The Fighting Newfoundlander

SJSE needs aggressive game plan if it wants a leash on Bulldogs

2009-05-19T10:23:00.001-02:30

(Source: http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=251974&sc=86)
Robin Short
The Telegram

There's only one way for St. John's Sports and Entertainment to go after the Montreal Canadiens' farm team if it's serious about the AHL - go hard and go aggressively.

So far, SJSE's approach to hockey at Mile One Centre has been, 'We're open for business ... c'mon in.' It's passive and perhaps even a tad arrogant.

SJSE says it wants hockey, but hasn't been kicking many, if any, tires.

In other words, it hasn't been pushing itself, an approach that hasn't yet worked.

But now the Montreal Canadiens may fall into St. John's lap. By a stroke of luck, there's a chance - slim, good or 50-50, we're not yet sure - the American Hockey League could land in St. John's again with the Hamilton Bulldogs changing digs.

It depends, of course, on what happens in Hamilton. Should the NHL arrive in the Steel City, the Bulldogs will be booted from Copps Coliseum, meaning the AHL team's owner, Michael Andlauer, is weighing his options now rather than wait for an eviction notice.

SJSE needs to jump on Andlauer now. The board running Mile One needs to fly the Bulldogs' owner to St. John's (first class), put him up in the best room at the Delta and wine and dine him for two days and two nights.

SJSE needs to sell itself and the city, and it needs to make an impression.

This, after all, is the Canadiens' franchise. Four thousand season tickets, minimum.

SJSE needs to be firm in its chase for the team. It cannot be content with a few Herder games each year.

Throw those models we've all heard about out the window. Go make it happen.

Now.

Bulldog articles

2009-05-13T13:48:00.000-02:30

Is it February again? With this Hamilton Bulldog relocation rumour popping up in the media, it feels like February.

This story is taking on the same form as the Titan fiasco that kept us entertained through the long, cold, hockey-less inter months.

With that in mind I’m sure no one will hold it against me if I approach this story with extreme trepidation. I will not buy into this hype again like I did just a few short months ago.

Too many things have to happen before there could ever be a chance of the Bulldogs relocating to St. John’s, not the least of which is an easing of the hard-line travel subsidy stance taken by council.

Leases aside, it would also be nice if SJSE’s “me first” attitude towards lease negotiations were updated to find solutions that actually work for BOTH parties.

Anyways, like the Titan story, I’ll dig out whatever information I can find on the interweeb on the Bulldogs plans to move (or stay).

For starters, here are some Hamilton Spectator articles:

Dogs bullish on their plans for future
http://www.thespec.com/article/560962

Are the Bulldogs' days numbered?
http://www.thespec.com/article/563957

Bulldogs: we deserve respect
http://www.thespec.com/article/564407

Personally, I believe the rumours of the move are a tactic by Michael Andlauer to keep his team and their interests in the spot light.

One last tidbit to leave you with…

St. John’s and Naples, FL have surfaced as potential relocation destinations. Add to that list Cornwall, ON and Quebec City, QC who are rumoured to be in pursuit of their own AHL franchise.

Ryding High in Beantown

2009-05-13T11:02:00.003-02:30

Bruins coach Claude Julien has proven once again he knows how to get the most out of Michael Ryder

May 05, 2009
Steve Milton
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/article/560273

Explain Michael Ryder. If you can.

Last year for the Montreal Canadiens, just 14 goals and lots of healthy scratches. Benched in the playoffs, with no goals in the four games he did play. The year before 30 goals, but an odorous minus-25.

This year for the Boston Bruins, 27 goals and a plus-28. And in the playoffs? No one outside of perhaps Nikolai Khabibulin has done more this spring to rebuild a personal pedestal that had been toppled and smashed: Five goals in six games, a personal crusade in the four-game sweep of the Canadiens and, symbolically, when Cam Ward shut the Bruins down to steal Game 2 Sunday, his best and most important save had to be against Ryder.

"Don't ever underestimate the relationship between a coach and a player," TSN analyst Peter Laviolette, a Cup-winning coach, said in an on-line forum recently.

Translation; the explanation for Michael Ryder is Claude Julien.

The Bruin head coach denies this rigorously, of course. Julien has said many times -- dating as far back as the fall of 2002 when the pair were in Hamilton for their first fall together as pros -- all he could ever provide for Ryder, and then only at the beginning, is a stage. The singing, dancing and dramatic irony had to be up to him.

Julien says there is no difference between his relationship with Ryder and his dealings with other players. That may be true in conduct and in conversation, but history adds a silent depth to the relationship that manifests itself in one of the key assets in sport: trust.

From personal experience, the coach knows what the player can do and is willing to wait for it to happen. Understand that Ryder didn't play many formal games in his early years (in his first bantam season, he played only nine, five of them in one weekend tournament), and it can take him time to adjust to a new situation.

The player knows the coach trusts him, and that he will be given the benefit of the doubt in the early going. That is where Ryder will struggle, if he is going to struggle at all, and pressuring him inordinately can make it worse.

Julien had Ryder for all three of his junior seasons at Hull, where he averaged 42 goals per year. When the Canadiens split the 2002-03 Bulldogs with the Oilers, Julien had already been around Hamilton for a couple of years as Edmonton's minor-league head coach, and Ryder arrived as part of the Habs' complement. The year before, Ryder had started his pro career in the ECHL before barely clinging on with the Habs' AHL team in Quebec, where he scored 11 goals.

But Ryder felt comfortable and encouraged with Julien and with Geoff Ward, who took over the team when Julien got the Canadiens' job halfway through the season (and who is now Julien's chief assistant in Boston). Ryder had a magnificent Calder Cup run, with 11 goals in 23 playoff games.

Bob Gainey let two other right-wingers, Randy McKay and Marius Czerkawski, go to create some room for Ryder. But there is no doubt Julien was whispering encouragement in his GM's ear.

Ryder, who had never played an NHL game in three pros seasons, made the Canadiens in the fall of 2003, again with Julien as coach. He led all rookies with 25 goals and, after the lockout, he became the first Newfoundlander ever to score 30 goals in the NHL.

But the Canadiens were rarely over-impressed with Ryder in his early years, nor in the stretch after Julien was fired as coach partway through the 2005-06 season. They had drafted Ryder with their second-last pick in 1998, 216th overall, and that was two GMs (Rejean Houle) before Gainey. Many in the organization worried, even when he was scoring, about his skating, his backchecking, his commitment to the defensive end of the ice.

It is not without relevance the Canadiens had a guy who notched 25 goals once and 30 goals twice, yet had him on a one-year contract every season.

And, when the minus-25 came, and the 14 goals the following year, the contracts stopped. Boston GM Peter Chiarelli, surely on the advice of his head coach, signed Ryder to a three-year $12-million deal on free-agency season's opening day. Guy Carbonneau even cracked he should give some of the money to Julien.

Ryder began this season by trying too hard to show the Bruins had made the right decision, scoring only two goals in his first 17 games. Doubts clouded the front office, but Julien wasn't frantic and kept encouraging Ryder to remain calm, maintain his defensive responsibilities and keep working. The team was winning and he knew the winger would begin finding the net.

Ryder repaid his coach by scoring 25 times in his final 65 games, and turning in a career-high -- by, oh, about a mile -- of plus 28.

While David Krejci gets much of the credit for Ryder's return to form, you could argue the sophomore centre benefits immensely from Ryder on his flank. Passes to him turn into assists, which improves a young player's confidence. Once he began clicking, Ryder attracted more attention, giving the shifty pivot more room. And, the more goals a line gets, the more ice time it gets.

Julien knows Ryder, like many top shooters, is a streaky player and that streaks cannot start when a player is on the bench, or lacks the confidence to transform one or two goals into an ensuing flood of them.

For his part, Ryder realizes he has to shoot often and play with a loose but determined attitude. His coach won't let him forget it either.

"When I try to force things sometimes and think too much," he told the Boston Herald over the weekend, "it doesn't go well."

There hasn't been very much of that this year.

smilton@thespec.com

St. John's a 'viable option' for AHL Bulldogs

2009-05-13T10:17:00.002-02:30

by ROBIN SHORT
The Telegram

(Source: http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=250886&sc=83)

Upset his team has been left dangling in the wind as Hamilton hockey fans wait to see if the National Hockey League is headed to southern Ontario via Phoenix, Michael Andlauer is seeking shelter for his Bulldogs.

And that refuge may well be in St. John's.

"I like St. John's," said the majority owner of the American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs since 2004.

"It's the first place we've looked at as a viable option."

With all the talk of Jim Balsillie's $212-million offer to purchase the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes and relocate the NHL club to Hamilton, lost in the shuffle are the Bulldogs, a major tenant at Hamilton's Copps Coliseum for 13 seasons.

It's not that Andlauer is looking to stand in the way of the NHL coming to Hamilton.

In fact, the Burlington, Ont., resident is, like most in the area, excited at the prospect. But under the terms of an existing lease with the board that runs the arena, Andlauer and the Bulldogs face eviction should the NHL arrive.

"As custodian of their AHL team, I owe it to the Montreal Canadiens to ensure stability of their farm club," Andlauer said Tuesday.

"I don't want to have to go to Montreal at some point, in a pinch, saying, 'I don't have a place for your players.'"

Andlauer has an 11-year affiliation agreement with the Canadiens to house their AHL prospects.

The Bulldogs are entering Year 8 in the fall, which happens to coincide with his lease agreement with Copps.

The Bulldogs are entering their final year of a five-year lease at Copps, although Andlauer does have a three-year option to renew if he chooses.

From a logistical standpoint, Andlauer does not see the NHL arriving in Hamilton in time for the 2009-10 hockey season, if at all.

Too much work has to be done between now and September, namely suite and corporate sales, season ticket sales, etc.

So it's, "very highly likely" the Bulldogs will be in Hamilton next season. It's what happens after 2010 that causes Andlauer concern.

The NHL, most pundits agree, will eventually come to southern Ontario, with Hamilton and the 17,000-seats Copps the most likely destination. Whether it's the Coyotes or another team or an expansion franchise remains to be seen.

"And I don't want to be left out on the street," Andlauer said. "If there's a three-year agreement somewhere else where I have stability, why not?

"I don't want to be in the same boat next year, and the year after that."

Andlauer says he likes St. John's for its fans, the building, and the fact there are daily flights to and from Montreal. The Canadiens would have to give a stamp of approval on St. John's, but Andlauer says he and Montreal management have a very solid relationship.

"I think they would trust my judgment," he said. "I am very mindful of their track record and emphasis on developing players and the importance placed on hockey operations."

Earlier this year, St. John's Sports and Entertainment, which runs Mile One Centre, thought it had a deal worked out with Leo-Guy Morrissette which would see the owner of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan relocate his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team from New Brunswick to St. John's.

It turns our Morrissette was using St. John's as leverage for a better deal in Bathurst, and he eventually 'sold' the team to his son and daughter, leaving egg on the face of SJSE and city officials who had announced a deal was done.

Andlauer is quick to point out this is no game. He is not using St. John's, he said, as a pawn to secure a better lease at Copps.

This is for real.

"I have a very good lease," he said. "And, really, I'm not interested in moving. Frankly, I'm not out to negotiate a better lease somewhere else. This is not about money.

"I just don't want to be in a predicament where I'm not able to provide a home for the Montreal Canadiens farm team. I'm not playing one city off another."

Andlauer can't help but feel somewhat slighted by Hamilton in its pursuit of the NHL, or more to the point, its cold shoulder of the Bulldogs through the process.

The Bulldogs draw over 200,000 fans to AHL games each year, he said. The team has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities.

"The city doesn't want to recognize that? To potentially be left out on the street, I think we've earned a little more consideration than that.

"The mayor (Fred Eisenberg) was on TSN saying he wants to bring hockey to Hamilton. I think there's been hockey here for 13 years.

"All things considered, St. John's is not as practical as Hamilton, but it's a viable option. And I'd much rather be in another facility where I feel welcome vs being treated like a second-class citizen."

In a Hamilton Spectator news story Monday, it indicated Andlauer would not be interested owning the team if it was not located in Hamilton.

It was a statement he denied Tuesday.

Andlauer is also considering Florida as a potential home for the club, though he acknowledged he and the Canadiens would prefer the farm team remain in Canada.

rshort@thetelegram.com

Bulldogs Factbox
The Edmonton Oilers moved their American Hockey League affiliate from Sydney, N.S. (Cape Breton Oilers) to Hamilton where the Bulldogs played their first season in 1996-1997After playing the 2002-2003 season as a split affiliate of Edmonton and Montreal (technically still the Oilers' affiliate), the Canadiens became the Bulldogs' lone National Hockey League parent club in 2003-2004The Bulldogs have qualified for the Calder Cup playoffs in 10 of their 13 seasons (failed to qualify in 2000-2001, 2005-2006, 2007-2008)The Bulldogs have advanced to the Calder Cup finals three times in their 13 seasons (lost 4-1 to the Hershey Bears in 1997, lost 4-3 to the Houston Aeros in 2003, won 4-1 versus the Hershey Bears in 2007)There are 72 Hamilton Bulldogs graduates on the active roster of NHL teams (nhl.com). Among the notables graduates are Dan Cleary, Mikhail Grabovski, Ron Hainsey, Jaroslav Halak, Chris Higgins, Shawn Horcoff, Christobal Huet, Mike Komisarek, Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn, Georges Laraque, Tomas Plekanec, Carey Price, Mike Ribiero, Michael Ryder, Jarret Stoll and Tim ThomasInformation courtesy the Hamilton Bulldogs

St. John's Canadiens?

2009-05-12T15:01:00.002-02:30

I was at the gas station, paying a small ransom to keep my car on the road when I glanced a familiar logo out the corner of my eye.

No, it wasn’t the Fog Devil logo… I still see those on beer trucks all over town.

It was the Hamilton Bulldogs logo. There it was, grumpy faced, bone in mouth and sitting on the front page of the The Telegram, right above the words…

St. John’s Bulldogs?

Naturally my attention was instantly captured. I even got out of the line up to have a closer look.

Recently I’ve confessed to friends that I miss hockey so much I’d welcome the AHL back with open arms. I mean, I’m really, really missing hockey. I miss hockey like an amputee misses a limb. Seriously, not being able to head down to the stadium and watch a game live feels like a part of me is missing. I’m missing hockey so much that I’m willing to settle for the product I hate...

The American Hockey League.

So I picked up paper, paid for my gas (and the paper), and couldn’t wait to find a place to pull over so I could flip to section C, the sports section, and see what this St. John’s Bulldogs thing was all about.

It seems that in midst of the media battle being waged between Jim Balsillie and Gary Bettman over Balsillie’s right (or lack there of) to purchase and move the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton, the fate of another Hamilton based hockey club, the Bulldogs, hangs in the balance. It’s a fate that has been largely overlooked by everyone.

Everyone, that is, except Telegram Sports Editor Robin Short.

Robin’s slant on this story is one of a win-win scenario for both Canadian and St. John’s hockey fans. Canada gets a 7th hockey franchise and St. John’s gets it’s 3rd in the past 20 years.

There are still many questions waiting to be answered, and we won’t have those answers until a bankruptcy court decides who actually gets to control the ‘Yote’s.

One thing we do know… Bulldogs owner Michael Andlauer is pissed! If he were a dog, he’d be rabid… frothing at the mouth rabid like Cujo!

Andlauer’s is, by AHL standards, a model franchise. It’s also a source of pride for the people of Hamilton and has been for 13 years.

However, the way in which his club has been cast aside and treated as an after thought while the ‘show’ - the National Hockey League, considers if it may (or may not), possibly (or impossibly) move back to Canada – has Andlauer considering his options which include possibly uprooting the Bulldogs and relocating them here. Possibly in time for the 2010-11 AHL season.

Before you get to excited, there are other cities in the mix. One such competing city would be Naples on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The idea is intriguing, but can it work?

My thoughts on the AHL are well documented and remain unchanged but for the sake of making an argument, I must touch on those again.

It’s been said in the past that the AHL won’t work in St. John’s unless it’s either the Habs or Maple Leafs farm club. The Bulldogs are the Montreal Canadian’s affiliate so that hurdle is cleared.

It has been said that the ticket prices would be too high for people to afford, but Mr. Short indicates that estimates put season ticket sales near (possibly over) the 4,000 mark should the Bulldogs come here. Let’s consider this hurdle cleared as well.

What about the geography and travel subsidy issue? The City of St. John’s remains steadfast in its prehistoric thinking that it will never use tax dollars to bring hockey back to the capital city. However, with the move of the Quad City Flames to Abbotsford, BC, a move that was only made possible by that city’s council agreeing to pay for all incoming and outgoing travel costs incurred by visiting teams, a high standard has been set.

I still don’t believe there is the political will amongst anyone councilor currently sitting, to stand up, risk their political career, and argue that a travel subsidy is the way to go.

