the Phoenix Coyotes story. Most people lost interest once hope was dashed that Jim Balsillie would move them to Southern Ontario and employ fellow Waterloo whiz-kid Rob Pettapiece as capologist, number-cruncher and vice-president of common sense.

There is, however, speculation which could affect the Lakehead Thunderwolves, one way or another.
"Mr. LeBlanc and the others haven't forgotten Thunder Bay. If they win the auction, the group plans to move the Coyotes' farm team, the San Antonio Rampage, from Texas to Thunder Bay and help build a new arena." Globe & Mail, July 25
Daryl Jones has done much of the talking for the group, but the other two members, Keith McCullough and Ottawa resident Anthony LeBlanc, are both from T-Bay. Their original intent was to put a major junior team in their hometown.

Lakehead, of course, has among the highest attendance in Canada at Fort William Gardens. Due to the nature of their program, depends on being able to sell tickets, unlike other teams which are under the aegis of their school's athletic department.

It's way too early in the game to speculate about this coming to pass (if you read the Make It Eight site, you'll understand why). However, the notion of an American Hockey League team in Thunder Bay is not as far-fetched as it might seem at first blush. With a population of 110,000, it's comparable in size to AHL cities such as Manchester, N.H., Springfield, Mass., and Abbotsford, B.C., where the Calgary Flames have moved their affiliate. Of course, those cities are much more densely populated areas.

The Thunderwolves might have to share their market at some point.

Related:
Former RIM executive bids on Coyotes; Anthony LeBlanc, friends from the investment world, present competing offer to buy NHL franchise for $150-million and keep it in Phoenix (Paul Waldie, Globe & Mail)
Next PostNewer Post Previous PostOlder Post Home

15 comments:

  1. This is not far fetched from the population aspect, but the fact that all those other markets listed (Springfield, Manchester, Abbotsford) are close to other cities/towns which provide additional and substantial population to draw on should not be overlooked- Thunder Bay is far more isolated. I am sure fan support would be solid in Thunder Bay if not exceptional. I wonder if this is as much a move to create goodwill for LeBlanc's bid amongst some Canadian hockey fans who were supporting Balsillie's bid, as it is a legitimate possibility. There is no hint that the AHL would support a move to a small market with other large markets like Oklahoma City and Kansas City untapped. I am not so sure LeBlanc could just up and move the Rampage if he bought the Coyotes - LeBlanc should know that league's determine franchise location not the owner, look no further than the team he is trying to buy. An interesting idea and something that would be exciting to see happen. Support in San Antonio has been far from impressive - just like Phoenix. Wouldn't it be great to see the Coyotes in Winnipeg and Rampage in Thunder Bay?

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's where you are wrong. San Antonio's fan base is growing, and growing nicely. Just because Thunder Bay may want a team is no reason to take ours.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think you may see the ahl focus a bit more on small markets.

    ReplyDelete
  4. True enough that San Antonio has improved attendance. They were in the middle of the pack as far as attendance last year - and don't worry there Rampage fan, LeBlanc wouldn't be able to just up and move that team if he tried. The AHL wants San Antonio especially with a new team in Austin, making a Texas road swing even better for scheduling with teams in Houston, SA and Austin. I stand by the statement fan support has not been impressive in SA (but is improving which is more than can be said about other markets), but that goes for many AHL markets - attendance on average dropped last season. Very few teams had great attendance figures.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I do not understand why the group would pursue San Antonio when the Lowell entry is averaging 2293 fans (which is less than half of what the Rampage bring in - 5167).

    ReplyDelete
  6. San Antonio wouldn't move. On Thunder Bay TV there is an interview )(http://www.tbnewswatch.com/Video/Default.aspx?art_id=17252) that states that they expect an AHL team to come on the market within 4-6 months which they would buy for Thunder Bay. Phoenix would then switch affiliations to this team. The Rampage would stay in San Antonio.

    ReplyDelete
  7. We need them here, our fanbase is huge and we're not 'isolated'. And you know how many players are in the NHL as we speak that are from Thunder Bay, and we just got a Stanley Cup visit in 2006 and a couple weeks ago.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sigh...I wish Leblanc all the best in his bid for the Coyotes but an AHL or CHL team would not fly in Thunder Bay...this city was in economic recession 5 years before a lot of the rest of Canada...it has a history of not supporting any type of pro teams (or hi level junior) with salaries and pro length season schedules...it also has a history of city government moving very slowly on infrastructure projects and it needs a new arena and that will take years to accomplish in Thunder Bay...due to lenght of season, weekend games, cost, and many other reasons; university hockey is the best fit for Thunder Bay...however, if Lakehead's brass were smart (which I'm not accusing them of being); they should be thinking of moving to NCAA Division I and the WCHA; which is the perfect fit for Thunder Bay in terms of high level hockey, cost, location, etc...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Not a half-bad idea, Lakehead to the WCHA with all the Minnesota schools. Lakehead would be on the list if we did one of programs which could go D-1 if mixed membership was allowed ...

    I want to stress that I say this not because not because CIS should kick out teams who are too dominant. But we are a hockey country where university hockey has a tough time getting publicity. Meantime, with public universities in the U.S. facing a funding crunch, perhaps the NCAA might have to worry about losing programs. Why wouldn't they approach a few of the better Canadian schools about joining?

    Lakehead and both the Golden Bears and Pandas could go into the WCHA. The UNB men and McGill women could play in Hockey East. The Laurier women could join a conference with border state schools (Mercyhurst, Wayne State, Niagara and so forth).

    For that matter, in football, how about Laval in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly DI-AA)?

    ReplyDelete
  10. WCHA would never fly. Lakehead and other schools that are most successful are the ones that can pull the former CHL players. These players would be ineligible for NCAA, so the whole team would be changed. Would people in Thunder Bay go to see mostly American players? Doubtful...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Other than that, though, the reasoning is sound. Doh!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yeah, if CHLers could play WCHA, then a unificiation of North American college hockey would be perfect for Thunder Bay and lots of other cities/schools. It was a good suggestion, Sager.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Correction... I guess it was the Anonymous who posted above Sager who had the idea.

    ReplyDelete
  14. im from Thunder Bay and i actually know the brother of Keith McCoullugh , and he told me that basically it is comeing to Thunder Bay we just need a rink and we can make one . and as for attendance i dont think that will be no problem Thunder Bay is an extremely big hockey town and dont get me wrong we wont lead the AHL in attendence... but i beleive that we wont be anywhere near the bottom of the list if the do choose to keep it in Thunder Bay i think it is a very good choice.

    ReplyDelete
  15. lakehead would get hammered in the wcha

    ReplyDelete