So 2 hurdles have been cleared, but the 3rd one has been set quite high thanks toAbbotsford, and could be tough for anyone on council to clear.

I still miss hockey and I still wish for the return of the Quebec league, but I don’t want to sit around and wait forever. I kills me seeing all the excitement of the NHL playoffs (I don’t watch the regular season), and knowing the excitement the fans in those rinks are experiencing while my own neighborhood rink collects dust and cob webs.

St. John’s is a hockey town without hockey. We need hockey to come back. We need a team to rally around.

If Balsillie gets his way (and I hope he does just so he sticks it to that idiot Bettman) and moves the Coyotes to Hamilton, it will truly be a win for Canadian hockey fans.

And if that move means the Bulldog’s come here, it could be the win-win scenario for St. John’s hockey fans that Robin Short wrote about.

I just hope the powers that be don’t demonstrate their lack of originality and creativity by naming the team St. John’s Canadians as Mr. Shorts suggests to close out his article.

Then again, it could be worse… they could actually name the team St. John’s Bulldogs!

(Robin Shorts Telegram article can be found here)

What happpened to the toughest guys playing the toughest game?

2009-04-08T14:08:00.002-02:30

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/blogs/2009/04/what_happpened_to_the_toughest.html

by P.J. Stock

Does anyone remember the game of hockey that we all grew up loving? Can anyone think back to the 1970s or 80s, early 90s and recall what a hockey player used to look like?

I could always tell a hockey player apart from everyone else because of three recognizable facial attributes:

1. Bad hair, normally a mullet or "moolay," as some would call it.
2. No teeth.
3. Scars.

Sure, they weren't the prettiest of athletes out there, but they were thought of as the toughest.

Simply stated, they were the toughest guys playing the toughest game.

I think that's why I fell in love with hockey. I wanted to play it. I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to be recognized as a player with that reputation. I wanted to be like the people I idolized. Everyone has someone they admired growing up and often, they tried to emulate their actions, look and characteristics.

I wanted to sport a mullet (not really, I actually went for the bowl cut), I wanted to be toothless (again, not really, I like food and chewing it) and finally the scars (um, never mind, 0-for-3). Nonetheless, I wanted to be a hockey player.

My hero or idol growing up was obviously Wayne Gretzky. If you can name me a Canadian kid growing up playing hockey in this great country whose idol wasn't number 99, I'll show you a liar. The problem was with Gretz being everybody's hero, when it came to ball hockey and who got to be who, only one guy could be 99. This is where you needed your secondary pick.

Living in Montreal and following the Habs, my choice was always Mats Naslund or Chris Chelios. Most of the time, I ended up being Chelios because of his rugged style of play. Wasn't big but played big. Didn't have much size, but made up for it in smarts. I had a T-shirt that I wore every now and then which carried the slogan: “It's not the size of the dog in the fight that matters; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”

I think that can be the slogan for hockey players at times. There have been many tough guys that carried the physical role of their team on their back despite being a little small in stature (Tie Domi, John Wensink, Chris Nilan, for example).

Small guys, big guys, young players, old players. All were tough people playing a really tough game. That was then. This is now.

The game has changed. The players have changed and so has the perception from the fans watching the game. I think it's a direct reflection of our changing society. We live in a world of always worrying to be so PC (politically correct, folks). The game has changed because our society's influence on it has almost forced some of its changes. No more so than in interpretation of the game's physicality.

What used to be a battle along the boards, a fight for the puck, a mano-a-mano confrontation is now called like a basketball game. Two minutes for illegal use of the hands or two minutes for being too strong or too tough. I believe the game needed changes to get out of the trap era, but why interfere with what so many people have fallen in love with? The toughness of players playing the toughest game out there.

As the playoffs approach, the games have more meaning. Players play all year long for these big games.

As a kid growing up loving the physical battles between teams, hits like the one Dallas’ Steve Ott put on Florida’s Gregory Campbell last week were remembered all year. It was cheered in the team's home building and adored on shows like Coach’s Corner. It was praised in newspapers across our great nation. Today, well, this hit and the players making these types of hits are looked upon as dirty, despicable and disgraceful. What happened?

Fighting is a no-no now, hitting someone who is watching their pass is a crime and body checking someone in the head … purgatory.

I loved the mullet-sporting, toothless, scarred gladiator. I loved the game the way it used to be and I’m worried about the direction the game is going in.

Long Road Back

2009-04-08T08:57:00.002-02:30

Source: http://www.thetelegram.com//index.cfm?sid=240402&sc=83

Luke Adam faces lengthy rehab process after having spleen removed

JOHN BROWNE
The Telegram

Luke Adam's hockey season didn't end the way he'd envisioned, but under the circumstances, he'll be happy if he's able to start next season.

Adam's season came to an abrupt end in early February when he suffered a ruptured spleen while playing with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Junior de Montreal in a game against Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

Born in St. John's, the Kilbride resident has been home since the operation and is rehabbing with his sights set on returning to the ice for the start of next season.

Prior to the injury, the 6-2, 200-pound Adam had scored 22 goals and registered 49 points in 47 games.

"I was having a great season. Everything was going really well," said Adam. "I thought I was improving a lot as a player.

"It's a setback," he says, "but there's always some adversity you have to face along the way. This (injury) is another obstacle in my path, but I'm lucky enough that I can return to hockey again and hopefully I'll be ready to go by next season."

The Buffalo Sabres draft pick was injured after an innocuous hit in the first period.

"It wasn't a bad hit," recalls Adam. "It was more like a bump. I felt like I'd lost my wind."

But after the period, Adam said he felt, "an agonizing pain and I found it hard to breathe. It was like I'd broken my ribs.

"The team doctor and trainer thought I'd pulled an abdominal muscle, but then they said it could be my spleen. They suggested I should go to hospital."

The hospital was about five minutes away, "so I walked there with my dad who was at the game with my mom," he said.

Just after reaching the hospital's emergency department, Adam went into shock. Doctors stabilized him and after a series of tests, performed immediate surgery to remove his spleen.

"As it turned out," said Adam, "I'd been playing with mono for a month. I didn't know it and it wasn't picked up by our doctor in Montreal. When you have mononucleosis, your spleen enlarges and you are not supposed to do any physical activity. If I'd known I had mono, I wouldn't have been playing.

"I told the doctor and trainer that I hadn't been feeling well for about three weeks, but they said it was the flu. I should have had a blood test but they didn't send me for one."

Adam realizes now he was in very serious trouble and feels fortunate to be able to resume his hockey career.

"It was serious enough that I don't want to think about it," said the 18-year-old graduate of the St. John's AAA Midget Maple Leafs, who went on to play for the St. John's Fog Devils as a seventh overall pick in the 2006 Quebec league midget draft.

Adam will have to be extra careful in terms of his heath from now on.

"I'll have to be very cautious of a fever. If I have a fever I'll have to go to emergency right away for antibiotics. That's the way it will be for the rest of my life."

All things considered, however, he feels he's a very fortunate young man and right now the only thing on his mind is returning to action.

"I've only been out of the game two months, but I miss it. I'm looking forward to getting back and I'm sure I'll return with passion."

Adam, who says he doesn't have any specific timetable for complete recovery, has been doing some cardiovascular work recently and he hopes to get back to the gym on a regular routine within the next month, and maybe get on the ice again so after that. He hasn't been doing any weight training and he hasn't been skating since his operation.

Overall, he said his rehabilitation is going well.

"I feel a lot better. I'm back to normal, pretty much.

"I've been in contact with the Buffalo (Sabres) trainer and he told me to take my time and not to rush it and we'll approach everything smartly," said Adam.

Meanwhile, Adam's Junior de Montreal team is down 0-2 to Drummondville in the second round of the QMJHL playoffs heading into last night's game.

jbrowne@thetelegram.com

Q Fight Facts and Figures

2009-03-31T11:37:00.003-02:30

In my most recent article, Fighting Makes Cents, one anonymous reader posted this comment:

"Q attendence is down ever since the crackdown the league has imposed god thats a shocker"

For me, it was a comment that warranted some investigation since there could be something worth writing about.

This is average QMJHL attendance for the past 5 years (numbers taken from the QMJHL website).

08-09 - 3532
07-08 - 3583
06-07 - 3602
05-06 - 3619
04-05 - 3343 (* 16 teams)

The trend has been declining attendance for the 4 seasons after the initial spike when the Q expanded with St. John's and St. John. From the start of the 05-06 season, to the end of the 08-09 season, the approximate drop in attendance each successive year has been roughly 1%.

Following the Johnathan Roy incident the league (caving to political pressure) imposed some pretty strict rules to crack down on fighting. Those rules took effect for the 08-09 season. I don't know if I'd call the loss of 51 fans per game that dramatic, and I don't think there's enough evidence to link it directly to the Q's fighting crack down. In fact, during the period of 05-08, the exact drop in attendance has been, .99% while for the 08-09 season the actual drop is .98%.

Perhaps we are splitting hairs but it is an point interesting to note.

And for the same years I checked the fight totals (numbers taken from hockeyfights.com):

08-09 - 618 / 1.01 per game
07-08 - 1133 / 1.80 pg
06-07 - 1137 / 1.80 pg
05-06 - 1248 / 1.99 pg
04-05 - 1374 / 2.45 pg (* 16 teams)

The trend here is that fights per game (and total fights) is on the decline.... has been for a few seasons. There's also a direct correlation to the attendance numbers. Roughly 1% decline in fights from 05-08, same as attendance. Obviously the harsh crack down on fighting in the Q is having it's effect with a 45% drop in fighting this year, but if the correlation is as closely tied as I believe, we would could assume we'd see a 45% drop in attendance. We don't.

Ultimately, I don't think a 5 year sample is enough to make a connection between the numbers. It might be worth while digging up the numbers for another 5 years and look at a full 10 year sample.

I'm not saying the anonymous poster is wrong, but I am saying we'd have to observe more than one season. If fighting is the huge draw that it is, then I would make the statement now that we'll see it's effect in the 09-10 season.

Fighting makes cents

2009-03-18T10:44:00.004-02:30

I love hockey fights!

I’ve made that no secret on this blog.

In the past I’ve taken on opponents of fighting, profiled fighters such as Tim Spencer, and brought the Fighting Newfoundlanders unique voice to fight commentary.

I love the rough stuff: the hits in open ice or along the boards, the pushing and shoving in the scrums, face-washing, players chirping, issuing challenges, and especially the fights!

I love it all!

It’s why I slide my money under the little hole at the ticket window to go watch this sport live. TV doesn’t capture everything that happens during a hockey game and I don’t want to miss anything that’s going on, during the play or behind it. For 60 minutes the drama is everywhere. It’s on the ice or on the benches, in the penalty box, even in the tunnel leading to the dressing room.

So it pains me when, year after year, the “topic” comes up. You know the “topic” I mean – should fighting be banned in hockey as it is in other sports?

It’s becoming an annual ritual for the elitists, the literati, the seal hunt protesters, art lovers, hippies and NDP voters, to look down their noses and condemn as barbaric, the game which we love.

I’ve heard the arguments from both sides. We all have.

"It’s only a matter of time before more people are killed or permanently crippled", say the opponents. You don’t see fighting in baseball or football.

Those in favour of fighting cite the need to protect star players who are the main attraction. It’s the star players who pay the leagues bills.

What good does it serve the NHL if the Crosby’s, Ovechkin’s, Lemieux’s, and Gretzky’s can get hit, and hit, and hit again, shift after shift, night after night? How long would their bodies withstand the punishment? How much shorter would their careers be if there were no way to keep the Ruutuu’s, Avery’s, Hollweg’s and Tootoo’s in check?

But one argument in favour of keeping fighting in hockey, the real reason I believe there will always be fighting in hockey, is a simple one…

Money.

The National Hockey League is a “gate-driven” league. That means it derives most of its revenue from people buying tickets to go watch the games live. The same can be said of any hockey league.

In 2007, 1.1 billion dollars of the NHL’s 2.3 billion dollars in total revenue, was collected at the ticket window. 31% of ticket revenue is generated by the NHL’s 6 Canadian teams.

A further 1 billion dollars is accounted for by merchandise sales - fans buying hats, jerseys, t-shirts, posters, etc.

That leaves just under half a billion dollars generated from television broadcast deals.

Not exactly a windfall.

Unlike the National Football League, whose 21.4 billion dollars of television broadcast revenue allows each NFL team to earn a profit before a single down of football is played, the NHL needs to keep its ticket buying fans happy for it to survive.

And happiness for the hockey fan is seeing the odd tilt. A good fight gets everyone in the rink up out of their seat and generates energy and excitement. Often, a good fight will get the loudest cheer of the night.

The elite would have you believe that they would actually go to more games if there were no fighting. I don’t buy that. Sure they might end up going to 1 or 2 games during a season (1 or 2 more than they do now), but the extra revenue they would bring in would be lost 3 times over by traditional fans taking their disposable entertainment dollars and looking elsewhere.

No, an outright ban on fighting wouldn’t be good for the game, but with today’s pugilists being bigger, stronger and more skilled in their craft, there are ways to protect players and perhaps appease fighting’s critics. Perhaps the “code” could be rewritten so that once a player’s helmet comes off, the fight stops or once the helmet is off no take-down can be attempted.

But if the artsies really want fighting banned from the sport, the best thing they could do to make that happen is to put down their paint brushes, stop hugging trees, and turn on their TV’s and watch a hockey game. If they watch in numbers great enough to increase hockey ratings and therefore television broadcast revenue, they might have a chance at seeing their pacifist agenda bear fruit.

But right now banning fighting just wouldn’t make ‘cents’.

Does the Q need Newfoundland?

2009-03-17T12:21:00.001-02:30

Does the QMJHL want Newfoundland back? Not if you listen to comments made by some high ranking and influential members of the league.

“We've tried it in Newfoundland once,” says Prince Edward Island Rocket president Serge Savard Jr.

Certainly doesn’t give one a very warm-fuzzy feeling.

"Newfoundland, in my opinion, had their chance," said Wayne Long, president of the Fog Devils expansion cousins, the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Long goes on to describe any attempt to move a Q team back to St. John’s as “ludicrous”.

What is “ludicrous” is a league whose governors would be so willing to give up on this market so soon.

The idea of trying a market once and then giving up wouldn’t seem so ludicrous to me if it was the standard that was applied to all markets, but history shows it isn’t.

Our own Fog Devils who were sold and relocated to the Montreal suburb of Verdun just a year ago would become that markets fifth chance at junior hockey.

Obviously a league born in la belle province would want it’s footprint in that provinces largest city, but what about other markets?

Laval, Longueuil, Sherbrooke and St-Jérôme have all had a second chance

Likewise, the Quebec Remparts and Drummondville Voltigeurs both represent a second chance to get junior hockey right in those markets.

Drummondville has had its ups and downs this time around, while Quebec City hosts the leagues flagship franchise, boasting attendance numbers that are the envy of every other team.

But both cities share one thing in common - both experienced a lengthy hockey drought before junior hockey returned. For the Volts it was nine hockey-less winters and in Quebec, a staggering TWELVE seasons of no junior hockey!!!

Many hockey fans in St. John’s speculate that the Fog Devils might have survived if we’d gone without hockey for a few years instead of having the Devils arrive hot on the heels of the St. John’s Maple Leafs departure.

According to Long, the willingness to give this market another chance might not be there. For that to happen, the league’s 18 franchises must agree, by two-thirds majority, to any relocation to St. John’s.

“We never thought the votes were there to allow a move to Newfoundland,” says Long.

“I was certainly convinced that the 12 votes weren't there.”

Voltigeurs general manager Dominic Ricard says, “The last three years, they (the Fog Devils) proved it's tough to live there and make business with a hockey team there.”

Ricard is correct. Living here is tough. The winters are tough, and making hockey work in Newfoundland is going to be tough - geography burdens any franchise that would locate here with crippling travel costs, not just for the home team, but all visiting teams as well.

And then there’s the mafia that hold Mile One Centre hostage.

“We don't want to have to deal with St. John's,” Ricard said.

The City of St. John’s and its puppet, St. John’s Sports and Entertainment, know we want hockey back. They even say they want hockey back, just they don’t want to pay for it.

They want a Q franchise owner to assume all the financial risk including travel subsidies, while they would reap all the reward via the economic spin-off revenues they would collect in taxes. For that reason it could be a long time before the Q sets up shop here again.

St. John’s deserves a second chance at junior hockey because we know this is a hockey town. St. John’s deserves to be given the same treatment as so many other markets before us.

The Q doesn’t have to give us one. They’ve got the rights to our hockey prodigies now so why should they care?

But in the interests of fairness we deserve just one more shot. If the league fails again, I’ll close up this blog and agree that we aren’t the hockey town we think we are. Problem is, I don’t agree with that notion.

St. John’s is a great hockey town but for hockey to work there has to be the political will to change the prehistoric thinking on Gower Street.

St. John’s city council must accept that a hockey subsidy is the only way a franchise can survive in this market and for our long, rich, hockey tradition to continue.

Q or Bust

2009-03-11T10:47:00.001-02:30

Every time I hear someone say “They should bring back the AHL”, all I hear is “I’m a blathering idiot who hasn’t taken the time to do some research on the issue so I can make an informed comment”.

The AHL is gone, get over it.

When the American Hockey League pulled out of St. John’s it not only marked the end of professional hockey in Newfoundland, but in all of Atlantic Canada. The reason was simple - Costs.

When the AHL left the feeling was that unless the league moved back into Atlantic Canada en masse, it would never move back. Yet there are still hose who suggest that St. John’s is special enough that the league should overlook its bottom line and do us a favour.

Recent trends in the AHL also point to the fact that the league is moving west and not east. The Dallas Stars will be the first NHL team to put its farm team in Texas.

Abbottsford, B.C. is making a strong bid to land the Quad City Flames and the municipality is even willing to fork over the full transportation costs for inbound and outbound teams since their closest division rival would be 2000 km away.

What’s this?!?! A city, geographically isolated from the rest of the league paying travel costs for hockey? Outrageous!

The leagues traditional geographic footprint is changing and is my belief that it will evolve to a point where farm clubs will be located relatively near to the parent club. Case in point, Toronto Maple Leafs and Marlies, Hamilton Bulldogs and Montreal Canadiens, Philedelphia Flyers and Phantoms, and next season the Dallas Stars and their yet to be named farm club.

This maximizes accessibility to players while minimizing costs.

Win-Win for the AHL and its clubs.

In recent weeks it has been suggested that MUN should join the AUS and compete against familiar rivals as it does in basketball, soccer and volleyball.

Nice idea if you like to lose money.

Don’t get me wrong, AUS hockey is great hockey. It’s highly skilled and since its university sport, the all important atmosphere is electric.

I’m still trying to gather up some numbers but the ball park figure I’ve heard is around 3 million to operate a club for one year. That’s a bit of a low-ball estimate but it should be enough to cover coaching salaries, equipment, scholarships, salaries, scouting, ice rental, and travel… because that travel thorn in our side is never going to go away.

The problem with AUS hockey (besides the harsh ban on fighting) is the length of season; just 28 games. With 14 home games to cover your costs for the season the AUS does not make sense unless there is the strong belief that Mile One Centre could sell out all 14 games at an estimated ticket cost of around 40 dollars.

Another outrageous idea is that the CHL, if it wants to truly call itself the Canadian Hockey League, should form a new Atlantic League which St. John’s, Halifax, Charlottletown, Moncton, etc., would join.

Nice to see people thinking outside the box but Halifax, Charlottletown, Moncton, etc. are all doing just fine in the Quebec League, and as the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

A very small minority suggest that we should give the East Coast Hockey League a try. A team in that league could be acquired a minimal cost however there’s that ever present travel thing to contend with. We are an island after all. Teams in the ECHL are spread across the continent and survive on shoestring budgets. I doubt they’d have the means to travel to this destination on a regular basis without some sort of travel assistance especially those division rivals who would have to make the trip more than others.

Some romanticize about a revival of the Caps in the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League and I’ll confess that I get quite a bit of nostalgia at the thought. But this is St. John’s after all. We’re too uppity to support that “lesser” brand of hockey. That’s for the baymen. We’re more so-phis-to-mah-cated than that.

For the St. John’s hockey fan, it looks like the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League or bust! The Q is the league on our doorstep that is most likely to give us a chance, but for it to work the city has to realize that it will have to be on the Q’s terms and not theirs.

And the Q’s terms means travel subsidy. Without it, the city is not going to be a very attractive option for a Q owner looking to relocate.

If a city with an operating budget of 126 million, a city that already subsidizes the arts and sidewalk snow clearing for minorities, then it can find a few dollars to subsidize travel for visiting hockey teams, especially when it knows full well the economic spin off will return that money to the city ten-fold.

If not, then there’s always the hope that the Global Canadian Hockey League will get off the ground.

No Q team here means many local midget players are out of sight, out of mind

2009-03-11T09:14:00.001-02:30

KENN OLIVER
The Telegram

During their three-year existence, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League St. John's Fog Devils occasionally used local major midget players to fill holes in their lineup. But the Fog Devils did more for players in this province than provide the opportunity for the odd call-up to fill a fourth-line spot or ride the pine as a backup goalie.

During the Foggies' stay, general managers, coaches and scouts of visiting QMJHL teams to attend regularly midget games in the area to get a closer look at local talent. In years previous, their only real chance to see Newfoundland midget players was at mainland tournaments in Moncton and Gatineau or at the Atlantic championships.

But naturally, no Q team paid closer attention to scouting Newfoundland talent than the Fog Devils.

Former Fog Devils assistant coach Ed O'Brien contends players like Chris Thorne, Patrick O'Keefe, and Alex Wall - who were drafted by the Fog Devils and still playing in the Q after a franchise shift to Montreal - might have had a harder time making the jump to the next level, if not for the presence of a QMJHL team here.

"(Alex Wall) probably wouldn't have been taken because the first thing they'd say is "He's too small,' O'Brien says of the five-foot-10, 184-pound rearguard. "But we got to see him and how hard he could work and we took him.

"There have been a number of them over the years ... players who never thought they could play (major junior), but once they got there and worked and did the things they do, they made the teams."

As many as seven Newfoundland-born players were dressing for the Fog Devils at any one time. Prior to that, the most that been seen on any Q team were the five on the 2001 Halifax Mooseheads (Adam Pardy, Derrick Kent, Bobby Clarke, Randy Upshall and Jason Churchill).

O'Brien doesn't anticipate another team in the league carrying seven players from this province, not unless that team happens to be based here. And following the recent failed bid to make St. John's the new home of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, it's unlikely that will happen any time in the near future.

The Lewiston Maineiacs, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Moncton Wildcats, Mooseheads and Titan are QMJHL teams that employ locally-based scouts. Now it's up to them and freelance bird dogs to keep Newfoundland players on the radar.

However O'Brien suggests, getting lower-profile players scouted, let alone drafted, has gone back to being as hard as it was in the pre-Fog Devils era.

"Every team wants the top player," he says. They're not hard to sell. It's the average player that can do the little things, they're the ones that are hard to sell.

"As soon as you say you've got a player who can do this and this, the Quebec scouts will tell you they've got five who can, too.

"But you've gotta tell them they don't have the heart this kid will have and all the intangibles that will make a difference.

"When the Fog Devils were here, at least you had people fighting with you."

koliver@thetelegram.com

Some Links

2009-03-11T08:58:00.002-02:30

The following are a collection of links I ran across yesterday regarding the Titan saga. I couldn't get them posted due to computer issues and since most of them are basically reharshing the same information we already know, I'm just going to share the links instead of posting the full articles as I normally do.

St. John's council shrugs as N.B. hockey team stays put

Game on in Bathurst: major junior hockey team will not relocate

City rinks offside in major junior hockey bid: Mayor - This is actually regarding negotiations between the Lewiston Maineiacs and the city of Fredricton.

Titan to stay put in Bathurst after all

An issue of marketing and management - This offers some different insight from a Titan fans perspective.

Family ties: Titan owner opts to stay in Bathurst and keep team's ownership in his family

Titan will remain in Bathurst

Hockey Talk

2009-03-10T09:39:00.002-02:30

Source: (http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=230124&sc=80)

Well, the latest chapter is over, and you can start to ask questions about what happens next. For the last couple of weeks, the question of whether the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the "Q," should be coming back to St. John's Mile One Stadium has been front and centre. It's a debate that doesn't look like it will end any time soon, as both major league and minor league teams across the country scratch their heads and look at their financial options.

Many teams are asking the same questions: with operating costs rising, or at the very least staying put, how do the teams expect to keep people coming through the doors?

The problem is that, without fans, there are plenty of costs and few ways to offset them.

The latest case is the QMJHL Acadie-Bathurst Titan, a team from New Brunswick whose owner called a news conference for Monday afternoon to reveal the team's future.

Going in, it wasn't clear whether this city was a serious contender for the team, or just another stalking horse to allow the team's current owner to sell off the venture to new local buyers at a pumped-up price.

As it turned out, coming here wasn't so much a stalking horse as it was the city being played like a fish: instead of moving the team, the owner sold it to his children - and they'll be staying where they are.

That must be something of a surprise at this end of the equation.

St. John's Sports and Entertainment, the operator of Mile One, had already said it approved a deal to bring the Titan to this city.

Now, plenty of people like hockey, including a number of St. John's city councillors who get free tickets to such events. But the big question will always be whether there are enough people willing to pay for tickets to make such a venture fly.

Before we go too far down this rabbit hole again, the city - which is already on the hook for extensive subsidies to Mile One - should be absolutely sure that the market exists, that the ticket prices fit, and that the city is not going to be left in a lurch like the last few times we've played the professional sports game.

One of the problems has been clearly spelled out by Brad Dobbin, the former president of the St. John's Fog Devils.

Dobbin, whose venture was not without its own mistakes, has said he would not relish the idea of running a team in this province - on the one hand, because of the general downturn in the economy, and on the other, because St. John's teams have regularly been saddled with the travel expenses not only of playing off-island, but of visiting teams as well. It's often a prestige issue with smaller communities: out to prove that they're worth watching, they think they need the marquee of a professional sports team to give them cred.

Prestige, however, is an expensive commodity. And whether you go to watch hockey or not, there's one thing you can be sure of: if your city's in too deep in the expensive world of professional sports, you and every other taxpayer gets to pick up part of the cost.

Every scrap of homework has to be done on this, and done right.

Mile Zero

2009-03-10T09:29:00.002-02:30

Source: (http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=230091&sc=83)

City negotiators believed deal was in place to transfer hockey team

BRENDAN MCCARTHY
The Telegram

The point man for St. John's Sports and Entertainment (SJSE) in negotiations to bring the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) back to St. John's says he "absolutely" believed a deal was in place to relocate the Acadie-Bathurst Titan here and was surprised to learn the team will remain in New Brunswick.

"What else could we believe when we had an e-mail at 9:36 p.m. Friday saying we had an agreement to move the team here, pending approval from the QMJHL?" said SJSE general manager Bill Thistle, who led negotiations that resulted in a tentative deal - ultimately agreed to by St. John's city council - to have the Titan play out of Mile One Centre beginning this fall.

That e-mail came from Earl Dimitroff, the Titan's director of corporate sales and the man who represented the junior team in much of the week-long negotiations with SJSE.

However, despite the intentions outlined in the e-mail, Titan owner Léo-Guy Morrissette decided neither to move to St. John's nor accept an offer from a group of Bathurst businessmen to buy the team. Instead, Morrissette announced Monday he was staying put in Bathurst and would turn over ownership of the Titan to his son and daughter.

"We considered lots of possibilities as we went through this, but frankly, the one thing we didn't consider was that (Morrissette) would transfer the team to his family," said Gerry Smith, who chairs the SJSE board of directors.

Like Thistle, Smith is disappointed in how things turned out.

"I'm disappointed in the process - not from our side, because our management team put together an excellent proposal - but in what resulted from the process," said Smith.

"All the way through, right until Friday night, we had good talks, a good exchange of information in our negotiations, and we came up with a deal we believed was good for SJSE and the city, while at the same time good for (the Titan).

"We had every reason to think they felt the same way, since we had a tentative agreement."

Morrissette, who purchased the Titan franchise 25 years ago and moved the team to Bathurst, N.B., in 1998, is known as one of the QMJHL's most wily owners and as a cagey buisnessman. Thistle says SJSE was well aware of Morrissette's reputation, but says the idea he could be using St. John's elsewhere to secure a better deal never coloured the negotiations.

"If someone comes to you saying they want to move their team - which they did - what are you going to do, say, 'no,' because you think they might talk to someone else?' said Thistle.

Smith points out that Morrissette, in essence, settled on the status quo, but says there was every reason to believe he was sincere in his proposition to move the team to St. John's.

"He came here on Monday and outlined the criteria for moving the team," recounts Smith. "We offered a three-year deal and they came back with a proposal for five years because they said the league wanted five years - which we agreed to - because it would be an indication of St. John's being serious about the Q.

"They went so far as to outline what would be their ticket-pricing policy for Mile One. When you consider all that, you'd have no choice but to believe they were serious about coming here.

"Smith refutes any notion the negotiations were rushed, at least from the St. John's end, because of the league-imposed Monday deadline for Morrissette to announce any relocation plans for the 2009-10 season.

"We've been gathering information for a year about the hockey side. We were ready, so when they came to us, we had detailed information to offer and when we began negotiations, we had detailed information to use," said Smith.

Both Smith and Thistle also disagree with suggestions the negotiations with the Titan were too public.

"Not at all. It was a bit of a roller-coaster," says Thistle, "but (stories in the media) played no measure in the outcome."

"I don't think there was anything very much we could have done differently," adds Smith.

The negotiations with the Titan did "let the Q know we are in business for a hockey team," says Thistle, who says the tentative deal could serve as the basis or template for negotiations with other QMJHL owners considering relocating.

The Lewiston Maineiacs are looking for a new home after their efforts to move from Maine to a Montreal suburb was rebuffed by a dispute over territorial rights.

However, Smith and Thistle say there has been no contact between the Maineiacs and SJSE.

Exploration of the possibility of getting an American Hockey League team for St. John's also continue, although Thistle says there is "no focus on any particular team."

bmcc@thetelegram.com

City will have other chances to get hockey team, mayor says

2009-03-10T09:25:00.002-02:30

Source: (http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=230089&sc=83)

ALISHA MORRISSEY
The Telegram

St. John's Mayor Dennis O'Keefe says he feels as if he's been toyed with.

At Monday's city council meeting O'Keefe outlined the events of the last week in relation to negotiations between the organization that operates Mile One Centre, a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team and city council.

"When you have a proposal that all sides agree to, you kind of figure that you're across the finish line," O'Keefe says.

At the meeting, O'Keefe described everything from the first phone call asking if the city was interested in bringing hockey back to St. John's, to the e-mail he received saying the owners hadn't made a decision yet, just four hours prior to the announcement that the Acadie-Bathurst Titan would stay in New Brunswick.

There was a tentative agreement in place between the city and hockey team as of Friday at 9:30 p.m., but by Sunday the team's owner, Léo-Guy Morrissette, had called a news conference in Bathurst for Monday afternoon to discuss the future of the team.

"It was a very good agreement for the city. We wouldn't have made money, really. There were certain attendance levels at which we might have made some money, but the key was that we were bringing hockey back to the city of St. John's, back to Mile One," O'Keefe said of the deal, which wouldn't have included a city-paid subsidy.

At the Monday news conference, Morrissette announced he was selling the hockey team to his children, who had decided to keep the hockey team in the New Brunswick town.

Deputy Mayor Ron Ellsworth, who serves as the city's representative on the St. John's Sports and Entertainment (SJSE) board, says he doesn't hold a grudge and probably would have done the same thing if in Morrissette's position.

"It's business," Ellsworth says. "We're disappointed, there's no doubt ... but he made it very clear that he had two or three offers on the table and, to be honest, I wouldn't want him to come here if the business model wouldn't work for him, because I wouldn't want to be back in the same boat again in four, six or eight months."

If nothing else, the city can take the experience of this attempt to bring in a hockey team and use that in its next bid, Ellsworth says, adding that St. John's probably has one more good chance at developing a hockey strategy.

"Unfortunately, today we don't have a hockey team, but today we're in a better place to work with somebody else."

O'Keefe says he would hope that there would be more than one more shot at hockey for the sake of fans in the city.

"We'll always have opportunities ... we're a great city. We are a prosperous city, we have a booming economy and we have one of the best facilities in Eastern Canada," he says. "We always have more than one chance."

amorrissey@thetelegram.com

Council Says Lessons Learned From Hockey Fuss

2009-03-10T09:13:00.000-02:30

Source: (http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=34747)

St. John's City Council say they have learned valuable lessons from dealing with a major junior hockey franchise, that tentatively agreed, then decided against moving to Mile One. The owner instead opted to sell the team to his family, and the squad will stay put in New Brunswick. Mayor Dennis O'Keefe is not pleased. Deputy Mayor Ron Ellsworth says it isn't all a loss; they now have a template to reference when they deal with other teams. But Ellsworth says they will react more cautiously next time.

Meantime, Gerry Smith of St. John's Sports and Entertainment says they are disappointed. Smith says they've gone on record saying they want hockey back at Mile One and they won't stop trying until it happens.

It's Official

2009-03-09T15:07:00.002-02:30

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan are staying put. They have been sold (transferred?) to Leo-Guy Morrisette's son and daughter who will form a new board of governors along with local partners.

I would like to extend a hearty congratulations to the junior hockey fans in Bathurst. They are indeed fortunate to have their team and more importantly the team is lucky to have them. They are truly dedicated and great fans in every way.

What follows is a transcript from the press conference held by Leo-Guy Morrisette yesterday.

Source: (http://www.letitan.com/nouvelles/nouvelle_en.cfm?id=301&ref=accueil)

Good day ladies and gentlemen, media and to all our fans. It is true that the press conference today is the most important one in the history of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

I know that you are all waiting for my decision with impatience about the future of the franchise.

We know that, presently, we are living in challenging economic times.

But before I announce this important news, I would like to tell everybody how much I, Léo-Guy Morrissette, have appreciated working with all of you.

We know the good that has been done here in Bathurst. And we have peace of mind today; you know, in life, everything is known and, is arranged in time and every person gets credit for his actions.

So, I tell to you that, regardless of the decision that follows, Léo-Guy Morrissette finishes his career in the hockey world.

We take into consideration the following :

Two weeks ago, the town of Beresford demonstrated that they wanted to help us by forwarding new concepts to make the Titan operation viable.
The Fédération des Caisses Populaires Acadiennes and Mr. Camille Thériault have put their faith in us in the past and will continue because they believe in our region and our organisation.
We are grateful to the business community, who has supported us generously and can continue to do so.

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan believes in its’ fans and we believe they can come back in large numbers to see their regional team in action.

We also know that many partners can join us in the future.

So, after much reflection with my family, Stéphane and Annie and our life partners, we have finally decided that the Titan will play for many years in…

Bathurst Nouveau-Brunswick!

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan wishes to thank the group of local business leaders who demonstrated a strong interest to buy the Titan franchise, this to keep your regional team in Bathurst.

We also want to thank their representative, Mr. Denis St-Pierre from E.P.R. for his constant availability and professionalism during the negotiations.

I thank them for showing so much interest because their offer was very interesting, keeping in mind the current world economic context.

I also thank them because, at the same time, they all showed me that they believe in their regional team.

I thank the representatives from Saint John’s Sports Entertainment and the business group from Saint John’s for their interest in making exceptional offers. We wish them well because they deserve to have a franchise in the QMJHL.

Now, let’s look at the future for the Titan.

The Titan structure will henceforth be composed of two new co-owners who will be my daughter Annie Morrissette-Hébert and my son Stéphane Morrissette. They will form a board of directors with our future partners, and this will be done before the league meetings in June.

From an administrative, marketing and public relations standpoint, all of our employees will remain on staff.

The hockey operations structure remains the same.

So, ladies and Gentlemen, members of the media, business leaders and to all of our fans: remember that, without you, we are nothing and can do nothing to keep our regional team in Bathurst.

In closing, let’s be positive in the future. Together, we can help each other in beating the economic adversity that we are living presently.

VIVE LE TITAN!

Thank you.

St. John's Unlikely to Get Titan: Speculation Mounts

2009-03-09T13:38:00.000-02:30

Source: (http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=34714)

Speculation is that St. John's won't be getting the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, but according to the mayor of the capital city, the latest word they have is that the team's owner had accepted a proposal to move to St. John's. Acadie- Bathurst Titan owner Leo Guy Morisette has called a news conference in New Brunswick this afternoon at 3 o'clock Newfoundland time. The feeling is, with the public invited, it's unlikely he'll announce a move to St. John's. According to Mayor Dennis O'Keefe, the city learned Bathurst had sweetened its offer to the Titan on Friday. However, since that time, the city received correspondence from the Acadie Bathurst Titan Corporate Sales Manager that 'Morissette accepts the proposal submitted' by the city of St. John's and that a deal to move the team would be conditional on Quebec Major Junior Hockey League approval. O'Keefe says he feels the proposal put forward to the Titan was a good one and if it doesn't go through, the city will continue its efforts to secure an anchor tenant for Mile One Centre.

Mayor Dennis O'Keefe says as of 11 o'clock this morning, indications were that the owner of the Titan, Leo-Guy Morrisette, was still in negotiations with what they call a "local group". O'Keefe says it's possible Morrissette could be using the City of St. John's' proposal as leverage in considering other options for the team. O'Keefe says he knows Bathust has been working to keep the Titan, and that there may be a third proposal. Councillor Keith Coombs had previous dealings with Morrissette some five years ago when the city was out to acquire a team from the Q. The league eventually awarded the franchise to the Dobbin group. Coombs is of the opinion that everything fell into place too easily this time around.

Not Looking Good

2009-03-09T10:46:00.000-02:30

The reports circulating the world wide web this morning are not looking good for St. John’s hockey fans.

While I’ll continue to hold on to some hope, there is every indication to believe that we were a pawn is a very public negotiating game.

As this debacle continued to drag itself out, I found myself less and less trustful of Leo-Guy Morrisette. Even when we saw the headline over the weekend “The Titans are Coming”, I had to remain skeptical seeing as Mr. Morrisette was quoted in New Brunswick papers as saying “It doesn’t mean I’m going there”, when asked bout the tentative deal with St. John’s Sport and Entertainment.

I’ve been getting that feeling you get at the poker table when you know it’s time to fold your cards and so I’m preparing for the bad news which we should know at 3pm today.

For those who feel the need to hear the bad news live, you can direct your browsers here: http://www.max1049.ca/home.cfm

In the mean time I’m wondering what’s next. Is there anything positive that can possibly come out of this? There’s positive in all things if you look hard enough. There is positively an appetite to bring hockey back to St. John’s, and more specifically, there is an appetite for major-junior hockey. It is positive that SJSE looks like it’s willing to bend a little to make hockey work. Word that they were willing to operate on a break-even basis so long as there was no subsidy to the tax-payer is a sharp contrast to their treatment of the Fog Devils.

Perhaps Mark Just might pick up the phone and accept the deal Leo-Guy turned down. It’s a long shot… a very long shot, but it would be our only hope of landing a team in time for ’09-’10.

But if all this goes down the way the reports are expecting, then Mile One will be empty again next winter, and St. John’s will be left looking like a laughing stock.

Which leaves me wondering what I can do with this little corner of the Internet that I call home?

I mean, I’ve spent the past year campaigning to bring the QMJHL back to Newfoundland. I’ve told any ear that would listen that major-junior hockey is the right product for this market and given the right conditions would thrive and become a crown jewel for the league.

But instead the league turns around and makes us look silly. The QMJHL couldn’t get the Fog Devils out of here fast enough. Brad Dobbin was forced to make decision on the future of the Fog Devils a week sooner that expected, while on the other hand Leo-Guy was granted 5 weeks extra time to play various groups against each other.

That’s treatment we don’t deserve.

So while I remain hopeful we hear good news, hope that is rapidly fading, I’m considering a change of direction for the Fighting Newfoundlander.

I’ve fought hard to bring the Q back. Now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t campaign to keep the league out.

Maybe the AHL isn’t so bad after all.

Anyways, let’s wait and see what happens today at 3pm.

St. John's Unlikely to Get Titan

2009-03-09T09:41:00.000-02:30

Source: (http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=34714)

It doesn't sound like St.John's is getting the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. St.John's Sports and Entertainment thought they had a deal to bring the team to Mile One, but the team owner will be holding a news conference in New Brunswick today to state his intentions concerning the future of the franchise. Given he has invited the public to that event, speculation is he won't be delivering bad news to the community.

St. John's shut out?

2009-03-09T09:05:00.002-02:30

Titan likely staying in Bathurst

Source: (http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=229662&sc=83)

ROBIN SHORT
Telegram Sports Editor

It appears the city's latest venture into the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League lasted all of 48 hours.

A news release on the Acadie-Bathurst Titan website Sunday evening revealed, "The Acadie-Bathurst Titan will be holding a press conference Monday March 9th at 2:30 p.m. at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre. Titan owner and president, M. Leo-Guy Morrissette, will state his intentions concerning the future of the franchise."

The general public is also invited to attend." Taking into consideration the last sentence, it's unlikely Morrissette is convening Titan hockey fans to the team's home rink to declare he's relocating the franchise to St. John's.

So much for the tentative agreement St. John's Sports and Entertainment (SJSE) and Morrissette had brokered Friday night.

St. John's looked to have scored a big win with the announcement of a new QMJHL franchise for the city. Mayor Dennis O'Keefe and SJSE head Gerry Smith, following an emergency meeting of city council Saturday afternoon at City Hall, announced council had put the stamp of approval on a tentative deal which would see the Acadie-Bathurst owner relocate his franchise to St. John's for the 2009-10 season.

"No, no, no, no. I never said that," Morrissette said Sunday evening, prior to the news bulletin which hit the team's website. "We finished the negotiations (with St. John's). I have three deals and I will decide tomorrow morning around 9 o'clock what deal we will accept.

"I haven't signed anything with St. John's."

Morrissette, who's owned the Titan franchise dating back to when it was located in Laval, Que., before moving to New Brunswick in 1988-89, had been negotiating with SJSE, which operates Mile One Centre, and a local group which hoped to keep the team in Bathurst. It's uncertain who, what or where the third group is/was.

A source said Sunday the Bathurst group had upped its bid for the franchise to $3 million, a figure denied by Daryll Stothart, a spokesman for the group.

"We had no meeting about putting the bid to $3 million," Stothart said. "We have an offer in there and $3 million is a figure that I'm not aware of.

"The whole Titan-to-St. John's saga started weeks ago when Morrissette, in the Quebec junior hockey business for 25 years, began negotiating with a group from St. John's about purchasing the team. The two sides agreed to a $4 million price tag, but locals John Fisher, Bill Kennedy and Tony Kenny could not come to terms with a lease agreement for Mile One.

Last Monday, Morrissette travelled to St. John's and thus began a negotiating process which led to the alleged "tentative deal" announced Saturday.

Morrissette announced last month he was considering selling or relocating the team. The Titan has the league's lowest attendance, averaging 1,700 fans per game in the 3,524-seat rink.

The town's population is around 12,000.

Last Monday, the league granted Morrissette a seven-day extension to submit a franchise relocation request. The new deadline expires 3 p.m. EDT today.

rshort@thetelegram.com

Titan fans on 'pins and needles'

2009-03-09T09:00:00.000-02:30

Source: (http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/sports/article/596671)

Nathan White
Telegraph-Journal

Acadie-Bathurst Titan owner Leo-Guy Morrissette has to inform the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League today of his plans for the franchise's future: stay put, sell the team to local investors or move to St. John's, N.L.

Despite strong signs pointing toward a move to St. John's, Morrissette insists he has not made a decision. Saturday, he said he would be turning his phone off and reviewing his options all day Sunday.

St. John's city council met Saturday and unanimously approved a five-year lease agreement for the Titan to move to the 6,247-seat Mile One Centre, which housed the QMJHL Fog Devils from 2005 to 2008.

But Morrissette said that doesn't mean he's decided to move.

"There's a chance we could stay here and continue with the team, maybe for a couple more years, change our marketing. We'll make a decision Monday morning," he said.

A group of Bathurst businessmen has offered Morrissette around $2.5 million for the team. Local Toyota dealer Daryll Stothart, a member of that group, said he congratulated Morrissette at Saturday's game against the Halifax Mooseheads, after reading reports of the deal in St. John's.

"I wished him the best and there wasn't anything said so we don't know whether the report is true, he didn't reply to us on it," Stothart said. "We're just kind of waiting to see what may take place."

Morrissette has said an investor in St. John's was interested in buying a share of the team.
Before Morrissette began dealing directly with St. John's Sports and Entertainment, which operates Mile One on behalf of the city, the St. John's Telegram reported that Morrissette had an agreement to sell the team for $4 million to a group of investors led by John Fisher. That deal fell through when the Fisher group couldn't come to terms with St. John's Sports and Entertainment.

Fisher refused to comment Sunday on whether he was still involved.

"I can't say anything right now until (Morrissette) makes some kind of announcement," Fisher said.

The league's original deadline to request a transfer was Jan. 31, but Morrissette got a one-month extension, then an additional seven-day extension. Stothart said the people of Bathurst want an answer today, one way or another.

"He better not get another extension because everybody here is on pins and needles," he said.

"You have a lot of diehard fans here that want to see junior hockey here."

Any move would require the approval of a two-thirds majority of league members. Many other teams are concerned about the travel costs associated with flying to Newfoundland, and would prefer to see the team stay in Bathurst, where attendance has taken a 21.7-per-cent plunge to an average of 1,705 fans per game.

"I think every option to keep the team in Bathurst should be explored first and foremost," said Cape Breton Screaming Eagles president Paul MacDonald.

"Newfoundland, in my opinion, had their chance (with the Fog Devils)," said Saint John Sea Dogs president Wayne Long. "We are very, very supportive of that team staying in Bathurst."

"The last three years, they (the Fog Devils) proved it's tough to live there and make business with a hockey team there," said Drummondville Voltigeurs general manager Dominic Ricard.

The Fog Devils were required to pay visiting teams' air travel expenses from four major centres: Halifax, Moncton, Montreal or Ottawa, leaving the visitors on the hook to get to one of those cities. A new team would likely be required to foot the entire travel bill, whether from Rouyn-Noranda, Que., or Sydney, N.S.

Ricard would also like to see some sort of guarantee that the team will not move again in a year or two.

"We don't want to have to deal with St. John's," Ricard said. "I think it's better for everybody that the Titan stays in Bathurst."

St. John's, Titan reach five-year agreement

2009-03-07T18:08:00.000-03:30

Source: http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=229398&sc=79

St. John’s city council unanimously approved a deal between St. John’s Sports and Entertainment, which operates Mile One Centre, and Acadie-Bathurst Titan owner Leo-Guy Morrissette that will see the Titan relocate to St. John’s for the 2009-10 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season, the first in a five-year lease agreement.

St. John’s operated a QMJHL team for three years — the Fog Devils — before it was sold to Montreal businessman Farrell Miller and relocated to suburban Verdun, Que. last year.

The Titan has played in Bathurst, N.B. for 10 seasons. But the area economy has been hit hard of late, and that’s translated into low attendance for the team.

Acadie-Bathurst has the lowest attendance in the QMJHL, averaging fewer than 1,800 fans in the 3,162-seat K.C. Irving Regional Centre. The area has a population hovering around the 12,000 mark.

Morrissette has owned the Titan — prior to Bathurst the team was located in Laval, Que. — for 25 years.

City council approved a financial model of the deal Thursday. That model, which calls for a break-even position for Mile One at the end of the day, and no subsidy by the city to the hockey team, was accepted by Morrissette Friday.

The whole package was reviewed by council at an emergency meeting Saturday, and unanimously accepted.

SJSE president Gerry Smith would not release any financial details Saturday. But he did say his group would remain responsible for all corporate sales at Mile One, sharing profits with the Titan, while the team would take care of selling tickets.

Ticket prices, Smith said, are expected to be as low as $8 plus tax for kids up to $16 for adults.
Smith did not know if the team will carry the Titan name, or if the club will be renamed.

Before the Titan moves to St. John’s, the sale still has to be approved by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s board of governors.

rshort@thetelegram.com

The Titans are coming

2009-03-07T18:07:00.001-03:30

Source: (http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=229396&sc=79)
The Telegram

After a one-year absence, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is returning to St. John’s for the 2009-2010 hockey season.

City council voted unanimously Saturday to accept a proposal from Acadie-Bathurst Titan owner Leo-Guy Morrissette to relocate his team to St. John’s beginning next season.
More details to come.

Hockey Not To Effect Concert Nights At Mile One; O'Keefe

2009-03-07T13:52:00.001-03:30

Source (http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=34679)

Concert goers have no need to worry about a new St. John's hockey team having a negative impact on the recent wave of major music acts visiting the province. St. John's Mayor Dennis O'Keefe says SJSE feels confident that they could find another venue for games that may conflict with a major concert opportunity. O'Keefe says in the case of some kind of conflict where there might be a hockey game and there was also an opportunity to have a major concert and a major revenue source for Mile One, SJSE feels that it could be written in the agreement with the Club that given that kind of conflict, that a game could be played in another venue. The Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League could be the next inhabitants of Mile One Centre. Mayor Dennis O'Keefe says the decision should be made very soon.

Hockey deal imminent?

2009-03-07T13:46:00.003-03:30

QMJHL agreement could come today, sources say

Source (http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=229362&sc=79)

ROBIN SHORT
The Telegram

An agreement which would see the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League return to St. John's after a year's absence could be finalized as early as today, The Telegram has learned.

According to sources, Acadie-Bathurst Titan owner Leo-Guy Morrissette has tentatively accepted a proposal from St. John's Sports and Entertainment which would see the team relocate from northern New Brunswick to Newfoundland's capital for the 2009-10 major junior hockey season.

St. John's had a franchise in the QMJHL for three seasons - the Fog Devils - until it was sold and relocated to Montreal last spring.

The Titan has operated in Bathurst, N.B. for 10 seasons. But the area economy has been hit hard of late, and that's translated into low attendance for the team.

The Titan has the lowest attendance in the QMJHL, averaging fewer than 1,800 fans in the 3,162-seat K.C. Irving Regional Centre. The area has a population hovering around the 12,000 mark.

As a result, Morrissette has been seeking relocation options and the large metropolitan area that greater St. John's offers, in addition to the 6,000-seat Mile One Centre, makes this an attractive market.

He has also been negotiating with a group of local businessmen who are interested in purchasing the team and keeping it in Bathurst.

Thursday, St. John's Sports and Entertainment chairman Gerry Smith, along with Mile One general manager Bill Thistle, presented a financial model of the deal to St. John's city council.

Council liked the model, which called for a break-even position at the end of the day. Even more attractive was the fact the model calls for no subsidy to the hockey team.

On Friday, the model was forwarded to Morrissette who, according to sources, has accepted the deal.All that's left, said a source, is some minor tinkering.

Council is expected to meet today to further discuss the deal, and possibly put the final stamp of approval on it.

Morrissette first came on the scene when he negotiated a sale - for $4 million - to a local group which included John Fisher, Bill Kennedy and Tony Kenny. However, that group was unable to come to terms over a rental agreement with Mile One.

Last Monday, Morrissette and Titan director of corporate sales, Earl Dimitroff, slipped into St. John's for meetings with SJSE officials.

If the Titan should arrive at Mile One, it would give the eight-year-old building a major tenant it hasn't had since the Fog Devils and St. John's Maple Leafs left the scene.

rshort@thetelegram.com

Titan club closes in on potential transfer

2009-03-07T13:41:00.003-03:30

Source (http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/sports/article/595402)

Nathan White
Telegraph-Journal

Acadie-Bathurst Titan owner Leo-Guy Morrissette is on the verge of moving his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team to St. John's, N.L., according to the mayor of the Newfoundland capital.

Dennis O'Keefe said Friday night that St. John's city council will hold a special meeting today to vote on a deal to move the Titan to the 6,247-seat Mile One Centre.

"There may be a few loose ends to tie up, but it looks very much like the franchise will be transferred here," O'Keefe said. "It seems Mr. Morrissette has pretty well agreed to the financial model and proposal put forward by St. John's Sports and Entertainment (which operates Mile One on the city's behalf)."

But Morrissette said it still isn't a done deal.

"They may accept my terms, but that doesn't mean I'm going there," Morrissette said.

Morrissette has until Monday to request a transfer from the league. A group of Bathurst businessmen made Morrissette an offer to buy the team for around $2.5 million. Morrissette said he had yet to decide whether to keep the team in Bathurst himself, sell to local investors, or move to St. John's.

O'Keefe said council will review the financial terms, and is likely to approve the deal if it does not involve a subsidy from the city.

"If it's a break-even situation, I'm confident we'd approve it, but if it requires any subsidy for travel, that wouldn't be an option. But from what I gather, that isn't the case," O'Keefe said. "It looks extremely positive."

"I need to talk to my family, I need to talk to (general manager Sylvain Couturier), and after I listen to everybody, I'll take a decision," Morrissette said.

But he suggested he may be leaning toward a move to St. John's, perhaps to share ownership with a partner there.

"They spoke to me about the deal we can do with Mile One, and another group that wants to associate with me. The person wants to buy a share with me," Morrissette said, providing no further details.

As for the Bathurst group, "that's not a bad offer for the economy we have, but it's not a good (enough) offer to sell the team to those people."

The Titan is averaging a league-worst 1,714 fans per game at the 3,162-seat K.C. Irving Regional Centre, a drop of 19.1 per cent from last season.

League spokesman Karl Jahnke said he doesn't expect an official announcement to be made until Monday. Any move would require approval by a two-thirds majority of league members.
Many teams have expressed concern about the travel cost associated with flying to Newfoundland for games, and would prefer to see the team stay in Bathurst.

In Bathurst, about 20 businessmen were planning to watch Friday's game against Moncton together and discuss the possibility of keeping the team there. But local Toyota dealer Daryll Stothart, a member of that group, said Morrissette isn't likely to see a better offer than the $2.5 million they've presented to him and the league.

"Whatever he's got there is what he's getting from us. It's his decision to decide what he wants to do. Anything we can do to keep it here, we're doing our best, but he owns it," Stothart said.

Stothart said the offer is based on information gathered from five QMJHL teams, and on the assumption it would take two years to restore the team to a break-even point.

"We've got one mission here right now: to save hockey," Stothart said.

Hockey Decision May Come Today

2009-03-06T13:30:00.000-03:30

Source (http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=34654)

The owner of the Bathurst Titan is quoted as saying he will decide today whether he wants to keep the team in Bathurst or move it to St.John's. In today's Telegraph Journal, Leo-Guy Morrissette is quoted as saying everything is on the table. But the northern New Brunswick city is not going down without a fight. Their deputy mayor, Scott Ferguson, is quoted as saying that moving the team out of Bathurst would be a violation of their contract. He has asked city council there to work out a better deal with the Titan. At the moment, Bathurst gives the team a total concession package of close to $300,000 according to the deputy mayor. Ferguson also says a group of local investors wants to buy the team for $2.5 million, but that Morrissette wants $4 million. One of the biggest drawbacks of having a Q team in St.John's is travel expenses, but so far St.John's Sports and Entertainment and city council like what they see. The team has until Monday to formally request a move.

St.John's Mayor Dennis O'Keefe makes it clear that the deal must be a break-even situation. On VOCM Open Line with Randy Simms this morning, he said the city will not be helping out with travel expenses. There is also some talk that game tickets will cost quite a bit more than the price fans used to pay for the Fog Devils, but O'Keefe says nothing has been finalized in that regard. He says the matter will have to come back to council for a final vote.

Things Looking Good for Hockey at Mile One

2009-03-06T09:38:00.001-03:30

Source: (http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=34654)

Things are looking good for hockey at Mile One next season. St. John's Mayor Dennis O'Keefe says a financial model from St.John's Sports and Entertainment indicates a break-even position. Negotiations have been ongoing with the owners of the Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and.O'Keefe says there could be an agreement soon. O'Keefe says right now things look very good, but negotiations will continue throughout the next few days. SJSE will have to go back to council for final approval.

Titan owner to determine franchise's future today

2009-03-06T09:03:00.001-03:30

Source: (http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/sports/article/594002)

Acadie-Bathurst Titan owner Leo-Guy Morrissette says he will decide today whether he wants to keep the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team in Bathurst or move to St. John's, N.L.

Morrissette has until Monday to request a transfer. Refusing to discuss details, he said the team could move to St. John's, be sold to investors in Bathurst, or that he could keep the team there for another year.

"Everything is on the table," Morrissette said. "Because the negotiations are ongoing, I can't say anything more.

"Both cities' councils met Thursday to discuss the team.

No expenses, can there be consensus?

2009-03-06T08:55:00.002-03:30

Source: (http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=228926&sc=83)

ROBIN SHORT
Telegram Sports Editor

It appears a financial model that would see a return of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) viable on the balance sheet has all but been approved by city council.

Now if St. John's Sports and Entertainment (SJSE) could only do some arm-twisting to get Leo-Guy Morrissette to accept it, Mile One Centre might have a major tenant in 2009-10.

What was rumoured to be a day when a decision on whether the Acadie-Bathurst Titan were officially relocating to St. John's - pending league approval - turned out to be nothing more than a briefing to council Thursday of the latest developments between SJSE and Titan owner Morrissette.

Morrissette is looking to move his team from northern New Brunswick, where it's drawing the fewest fans of any QMJHL franchise. His target appears to be St. John's, home to a QMJHL franchise for three years -the Fog Devils - until it was sold last year and moved to Montreal.

Morrissette was in St. John's Monday to meet with SJSE about setting up shop at Mile One.

The long-time QMJHL franchise owner was given a seven-day extension on a deadline to inform the league of his intentions for next season. That extension runs out Monday.

Mayor Dennis O'Keefe said SJSE chairman Gerry Smith and Mile One Centre general manager Bill Thistle presented a financial model to council, "that right now looks pretty good. It's almost in a break-even position."

Which is all fine and dandy, but will the Titan go for it?

"He may turn it down flat," O'Keefe said of Morrissette. "We don't know."

There's no subsidy. We're not going there. Any travel, anything like that, he has to find that from his revenue stream. That's his side of the equation.

"But Mr. Morrissette was here Monday. I would assume if they talked most of Monday, they had to be talking in terms of figures and what direction that you could go in."

Despite a deadline looming for Morrissette, Smith cautioned talks were still preliminary and exploratory.

"We're working on game-day costs, trying to arrive at a figure for them for rental," Smith said.

"We're still working on a business plan," he said. "Nothing is finalized yet."

But it's important to know what their business plan is coming into St. John's in terms of their marketing and things like that.

"It's important that you have a good sense in what they're bringing to the table as a team and how they're going to market and manage and drive revenues."

Neither O'Keefe nor Smith could say when the matter would be finalized, although an answer - one way or the other - is expected soon.

rshort@thetelegram.com

Hockey Proposal Going to Council

2009-03-05T14:41:00.001-03:30

(Source: http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=34649)
March 5, 2009

It's down to the nitty gritty now on whether Major Junior Hockey will be returning to the province. St.John's Sports and Entertainment is holding a meeting, and will present the proposal to St.John's City Council later this afternoon. The offer comes from the owners of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan out of New Brunswick, a franchise which has been losing money and putting fewer and fewer people in the stands, partly because of a slumping economy. A private bid to purchase the team did not pan out, so now the owners hope to transfer the Titan. Mayor Dennis O'Keefe says there's a special meeting of council and St.John's Sports and Entertainment this afternoon.

Subsidies

2009-03-05T14:18:00.002-03:30

In the course of following the Titan story I've taken a great interest in the comments that appear on the Telegram website in response to posted articles. To me, there is no better way to gauge the public opinion on a subject than use the comments as a sampling of the population. The same can be said for open-line shows on VOCM, but for now my focus is on recent comments made regarding the spate of sports articles concerning the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and their possible relocation to St. John’s.

Today I want to talk about that most controversial of subjects, subsidies.

First, let’s recap the subsidy that was part of the Fisher group’s proposal. Supposedly they had a verbal agreement with SJSE for $1.2 million annually. That’s why they went hunting for a team they could bring here. At some point the requested subsidy increased to $1.8 million before finally dropping to $800,000.

Many comments I’ve read are vehemently against any subsidy of any sort for a hockey business. St. John’s Councilor Tom Hann stood in the council chamber earlier this week and said, "There's no stomach around this table for any taxpayers' money going to a subsidy for any hockey team”.

If a business cannot stand on its own business plan it should not come here seems to be the sentiment among those who oppose a subsidy.

I myself commented about the city’s art procurement program; $20,000 dollars budgeted annually to purchase art from local artists for the city’s collection.

Question: How many of you have ever seen this collection?

Beyond the collection, how many of those outside the “Arts Community” are aware of the Arts Grants Jury and the city policy regarding funding for that program?

“It is the policy of St. John’s City Council to make available financial assistance for organizations and individuals working in the many facets of amateur and professional arts. Funding for arts grants is currently set at $1.00 per capita which is approximately $101,000.00.”

Personally, I don’t avail of anything the arts community offers but I don’t want to sound like I’m bashing the arts community either. Art equals culture and culture is who we are so obviously it has its place. But I have long used this blog to espouse the opinion that sport is just as much a cornerstone of this community as the arts. Sport has defined who we are equally with paintings, song, or theatre.

$800,000 is obviously more than what the arts community receives annually, but to put things in perspective, the combined total is only slightly more than 0.07% of the city’s $126,939,949 operating budget for 2009.

As for the argument that a business should not come here if it can’t stand on its own feet financially, we can turn the tables and say that if these arts groups cannot survive without government money, perhaps they should not come here.

Why stop there… if the business of hockey can’t survive here and therefore should not come here, then let’s stop new restaurants and new stores from coming here as well? So many of those ventures have tried and failed. After all, if a business is tried and fails, then let’s stop trying.

Does my statement sound absurd in that context? It should because it is. Businesses require money and sometimes that money comes in the form of government assistance. This is true across all business sectors yet the business of hockey appears to be the one exception.

And speaking of absurd comments, it has also been suggested that that the majority (I assume the broader tax paying public) should not be forced to pay taxes to subsidize entertainment for the minority.

In the regard I would advise those who use this argument to exercise caution because once again, this is an argument that is easily turned around.

I’ll leave the arts community alone and pick on, oh I don’t know, people who walk places during the winter months. I could easily argue that people who walk in winter are a minority. So then, reversing the logic I’ve seen this past week, I could ask why the majority of winter drivers should have to pay to clear sidewalks for the minority who walk?

In all fairness, the arguments against subsidizing hockey are some of the more reasoned opinions I’ve read since the possibility of hockey returning to St. John’s first surfaced.

However I’ve read some pretty ridiculous arguments as well. I’ll tackle some of the crazier comments tomorrow.

Random thoughts

2009-03-04T11:01:00.005-03:30

With all the developments in the continuing saga of the Acaide-Bathurst Titan and their possible relocation to St. John's for the '09-'10 season, I just wanted to share a few thoughts I feel are important and hopefully you'll take the time to comment.

1. Lease - Without question, the number 1 thing we need to watch. The lease had best be a long term one... definitely over 5 years, preferably 10. Anything less shows a lack of confidence on the part of the owners and SJSE. This will smell foul for the St. John's hockey fan.

2. Education - The education of the Q life cycle is key and in order to teach that we need to go through it. A long term lease allows that to happen.

3. Leo-Guy Morrisette - As for Leo-Guy... what can we say? We don't know they guy so that might actually be a good thing as there are no grudges or bias against him with the locals. However if you take the opinion of the fans in Bathurst, this team will never draw fans. I'm willing to wait and see what he does when he gets here and judge him on the merits of that.

4. Marketing - One of many sore spots with Bathurst fans. My one concern is how much help/advice is he going to take from locals? St. John's is a unique market (dare I say backward market) and you need to be from here and connected with the community to sell the sport. If he refuses help from locals it would not be a good sign.

5. Titan - The Titan have a long history and some highly noteworthy alumni including Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux. However I personally feel that Mr. Morrisette can't expect to keep the name Titan (and those awful colours) and expect people to embrace it. We saw what happened with the Fog Devils.... a new name that was never fully appreciated. I myself hated the Fog Devil name and logo, but I accepted that this was the hockey team I was going to have so I supported them anyways. Let's bring back the Caps! Not the Caps of the old NSHL, but the new "Junior" Caps of the QMJHL. If you wanted a link between past and present, trade to bring Luke Adam back (his dad played for the Caps). Perhaps Randy Pearcey or Tony Cuomo could even be brought in as assistant coaches.

"Junior Caps" gives you a link to the past while giving enough distinction to say this is something different.

6. Price - Fans in Bathurst have been paying the highest ticket prices in the league, but the St. John's crowd are a stingy lot. Plus, we got used to some fairly decent ticket prices especially the tremendous season ticket offer of the final season.

That's all I have on my mind. If you have something I may not have thought of, by all means leave a comment.

Sources say conditional deal in place to bring Titan here

2009-03-04T08:49:00.002-03:30

Source: http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=228076&sc=83

SJSE chairman talking cautiously, but insiders say Acadie-Bathurst owners are prepared to relocate franchise to St. John's

BRENDAN MCCARTHY AND ROBIN SHORT
The Telegram

Two sources within the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League say a conditional agreement has been reached that would see the Acadie-Bathurst Titan move to St. John's.

On Monday night, Gerry Smith, chairman of St. John's Sports and Entertainment spoke cautiously, only saying SJSE and the Titan are continuing to talk about the possibility of having the Titan play out of Mile One Centre next season.

"It's an exchange of information." said Smith. "Right now, (the Titan ownership) is evaluating the information we've provided, but we continue to have a dialogue."

However, the league sources say the two sides are actually very close to clewing up a deal that would see the Titan come here.

That deal, the QMJHL insiders say, would see a relocation of the franchise - SJSE would not be the owner. It also does not involve a local group, headed by John Fisher, which wanted to purchase the Titan and bring them to St. John's. Fisher and Co., said they had an arrangement to purchase the Titan for $4 million, but they failed to reach a deal on financial guarantees with SJSE, which operates Mile One on behalf of the City of St. John's.

On Monday, the QMJHL said it had agreed to a request from Titan owner Leo-Guy Morrissette for a seven-day extension of a deadline to announce any relocation plans he might have for the 2008-09 season. It was the second extension allowed by the league, which had already added 30 days to the original Jan. 31 deadline date.

Monday also saw Morrissette travel to St. John's for face-to-face talks with SJSE officials. Morrissette has since returned to Bathurst, but Smith says discussions continued by phone on Tuesday, primarily between SJSE general manager Bill Thistle and Earl Dimitroff, Acadie-Bathurst's director of corporate sales.

The Titan who have been owned by Morrissette for 25 years, have struggled with attendance this season, drawing an average of less than 1,800 fans per game at the 3,162-seat K.C. Irving Regional Centre in Bathurst, N.B. That represents a nearly 20 per cent drop from 2007-08, and has prompted Morrissette to explore sale options. There's been talk of the team moving to Sherbrooke or Sorel, Que., but the only confirmed interest, outside of St. John's, has been from a group of Bathurst businessmen.

Darryl Stothart, who owns a car dealership in the northern New Brunswick city, told the Saint John Telegraph Journal that preliminary work done by the business group assessed the value of the Titan at around $2.4 million, based on current attendance figures, but that Morrissette had said that he wouldn't go any lower than $3.5 for a local group.

"They made a good offer, which was greatly appreciated, but we couldn't accept it," Morrissette told the Telegraph-Journal.

If the franchise does relocate here, it will be the second transfer under Morrissette's ownership - in 1998, he moved the Titan from Laval, Que,, to Bathurst, where they became the primary tenant of the Irving Centre, built two years earlier.

It would also mark the second time for the QMJHL in St. John's.

The Fog Devils - owned by St. John's businessman Derm Dobbin - played out of 6,250-seat Mile One for three years before being sold to Montreal interests for just over $3 million and moved to Verdun, Que., in 2008.

The Titan have a 20-31-13 record this season.

bmcc@thetelegram.com/rshort@thetelegram.com

Hockey group declares game over

2009-02-27T08:45:00.000-03:30

Source: http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=226624&sc=83
Group says SJSE, city had no appetite for hockey

STEVE BARTLETT
The Telegram

John Fisher says his group has ended its quest to bring the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League back to St. John's.

The city businessman says the group had an agreement to buy an existing team, as well as the league's blessing, but they couldn't come to terms with St. John's Sports and Entertainment (SJSE), the board that operates Mile One Centre.

"I will never try this again. It's too frustrating," said Fisher, who has made numerous attempts at landing a major junior team since the late '90s.

"I've done everything that I could possibly do and I've had enough. When your own city turns around and don't even make an offer and just says, 'No. No. No,' on seven proposals."

The group's team - the franchise now playing out of Bathurst, N.B., rumour has it - would have been called the St. John's Caps and would have hit the ice in September.

Wearing red and white, the Caps would have been the second Quebec league team to call the city home. The ill-fated St. John's Fog Devils left last season after just three years at Mile One.

The talks to make Fisher's dream a reality broke off Wednesday.

The stumbling block? Money.

Fisher said his group - which includes Mount Pearl lawyer Bill Kennedy and St. John's businessman Tony Kenny - threw seven proposals at the board, but none caught on. Each offer involved a financial guarantee from SJSE, which runs Mile One for the City of St. John's. The opening request was for $1.8 million annually. The final was $800,000 a year.

Kennedy said SJSE never gave an inch. He doesn't think they were interested in a deal.

"In essence," he said, "it was like going up to Feildian Gardens and saying, 'I'm going to have a skating party.' (And they say) 'So the cost of the rink is going to be $500 and, if you make $2 million off your skating party, have fun.'"

"I know that is simplistic, but that is essentially what they were saying to us," Kennedy said.

SJSE chairman Gerry Smith says it's just not willing to subsidize the team. The board must operate within the $1.75-million annual operating grant it receives from the city, he explained, and it can't promise money.

Fisher and Kennedy charge that SJSE sang a different tune last fall. They say Smith and board member Steve Sparkes were receptive to giving a guarantee during a preliminary meeting, offering the possibility of $1.2 million a year plus a travel subsidy.

"We walked out of there and said, 'Great. Let's move forward,'" Kennedy said. "So we went out in (the current fiscal) atmosphere and found a body willing to sell us a team. We found a way to finance the purchase of the team and came back. Geez, we were patting ourselves on the back."

Smith denies offering such a commitment.

"That's not correct," he said. "They were looking for $1.8 million and I said, 'If you want us to guarantee $1.8 million and if (our) increased revenues were only $600,000 or $700,000, we'll have an operating gap of over $1 million.' And that's what I said. We couldn't guarantee $1.2 million."

Smith said he never offered to pay a travel subsidy, either, adding that he clarified these matters in a recent discussion after which Kennedy apologized.

Fisher and Kennedy contend they were never looking for a subsidy, just a portion of the cash the team would generate for SJSE and the city - between $1.2 million and $1.5 million a year, Fisher estimates.

"There was a refusal to recognize that hockey would have any value to this facility, an absolute refusal," said Kennedy.

The board, Smith maintains, couldn't commit because the team's forecasts were speculative. He said Fisher and crew would have received the lion's share of the money they generated.

"They could take that money because the hockey would create incremental revenues," he said. "That money would flow into their hockey operation."

With this failed attempt, Fisher said there will never be another Quebec major junior team in St. John's.

He said the Q, as it's called, had little appetite for returning after the Fog Devils failed. He said he spent months trying to win the league over and get the go-ahead to bring hockey back to the city.

He and Kennedy are wondering if SJSE is trying to land an American Hockey League (AHL) franchise.

"There may be some visions here that there is a better pheasant out there in the bush," Kennedy said.

Smith said his board is not holding out for the AHL, or favouring one league over another. If presented with a business model that didn't impact SJSE, he says it would be supported.

Fisher ultimately blames City Hall for the failed negotiations. He doesn't think there is an appetite for hockey there, that council is happy to have multimillion-dollar Mile One as an entertainment centre, even though it was built for hockey.

"In all fairness, SJSE are not dictating anything," Fisher said. "This goes right back to city council."

Mayor Dennis O'Keefe says that's not true.

"I think there is an appetite for hockey there, but it has to be under the right financial conditions," he said. "That doesn't include a subsidy from the city for hockey."

According to Fisher and Kennedy, the team they were buying has until March 2 to inform the league of a move.

Even though they've given up the fight and informed the franchise's owner they were done, Kennedy kept faint hope.

"If someone came back to me on Saturday morning and said, 'Kennedy, we'll do something.' I tell you right now I can make things happen in a day."

sbartlett@thetelegram.com

Local Sports from VOCM

2009-02-25T09:00:00.001-03:30

Source: http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=34470

There are indications Major Junior Hockey could be on its way back to Newfoundland. A couple of St. John's area businessmen are said to be working feverishly to entice a team from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to St.John's. The city lost the St.John's Fog Devils prior to this season after the team failed to make a splash. Not helping matters was an ongoing dispute with city council and St.John's Sports and Entertainment. This could be the make or break week. There have been reports in New Brunswick that the ailing Bathurst Titans may be headed our way. That team has been plagued with low attendance of late - about 1700 per game. Lewiston, Maine may also be looking for a new home.

Hockey group requested big bucks

2009-02-25T08:50:00.001-03:30

Source: http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=225733&sc=83

Asked for promise of $1.8 million annually

STEVE BARTLETT
The Telegram

The group trying to bring major junior hockey back to Mile One Centre was seeking a huge financial guarantee from St. John's Sports and Entertainment (SJSE).

According to e-mails leaked to The Telegram, the group's first pitch to the board that operates the arena was in the vicinity of $1.8 million annually.

Ron Ellsworth, city council's representative on SJSE, confirmed the original request was in that area, saying it was between $1.5 million and $1.8 million. The deputy mayor said SJSE is open and ready to partner with a hockey operator, but stressed that such a guarantee is not an option.

"We'll work very hard to make it happen with a proponent, but we can't expose the city to that kind of exposure," said Ellsworth.

The e-mails - sent by Mile One general manager Bill Thistle to Ellsworth and SJSE president Gerry Smith - indicate that negotiations ended Monday because of SJSE's refusal to commit to a reduced request for a $900,000 guarantee.

"I just spoke to John (Fisher) and he claims that they are done," reads Thistle's message. "He said that 'they started at $1.8 million and came down to $900K, but we haven't budged.' I again explained that SJSE could not provide the 'subsidy or guarantee' that they sought.

"However, Thistle told The Telegram Tuesday afternoon that talks were back on.

Fisher is leading a group interested in bringing an existing Quebec Major Junior Hockey League entry to St. John's for the 2009-10 season. The rumoured teams are the Lewiston MAINEiacs and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Fisher was unavailable for comment on this story and asked that The Telegram call him today.

As for what size of a risk SJSE was willing to take, Ellsworth said it would depend on the business model being proposed. He said council doesn't want SJSE's yearly operating grant to exceed $1.75 million, so the board has little room to promise guarantees. Instead, he explained, they are willing to try to increase revenue opportunities for a hockey operator through things like corporate suites.

As a businessman, Ellsworth said he understands that, in requesting the guarantee, Fisher and his group were trying to offset operating costs and mitigate risks. He appreciated that negotiations were back on as well as the efforts of the hockey team hopefuls.

"Even though I know John is frustrated trying to get things done, I firmly believe that if there is a way to do it, these guys will find it," he said.

The St. John's Fog Devils - the city's first crack at a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team - left at the end of the 2007-08 campaign after three seasons and a rocky relationship with SJSE.

sbartlett@thetelegram.com

Is hockey returning to Mile One?

2009-02-23T09:42:00.001-03:30

Source: http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=224554&sc=86

ROBIN SHORT
The Telegram

Sacre bleu! Not 12 months since the erstwhile Fog Devils of St. John’s packed their gear and skated off through The Narrows for the bright lights of Montreal comes word there’s a chance the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League may re-emerge in St. John’s, possibly even next season.

But it’s slim.

This much we know: there’s one team within the QMJHL — Lewiston MAINEiacs — seeking new shelter next season. A second team — Acadie-Bathurst — is considering a move from that northern New Brunswick town, where the Titan are drawing flies in a struggling economy.

In St. John’s, local businessman John Fisher, who was part of a group vying for a QMJHL expansion franchise for the city four years ago, is still looking to suit up in the major junior game.

Fisher and his group have been in contact with the league, and are eyeing the MAINEiacs or Titan.

But this is where things get tangly. For if St. John’s is to ice a major junior franchise in 2009-10, a slate of dominos must fall into place.

First, we’ll consider the Titan.

Eleven years the team has been in Bathurst, and it appears that junior hockey ship has sailed. Drawing an average of 1,733 fans a game, it’s the lowest attendance in the 18-team circuit.

Owner Leo-Guy Morrissette is fielding offers for the club, which he runs on a shoestring, but considering Morrissette has been around longer than dirt — he’s owned the Titan for 25 years — he’s not keen on selling. Rather, Morrissette would prefer to relocate, just as he did from Laval, Que. — where a chap named Mario Lemieux wore No. 66 — to Bathurst.

Morrissette has been speaking to city officials in Sorel, Que., which once owned a Q franchise, where a young Raymond Bourque long ago toiled. With a transfer to Sorel, Morrissette would retain ownership, something he longs to maintain.

If Sorel falls through, and if Morrissette elects to sell rather than stick out another year in Bathurst, there’s a local ownership group willing to take the team off his hands.

So, what does all this mean?

The Titan are a long, long shot for St. John’s.

Lewiston may be more plausible.

Citing lousy attendance and a lousier rink, the MAINEiacs’ owners filed a formal request with the league to relocate to Boisbriand, Que., for next season.

A wonderful idea. Boisbriand, an affluent suburb north of Montreal, is constructing a new 1,500-seat rink. If the QMJHL is moving in, the city is prepared to go to 3,700 seats.

Except there’s a little problem. Boisbriand falls within the 40-kilometre territorial rights held by the Junior de Montreal, formerly the St. John’s Fog Devils.

So, while league commissioner Gilles Courteau and the boys try to figure a way to circumvent their own constitution, look for Farrel Miller, the deep-pocketed owner of the Juniors, to dig his heels in and reject any competition.

Imagine Miller, spending $3 million and change to purchase the Fog Devils and moving them to Montreal (nearby Verdun, actually), thinking he has rights to the city, only to find out the league wants to shift another team to his turf?

Money, I’m told, won’t appease Miller. It’s about principle, and the QMJHL may be facing legal action if the Boisbriand deal goes ahead.

So, what happens to Lewiston if the Boisbriand deal is scrapped? Return to the town you were bailing out on, tail wedged between legs, muttering, ‘never mind’?

Enter St. John’s.

Nobody’s saying much ’round here. Not Fisher. Not Gerry Smith, the head of St. John’s Sports and Entertainment, which runs Mile One Centre. Which usually means something’s brewing.

How much the teams are selling for is anyone’s guess, but considering the expansion price tag was $3 million a couple of years ago — the same figure Miller shelled out for the Fog Devils — it’s hard to figure a team will go for much less.

When it pertains to a team conceivably bound for Newfoundland, however, there is an addendum: there’d better be cash up front, an account from which teams will draw to cover travel expenditures to St. John’s.

Otherwise, there isn’t a remote hope QMJHL teams will commit to St. John’s.

“The vote,” said one QMJHL team official, “will be 18-0 (against St. John’s).”

One piece of gossip making the rounds around town this week has St. John’s Sports and Entertainment — i.e. the city — paying for all inbound travel to St. John’s, and charging the new owner(s) $8,000 per night to use Mile One, as opposed to the $10,000 bill the Fog Devils faced.

That, however, was flatly denied by one city hall insider.

“If we’re paying that kind of money,” he said, “why not own the team ourselves?”

Smith is serious about getting a hockey team for Mile One, but the numbers have to work. SJSE still has eyes for the American Hockey League. But wanting something and getting it are two different things.

I want a Hummer.

Junior hockey, it’s been noted from this corner, may be the city’s best chance, whether it’s a single ownership group, such as Fisher’s party, or some kind of public/private partnership.

That’s a question yet to be answered.

Unfortunately, when it comes to major junior or pro hockey returning to St. John’s, there are far too many questions and not nearly enough answers.

Robin Short is The Telegram’s Sports Editor. He can be reached by e-mail rshort@thetelegram.com.

Clock is ticking for Acadie-Bathurst Titan

2009-02-17T10:20:00.002-03:30

Local ownership group working to prepare a bid

Source: http://thenorthernlight.canadaeast.com/sports/article/574453

Don’t be surprised if the fate of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan is known by the end of this week.

The Northern Light has learned that a group of prominent local businessmen are working to find a way to keep the team in the city.

The group believes that local ownership has a chance to bring fans back to the K. C. Irving Regional Centre and have been working feverishly to pool their resources and make a serious bid for the team.

That bid, if it hasn’t already in fact been finalized, should be in the hands of Titan owner Leo- Guy Morrissette over the next few days. Whether the two sides can find common ground may be the last hope for the club’s future in the city.

This latest news comes on the heels of a television report in Quebec last week that said Morrissette visited Sorel, Que., about an hour northeast of Montreal, recently as he looks at places to move his team, in view of declining attendance at the Irving Centre.

Morrissette has since denied the report, but did say he was looking at all of his options.

Those options, according to a news release from the team, include selling the team to local ownership at market value.

What that value is remains to be seen, but ranges anywhere from $2 to $3.5 million, depending on who you talk to.

The Northern Light has also learned that the City of Bathurst has been in contact with league officials about its options, should Morrissette decide to move the team or sell to outside interests. Those options seem rather limited though. For starters, expecting the league to expand beyond its current 18 teams doesn’t appear realistic.

Other than that, the only other QMJHL team looking to move is the Lewiston MAINEiacs, who were denied permission earlier this month to move to Boisbriand, Que. because of territorial rights owned by the Montreal Juniors.

Although Lewiston is now actively seeking another market, would the league really allow a franchise to move to a city that currently attracts less than 1,800 fans pergame? And that is the main issue, the lack of fan support for the team’s home games at the K. C. Irving Regional Centre. Morrissette has said he can’t afford to keep the team in Bathurst unless he sees a dramatic rise in the number of fans making their way through the turnstiles.

Because of that, he asked for, and was granted, a 30-day extension on the league’s Jan. 31 deadline for franchises that want to relocate prior to the start of next season. Since news of the team’s deadline request surfaced earlier this month, though, attendance has actually declined further.

Even a visit by provincial rivals the Moncton Wildcats last weekend didn’t help.

Traditionally, games involving the Wildcats have been amongst the best attended each season. Last Saturday’s game also marked the return of Tomy Joly to Bathurst. The forward was a fan favourite before being traded to Moncton last month, but still only 1,629 fans bothered showing up.

Acadie-Bathurst ranks last in league attendance this season with an average of just 1,747 fans per game.

To make matters worse, the relationship between Morrissette and the City of Bathurst has deteriorated to a point where finding common ground to move forward may prove difficult at best.

Both sides seem intent on blaming the other rather than trying to find a solution. The most troubling thing in all of this are public comments made by elected officials who seem more concerned with covering their own backs rather than coming up with ways to better serve their constituents.

The Town of Beresford, on the other hand, is planning a rally later this week to try and show support for the team. Of course, they don’t hold the keys to the Irving Centre or have to deal with the team on a day to day basis. But still, isn’t it better to channel one’s energy towards finding solutions rather than going on the offensive and pointing fingers? Technically, Morrissette has until March 2 to make his intentions known, but it is looking more and more like something will happen before that time for a number of reasons.

First, local interests want to make sure the team takes their offer seriously before making other arrangements. Secondly, if a potential market exists, the Titan want to have a deal in place before Lewiston throws their cards on the table and forces the league to choose between the two – and one assumes they wouldn’t say no to the MAINEiacs a second time.

Plus, if the only option left is for Morrissette to stay another year, then it is time to put the issue to bed once and for all before the damage to the reputation of the team, its owner and the city they play in gets any worse.

More than anything though, everyone is tired of the same old issue. It’s not like the threat of relocation hasn’t been heard before. Let’s just hope that whatever solution is found we aren’t right back in the same situation a year from now, or three years down the road.

Adam's season could be finished

2009-02-11T09:05:00.001-03:30

Has surgery after suffering a ruptured spleen in a weekend QMJHL game

Source: http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=220995&sc=83

The Telegram

St. John's native and Buffalo Sabres draft pick Luke Adam of St. John's could be done for the season after suffering a ruptured spleen while playing with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Junior de Montreal.

Adam, who was injured during Sunday's game against Baie-Comeau Drakkar, underwent a two-hour operation Monday and the Junior reported he is recovering in intensive care. The team also said the 18-year-old is expected to be sidelined six to eight weeks. With the QMJHL's regular schedule finishing in mid-March, it could very well mean Adam won't play again this season.

Paula Adam, Luke's mother, told The Telegram Tuesday, "He's doing fine. He's coming around."

Adam's father Russ is in Montreal. He had been visiting his son since last week.

The 6-2, 200-pound Adam was second in scoring on the Junior, with 22 goals and 49 points in 47 games.

He had 36 goals and 30 assists for a team-leading 66 points with the St. John's Fog Devils last season before the QMJHL franchise moved to Montreal.

Adam, who was selected in the second round by the Sabres (44th overall) in last June's NHL Entry Draft, recently finished as runner-up to Mike Noftall for the 2008 St. John's athlete of the year award.

The Caps came back?

2009-02-10T13:33:00.004-03:30

"De Caps came back—thought they were a goner,
But de Caps came back for they couldn't stay away."

I couldn’t think of a more fitting way to begin this article than to have some fun with the poem made famous by Harry S. Miller, The Cat Came Back. In the poem, “Old Mr. Johnston” has a cat he does not want and no matter how hard he tries the cat always comes back.

But for St. John’s hockey fans the cat, or should I say Caps, have been gone for a long time and we are still waiting for them to come back.

That wait could soon be over.

The Caps dropped off the radar of all but the most die-hard hockey fans shortly after the arrival of the American Hockey League and the St. John’s Maple Leafs in 1991.

The Baby Leafs Nation dominated hockey in the capital city for 14 years, painting the city Blue & White. But despite their popularity all the way out here on Canada’s east coast, Toronto made the decision pull up stakes and relocate the Baby Leafs closer to the parent club in 2005.

The hockey void was quickly filled with the arrival of the QMJHL and the Fog Devils, but that venture ended after 3 short seasons when the team was sold to Montreal businessman Farrell Miller who moved the club to Verdun where they became the Montreal Juniors.

And so here we are, our first winter without hockey in nearly 20 years!

But if the latest rumours are true, hockey fans on the north-east Avalon might not have to wait much longer.

The rumour-mill, the grapevine, call it what you will, continues to churn out reports that Acadie-Bathurst Titan owner Leo-Guy Morrisette is near to inking a deal which would see him sell the Titan to interests in St. John’s, and move the team to Mile One in time to begin play for the 2009-2010 season.

Weather the “interests” in St. John’s are St. John’s Sports & Entertainment or a group of private owners is not yet clear. What is clear is the fact that if St. John’s should host hockey games on Gower Street anytime soon there is a golden opportunity to “get it right” this time.

After the Fog Devils hurried out of town, many started pointing fingers and playing the blame game: ticket prices were too high, too hard to find parking in the downtown, lease and travel subsidy was too high, it’s just high-school hockey, blah, blah, blah.

I’ve beaten those subjects into a meaty pulp before. That horse is dead and I refuse to kick her again.

What I am going to talk about is marketing.

Marketing is perhaps the number 1 reason people point to as the ultimate failure of junior hockey in St. John’s. The AHL Leafs were certain to be an automatic success no matter how they were marketed as they were moving into a market with a fan base that was already primed and ready to devour it.

However for the Fog Devils, the new team in the new league, an extra effort was needed but never really given.

After former Leafs marketing gurus Chris Schwartz and Patrick Penney left the Devils organization there was little done to promote the team. No bill boards. No television ads. Few print ads... just the same old “So Hot it Burns” tag line on AM radio for an entire year.

And yet the Fog Devils still sold tickets ranking 7th in overall league attendance.

But when one talks about marketing there is one key piece of a team identity that can make or break a franchise; the name and logo.

The Dobbins held a contest and eventually settled on Fog Devils, something new and completely alien. This time around I would suggest that any new owners choose a name a bit more familiar to St. John’s hockey fans.

Those 4 letters, C-A-P-S, instantly tap into over 100 years of hockey history, not just in St. John’s, but the province as a whole.

Hockey was first played in this province in 1896 and in 1899 the Newfoundland Hockey Association, then all St. John's teams, was formed.

By 1935, the Herder family had donated a trophy in memory fallen family members and when referee Herb Coultas dropped the puck to start the game at 8:15 p.m. between the Corner Brook Royals and Guards on Thursday, March 21, 1935, the era of Newfoundland Senior Hockey was born.

By the 1970’s, the St. John’s Capitals were dominating the league, winning 5 Herder championships in 7 years during that decade.

During the years some of Newfoundland’s greatest hockey names laced ‘em up for the Red & White: Zane Forbes, Randy Pearcey, Rick Babstock, Tony Cuomo, Andy Sullivan, Russ Adam, Howie Meeker and Alex Faulkner.

But alas, all good things must come to an end. The Capitals won their 7th and final championship in 1990. Today their memory is kept alive by the Avalon Capitals of the St. John’s Junior B hockey League.

This blogger proposes the name Junior Capitals complete with throw-back jerseys should the Caps ever come back to St. John’s.

‘Caps’ to link to our hockey past, while ‘Junior’ points to our hockey future.

Luke Adam

2009-02-10T09:37:00.001-03:30

Montreal, February 9th, 2009 - The Montreal Juniors would like to update the health status of Luke Adam.

He ruptured his spleen during Sunday’s game against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. After 2 hours on the operation table, Adam is feeling better. He will stay in the intensive care unit for the next 3 days and he will miss the next 6 to 8 weeks of the rest of the season.

The Montreal Juniors would like to wish Luke Adam a fast recovery.

Sloppy Seconds

2009-02-09T11:41:00.002-03:30

The following should not be taken as anything more than the collective ramblings of an overly optimistic Major-Junior hockey fan, but DAMN!!! if it isn’t an exciting time to be a fan of the QMJHL in St. John’s!

These past few weeks are like the Christmas trading period all over again, except instead of what players are moving where, it’s a game of what teams are moving where.

And St. John’s in caught up in the midst of all the rumours!

Reports of the Lewiston Maineiacs possibly relocating started popping up all over the media as early as January 13th following the firing of Head Coach Ed Harding. Harding’s termination with the club came hot on the heels of the release of various front office staff including key members of the marketing team.

The Maineiacs were born when the Sherbrooke Castors moved to Maine in 2003 yet, despite winning the President’s Trophy 2006-07, the team failed to attract fans, averaging just over 2100 per game over 6 seasons.

To the dismay of Maineiacs fans, the team filed a formal request with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on January 31st, 2008 to relocate for the 2009-10 season.

St. John’s cropped up in reports as a possible destination for the Maineiacs, however Boisbriand, a suburb of Montreal, emerged as the preferred location for Maineiacs owner Mark Just.

Not long after the news in Lewiston broke, the same thing started happening in Acadie-Bathurst where the Titan average among the lowest attendance in the league.

Again, St. John’s was speculated as a possible relocation destination for an ailing QMJHL club, with some reports even suggesting that St. John’s Sports and Entertainment was offering to buy the club from Leo-Guy Morrisette.

The rumours and speculation continued until they climaxed on January 31st. In an article written by Telegram sports Editor Robin Short, QMJHL commissioner Gilles Corteau confirmed that the league had been in touch with members of SJSE about the possibility of St. John’s once again joining the Major Junior circuit.

Courteau said St. John's would have to meet 3 conditions; a long term lease at Mile One, which obviously wouldn't be a problem, subsidized travel for visiting teams, and accept a schedule on which the current teams agree.

So, the league confirmed that St. John’s wanted back into the CHL. That should have been the end of all the speculation, right?

Wrong.

The Titan never did meet the QMJHL’s January 31st deadline to file a formal relocation request and on February 3rd, the Telegram reported that SJSE chairman Gerry Smith denied having had any dialogue with QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau concerning the possibility of obtaining a franchise for St. John's.

However, the same day that Smith was denying rumours SJSE was talking to the Q, New Brunswick’s Times and Telegraph reported that Titan owner Leo-Guy had, by pure coincidence, requested a 30 day extension to consider relocation options before filing a formal relocation request with the league. A request the league has since accepted.

Not only is Morrisette exploring his options but the Montreal Juniors, our former Fog Devils, are attempting to block the move of the Maineiacs to Boisbriand since such a move would infringe on the territorial rights of the Juniors.

“The Montreal Juniors Hockey Club has communicated to the QMJHL that it will retain, without modification, its exclusive geographic territory that it acquired in connection with its 2008 Franchise Agreement with the QMJHL”, reads the official communication from the club.

So there you have it. Two teams: one on the move, one looking to move.

And at the center of it all is an empty stadium on Gower Street.

I feel bad for the Lewiston and Acadie-Bathurst fans, I really do. It was little more than one year ago that the Fog Devils were sold and would eventually become the Montreal Juniors. So I understand what those hackey fans are going through with the loss of a team. Those hurts are still fresh, and not quite healed. However, to quote Sean Avery…

I wouldn’t mind falling in love with their “Sloppy Seconds”!

Titan's future remains in question

2009-02-07T16:56:00.001-03:30

Source: http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/sports/article/564864

QMJHL grants troubled franchise more time to decide what future holds

By NEIL HODGE
Times & Transcript Staff

BATHURST - The Acadie-Bathurst Titan were granted a 30-day extension yesterday to decide whether to submit a relocation request for next Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season.

Last Saturday was the original deadline to file a franchise transfer request for next season.

"We're going to explore all possible ways to keep the franchise in Bathurst," said Titan owner Leo-Guy Morrissette. "I'm still confident that we can make it work here. I'm still hoping to keep the team here.

"We're going to work very hard with people in the region to find ways to bring more fans into the arena. If the people want to support us by coming to the games, I have no problem staying here."

Acadie-Bathurst, 18-24-5-5, is fifth in the Atlantic Division. It faces the Prince Edward Island Rocket tonight at 7 p.m. and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens tomorrow at 4 p.m. in a pair of games at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre.

The Titan have the second lowest attendance in the league, averaging 1,772 fans per game. Morrissette said the club will lose money for the fourth consecutive season, but he wouldn't give out any figures.

The Titan must decide by March 2 whether to submit a franchise relocation request for next season. St. John's and Sherbrooke, Que. are likely the two best open markets that fall in QMJHL territory.

Morrissette pointed out that he hasn't spoken to anyone from other communities about possible relocation of the Titan. He said that for the moment he has no other option for next season if the team doesn't stay in Bathurst.

Morrissette wouldn't say what he believes are good open markets in Quebec, Atlantic Canada and the New England States. He did say the team could operate in Bathurst with an average of 2,300 fans per game.

"We're getting good support from the business community and I want to thank these people," he said. "We need to find a way to get more fans into the arena. We have an annual budget of $1.7 million so we can't operate with 1,200 paid fans per game."

Morrissette, who's in his 25th season as Titan owner, said he would like to remain the owner. However, he commented that "If someone wants to buy the team at market price, I don't have a problem selling."

He wouldn't say what he thinks is the franchise's market value. Asked if he would look for $3 million -- the cost of the QMJHL's last two expansion franchises -- he replied "I'll let you reflect on that."

"I'm open to the idea of having partners," he said. "I've spoken to two key business people in the region and they're not interested in becoming a part owner. Everyone is afraid right now because of the economy and that's understandable."

Titan granted 30 day extension

2009-02-07T16:51:00.002-03:30

Source: http://www.letitan.com/nouvelles/nouvelle_en.cfm?id=290&ref=accueil

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan announces that the QMJHL team owners, during a conference call session this afternoon, granted the organization a 30-day extension to submit a relocation request.

The Titan organization wishes to emphasize that it will look at all possible means to keep the franchise in Bathurst, as itemized below:
• Explore initiatives to attract fans to the Titan’s home games
• Develop partnerships with important financial partners
• Sell the franchise to local interests at market value

Starting now, the organization will concentrate its’ efforts in the mission of keeping the team in Bathurst.

Boisbriand issue

2009-02-03T12:32:00.000-03:30

OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION
Boisbriand issue

Montreal, Monday, February 2nd, 2009 – In light of recent media reports regarding the possible relocation of a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League franchise to Boisbriand, Quebec, the Montreal Juniors Hockey Club would like to publicly communicate and clarify the following items:

The Montreal Juniors Hockey Club has communicated to the QMJHL that it will retain, without modification, its exclusive geographic territory that it acquired in connection with its 2008 Franchise Agreement with the QMJHL.

On January 21st, 2009, the Montreal Juniors Hockey Club communicated to the Governors of the QMJHL that (i) it has chosen to retain its exclusive territory without modification and (ii) that it is not seeking any financial compensation in connection with this issue.

At no time has the Montreal Juniors Hockey Club sought any compensation, financial or otherwise, in connection with its exclusive territory.

The Montreal Juniors Hockey Club will not make any further comment on this issue.

Are Titan leaving Bathurst?

2009-02-03T09:40:00.002-03:30

QMJHL club asks league for 30-day extension to make decision

By NEil Hodge
Times & Transcript Staff
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/sports/article/559669

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan's future is a mystery.

They didn't meet Saturday's deadline to submit a request to relocate the franchise for next Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season. But rumours continue to swirl about the Titan and there's some speculation the club could be transferred to St. John's.

"I've asked the league for a 30-day extension (before I have to decide whether to submit a franchise transfer request),'' said Titan owner Leo-Guy Morrissette. "It would give me more time to try to work things out with the people in Bathurst.''

Acadie-Bathurst has the lowest attendance in the league this season, averaging 1,772 fans per game. The league said yesterday there's no timetable for when it will decide whether to give Morrissette a 30-day extension.

The Titan are in their 11th season in Northern New Brunswick after being transferred there from Laval, Que. in 1998-99. In late November, they issued a news release which strongly denied rumours that the franchise was for sale.

Morrissette, who's in his 25th season as Titan owner, confirmed the club has lost money the past three seasons. He wouldn't say how much.

The Titan have 1,200 season tickets, a decrease of 226 from last season. Morrissette has said that he would normally need to average 2,800 fans per game to operate viably, but he could probably cut some corners and make it work with 2,450.

The St. John's Fog Devils were in the QMJHL the past three seasons before being sold and transferred to Montreal. The city-appointed group that runs Mile One Stadium in St. John's has contacted the QMJHL to express the Newfoundland capital's interest in rejoining the league.

Last week, Morrissette denied rumours that he's looking to transfer the Titan to St. John's.

"He's a little disappointed with attendance in Bathurst right now and he's just weighing his options,'' said Acadie-Bathurst governor John Greene, who pointed out that Morrissette plans to remain the owner.

"He didn't really tell me who (which cities) he's talking to. There's definitely more than one place. There's also the option of remaining in Bathurst. I know he's been meeting with the city.''

The Titan have a rent-free contract along with several amenities at the city-owned K.C. Irving Regional Centre. Bathurst Mayor Stephen Brunet confirmed the city has met several times with Morrissette.

"We went over what we're offering,'' said Brunet. "We have provided in good faith quite a bit to keep the team here. City council thinks it's a very fair deal that we have on the table now so hopefully he can take that and make it work.

"Council has agreed that status quo on what we've been giving out is the way we're going to stay because of our financial situation. We have the third highest tax rate in the province and we have to keep a close eye on that. Any more monies going toward a hockey team would be very tough in these times.''

Brunet points out that Bathurst has enjoyed its 11 seasons in the QMJHL, citing the entertainment the Titan provide for the community.

"We're hoping they will stay, but we know there are some challenges for the team,'' he said.

"There's been a number of factors that have affected Bathurst the past couple years (with the closure of the mines and the pulp and paper mill). The big mine only has a short life cycle left.

"We've had our challenges, but we've been meeting those and moving forward pretty well. There's probably not as much money floating around as when the Titan first came to town, but that problem is facing many communities now across Canada.''

In other news, the Lewiston MAINEiacs have filed a request to the QMJHL to relocate to Boisbriand, Que. for next season. This market falls within the Montreal Junior's territorial rights so compensation would have to be worked out.

QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau plans to study this request and call for a special league meeting to deal with it. No timetable has been set to finalize this matter either.

SJSE chairman says they haven't contacted Courteau about QMJHL returning here

2009-02-03T09:30:00.004-03:30

John Browne
The Telegram
http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=218138&sc=83

St. John's Sports and Entertainment chair man Gerry Smith says he hasn't had any dialogue with Quebec Major Junior Hockey League commissioner Gilles Courteau concerning the possibility of obtaining a franchise for St. John's.

Courteau said in the Journal de Montreal Friday that the SJSE indicated last month a desire to have St. John's back in that circuit again.

However, Smith told The Telegram Monday, "We have not had any conversation with Courteau from the SJSE side.

"It's not that we won't talk to him," added Smith, "It's that we haven't had any discussions with the Q."

Smith said, "The information we got on the research we've done so far is that the fans have a preference for the American Hockey League (AHL).

"We're interested and we are exploring different options," said Smith. "We've gathered a lot of information on all kinds of things as far as various hockey models are concerned. We're not closing the door on anyone. If the right opportunity comes around we'll look at it.

"We don't have a preference, but we need to do our research to see what one (AHL or QMJHL) the fans support the most because that means the best opportunity for ticket revenue and things like that. We'll continue to update our research. "

"Everyone knows Mile One Centre and SJSE is certainly supportive of bringing hockey back here," said Smith, before adding "getting a QMJHL or AHL franchise for the 2009-10 season is "a stretch.

"I can't see it this fall," said Smith. "That's not to say it couldn't happen in 2009. but It takes time. It's a big process. We've done a lot of homework on various cost and revenue projections,
"I think 2010-11 is the better opportunity. As we move toward the fall of 2010, we are certainly in the market for hockey - AHL or whatever."

An American Hockey League exhibition series involving the Hamilton Bulldogs, Toronto Marlies and Manitoba Moose in September was used as a trial balloon to determine if there's still interest in the minor pro game in St. John's.

At the time, Smith described the games as "an important measuring stick" to see what "appetite" there is for pro hockey in St. John's.

A Bridgeport Sound Tigers vs. Binghamton Senators regular-season game at Mile One Centre in November drew 3,149 spectators to Mile One Centre.

Smith said after the game that given the $24 ticket price he was pleased with the turnout. He said it provided SJSE with important data as it continues to explore options for a Mile One hockey tenant to take the place of the AHL Leafs, who left for Toronto in 2005, and the QMJHL's Fog Devils, who left for Montreal this past summer after three years in St. John's.

"Meeting with those teams certainly helped the process," said Smith Monday.

"There's still opportunity here," he noted "and it would be great to get hockey back at Mile One. I'd love to see it."

Leo-Guy Morrissette says he'd prefer to stay in Bathurst

2009-01-30T13:33:00.001-03:30

Source: http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/sports/article/553799

by Neil HodgeTimes & Transcript staff

GATINEAU, Que. - Acadie-Bathurst Titan owner Leo-Guy Morrissette denied rumours last night that his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League franchise will be transferred to St. John's, N.L. next season.

"No, no that's false. That's just a bad rumour," he said. "I'm not sure where that one got started."

QMJHL teams have until Saturday to request a franchise transfer for next season. The league's board of directors meets this week in Montreal and they must approve any relocations.

"I haven't asked for a franchise transfer yet," Morrissette said. "My preference is to keep the team (in Bathurst). That's my first choice."

Asked if he does plan to make a request for relocation, the owner replied: "I don't know. It all depends on whether the people of Bathurst want us back next season.

"We can't continue to operate with 1,200 (paying) fans per game."

The Titan have attracted an average of 1,796 fans per game this season, the second lowest in the league. Morrissette admitted the team has been losing money for the past few seasons but wouldn't say how much.

Morrissette is in his 25th season as owner of the Titan, who moved to Bathurst from Laval, Que., in 1998-99.

Meanwhile, sources have said the Lewiston MAINEiacs have requested a transfer for next season. There are rumours the franchise has already been sold and will be moved to Montreal.

However, Montreal already has one QMJHL franchise and that team is requesting compensation from any new team that may move into that market. An announcement on the future of the Lewiston franchise is expected later this week.

Allen and Esposito invited to World Junior Camp

2008-12-03T16:07:00.001-03:30

Hockey Canada and the Canadian Hockey League announced on today that 38 of Canada’s best junior-aged hockey players (19 year-old or younger) have been invited to take part in Canada’s National Junior selection camp from December 11-15, 2008 in Ottawa, ON and in Gatineau, QC.

Two players from the Montreal Juniors will be attending the selection camp: Jake Allen and Angelo Esposito.

Hockey Canada may add additional players prior to December 11, in the event that any NHL teams loan Canada’s National Junior Team junior-aged eligible players currently playing in the NHL.

INTERSQUAD GAME SCHEDULE (ALL GAMES ARE AT 6 P.M.)

Friday, December 12th Red vs. White SBP Arena (Ottawa)
Saturday, December 13th Red vs, White Robert-Guertin Arena (Gatineau)
Sunday, December 14th Game to be confirmed SBP Arena

Canada will play its first game of the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship on December 26 versus the Czech Republic, a game that will be broadcast LIVE by TSN/RDS.

Preview: Montreal vs Val'd-Or

2008-11-28T09:30:00.001-03:30

By Chris Murphy

Montreal Junior (14-12-0-0) 28pts 2nd in Western Division
vs.
Val'd-Or Foreurs (4-20-1-3) 12pts 4th in Western Division

Notes: Montreal enters this game having won 2 straight ,and 3 of their last 4 games. They are coming off an 8-2 win at home vs. Quebec on Nov 21st. Montreal are led by Nick Layton (9-22) 31pts and Luke Adam (10-10) 20pts. Montreal are (4-7-0-0) on the road this season.

Val'd-Or enters this game having lost 2 straight, and 3 of their last 4 games. The Foreurs are coming off a 5-4 shootout loss in Victoriaville Tuesday night. Val'd-Or are led by Maxime Sauve (12-12) 24pts and Alexandre Monahan (11-11) 22pts. Val'd-Or are (2-7-1-1) at home this season.

Season series: (1-1-0-0) TIED
in Val'd-Or : (1-0-0-0)Val'd-Or

Oct 31st: Montreal 2 Val'd-Or 6
Nov 5th: Val'd-Or 0 Montreal 1

Webcast: Tonight's game will have a live video webcast available at http://qmjhl.mytelus.com/index.asp at 9pm.

Well, tonight is the first game after a week long layoff. Let’s hope the Junior don’t come out rusty and continue the offence it displayed against Quebec last time out. Val'd-Or, though not having a great season, have given the Junior fits and beat them last time in this building. Lets hope the Junior have a big outing and start this road trip with a big 2 pts.

Frédérick Roy gets fifteen games

2008-11-25T09:00:00.002-03:30

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League suspended Quebec Remparts forward Frédérick Roy for fifteen games, including an automatic one game suspension, following an incident that occurred during last Friday's game against the Montreal Juniors in which Roy crossed-checked an opponent in the head.

The incident occurred midway through the third period with the Remparts trailing by a score of 7-2. During a stoppage in play, Roy cross-checked Vincent Bourgeois in the face.

The decision was made after a review of the footage below.

Recap: Quebec vs. Montreal

2008-11-24T13:38:00.002-03:30

By Earl Noble

The Montreal Juniors broke out of their scoring slump in a big way to score four goals for every Rempart goal they allowed. Their powerplay was clicking and goalie Jake Allen was on the top of his game.

Score: 8-2 Montreal
Shots: 47-35 Quebec
Faceoffs-Won: 35-35
Hits-Given: 8-8

Penalty Minutes: Quebec -- 23; Montreal -- 8
Powerplays: Quebec -- 1/2; Montreal -- 4/8

With just under four minutes left in the first period Angelo Esposito opened the scoring for Montreal nine seconds into a Samuel Groulx elbowing penalty. He fired a one-time pass over the glove of Remparts goalie Jon Roy for his eighth of the year. Assists on the goal went to Dmitry Kostromitin and TJ Brennan. David Gilbert would answer for the Remparts two and a half minutes later, redirecting a Mikhail Stefanovich pass past Allen. Second assist on the goal went to Mikael Tam. The teams would go to the dressing rooms knotted at one goal a-piece, with the Remparts leading the shot count 15-13.

Nick Layton wasted no time getting the scoring going in the second period, putting home a sitting-duck rebound off an Esposito shot from the side boards thirty-three seconds into the period. Newcomer Toni Ritter would get the second assist on the goal, Layton's seventh of the year. Just over three minutes later, Nick Layton was back on the scoresheet. After picking up the neutral zone pass and having his shot blocked by the defender, he picked up the puck again and roofed it over Roy's glove for his eighth of the year, second of the game. Receiving assists were TJ Brennan and Toni Ritter. Emotions would start to run a little high by the halfway point of the period. Remparts forward Frédérick Roy received the only minor penalty to come from a scrum in the neutral zone just after the mid-period break. Shortly after, the officials decided to send a message to the teams, sending one from each team to the box after another scrum in front of Jake Allen.

At the 15:12 mark Jonathan Audy-Marchessault received a cross-checking penalty and Frédérick Roy would find himself gone for ten minutes with a misconduct. The Juniors wasted no time capitalizing on the powerplay opportunity as Angelo Esposito scored his second of the game, a near carbon copy of the first goal as he waited for the screen then put a wrist shot through Jon Roy. Once again Kostromitin and Brennan received assists. Just over a minute later, captain Matt Fillier would dive to knock the puck out of the Juniors goal to relieve the pressure in the Montreal zone. Matthew Brenton would be hard on the forecheck deep in the Remparts zone and would come up with the puck behind the Quebec net. Fillier was all alone in front and would take the Brenton pass and put it up and over the glove of a sprawling Roy. Seemingly the only bright spot for Roy this game came in the dying seconds of the second period as he made a nice pad save on a Luke Adam breakaway attempt after Adam turned defender Samuel Carrier inside-out at the Remparts blue line. This saw the second period end with the Juniors up by four. Shots in the second period were 20-13 Quebec, for total so far of 35-26.

Remparts coach Patrick Roy decided to change goalies to start the third as Charles Lavigne came in to replace Jonathan Roy, who had allowed five goals on twenty-six shots. Samuel Groulx would find himself in the penalty box again just over four minutes into the period after driving Esposito from behind into the boards. Hubert Genest put his team down two men by taking a cross-checking penalty twenty-six seconds into Groulx's minor. Down two men, the Remparts were no match for Montreal's new potent powerplay. Nick Layton completed the hat trick by snapping home a rebound from a Luke Adam shot, putting the Juniors up by five goals. Montreal wasn't done there. Two minutes later after a giveaway in the neutral zone, Pier-Antoine Dion put home a rebound off a Chris Thorne shot from the point to make it a 7-1 game.

The Remparts would score a powerplay goal of their own 8:16 into the third as Kevin Marshall rifled a shot past a screened Jake Allen. Assists on that goal went to Kelsey Tessier and Dmitri Kugryshev.

That's about when things turned ugly. Ten and a half minutes into the period, after the whistle blew to signal a Remparts penalty, Luke Adam took down a Quebec player at centre ice. A scrum then ensued, and for a sideshow Frédérick Roy crosschecked Vincent Bourgeois in the face. Bourgeois remained down on the ice momentarily before making his way to the bench. This saw Roy receive a five minute major and a match penalty for intent to injure. The league will, without a doubt, be handing down a suspension to Roy. This saw Roy, Audy-Marchessault, and Marc-Olivier Vallerand receive penalties for the Remparts and Luke Adam receive the only penalty for the Juniors.

With Montreal on the powerplay, Angelo Esposito put the final nail in the Remparts' coffin completing a hat trick of his own by tapping home a puck that just got behind Lavigne after a Toni Ritter shot from the slot. Second assist on the goal went to Nick Layton, as Montreal regained their six-goal lead. This completed all scoring and penalty activity for the game, with shots in the final frame being 12-9 in favour of Quebec.

Jake Allen played a stellar game as shots seemingly stuck to him. The only goals scored against him came on a redirection and a screen. Benjamin Rubin lead the team in hits with three while Esposito and Layton lead the way in shots with six and five each. Esposito was also dominant in the faceoff circle winning fourteen of the nineteen faceoffs he took

Three Stars:
1 - (MTL) Nick Layton (3g, 1a)
2 - (MTL) Angelo Esposito (3g, 1a)
3 - (MTL) Jake Allen (45 saves, win)

Montreal scoring stats:

Nick Layton (3g, 1a)
Angelo Esposito (3g, 1a)
Matt Fillier (1g)
Pier-Antione Dion (1g)
TJ Brennan (3a)
Toni Ritter (3a)
Dmitry Kostromitin (2a)
Chris Thorne (1a)
Luke Adam (1a)
Matthew Brenton (1a)

Nick Layton retains the team lead in points (31) and assists (22).
Angelo Esposito tied Luke Adam for the team lead in goals (10).
Layton and Alex Wall are tied for the team lead in plus/minus (+12).
Esposito leads the team in powerplay goals (5).
Jake Allen is just behind Timo Pielmeier for third in the league's save percentage (0.927) and is second in shots-against (694)

In other news around the Q, Shawinigan goalie Timo Pielmeier made 41 saves as his Cataractes downed Lewiston 7-4 for their 15th straight win. Pielmeier now has a 14-2 record.

Can you feel the draft?

2008-11-20T08:58:00.003-03:30

(This piece by Don Power is a true gem and fits the theme of this blog to a T! AS usual, I'm posting without permission, but so far no one seems to be complaining. Link to the original article can be found here.

-W)

By Don Power on September 30, 2008

If you're like Canadians of my vintage and older - think vinyl records, two television channels and rotary dial phones (I know, ancient) - you've been to your share of wakes and funerals during your lifetime.

Perhaps wakes are different here in Newfoundland and Labrador, where I live, I don't know. But I do know that if there's one thing we Newfoundlanders can do at wakes is talk well of the deceased.

"He looks so good," you hear someone say as you look on. (It is one of the funniest comments I've ever heard about corpses at wakes. He can't look that good - he's dead.)

Yet when friends and family of the dearly departed gather, someone inevitably says what a great person the deceased was. He could have been the biggest SOB on two feet, but once he's in the casket, he's a saint.

Fog Devils and the Tangible Dream

That's probably going to be the way it is with the former St. John's Fog Devils, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team that died in Newfoundland and Labrador's capital city last spring.

The Fog Devils only spent three seasons in Newfoundland, and never really drew enough fans to make the venture successful - hence their departure - but the impact the club had on minor hockey in Newfoundland and Labrador was tremendous.

In just three years in St. John's, the Fog Devils had become The Dream. Well, not quite the dream, but The Tangible Dream.

Although kids in my province harbour the same goals and aspirations as kids in B.C., Saskatchewan, and P.E.I., the reality of the situation is they are not as attainable for Newfoundland and Labrador kids as are they are for those in central Canada.

Every child who ever picked up a hockey stick or laced up skates has dreamed of playing in the National Hockey League. Unfortunately for kids from here, it hasn't always been attainable. Despite constant chatter about the hockey world shrinking, Newfoundland is still as remote as Siberia.

For our kids, the NHL has, by and large, truly been out of reach. Lately however, players from my home province have started to arrive at the pinnacle. Stanley Cup champion Danny Cleary of the Detroit Red Wings, new Boston Bruin Michael Ryder, San Jose Shark Ryane Clowe and potential Los Angeles King Teddy Purcell represent the largest contingent of Newfoundlanders in the NHL ever.

The difference is those players - with the exception of Purcell, who took a long, circuitous route through Wilcox, Saskatchewan, Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Orono, Maine - all were forced to leave home to play major junior elsewhere in Canada.

Still, with just four NHLers, one could hardly say we're making inroads in the game.

However, the birth of the Fog Devils in St. John's meant a lot more. Suddenly, St. John's was a destination for scouts. Suddenly, our midget players were being seen. Suddenly, playing major junior hockey was a reach-out-and-touch-it dream.

Local kids sell tickets

There were a couple of factors playing in the favour of Newfoundland players. First, the Fog Devils drafted Newfoundland kids. The team always denied it was drafting local kids, but if the decision came down to two kids and one was local, the decision was simple.

Or so the team thought.

Second was the proliferation of junior scouts who visited Mile One Centre in St. John's but would also go to local rinks and check out midget or bantam players. Take a look at the drafts of other QMJHL teams in the past three years and you'll notice a number of Newfoundland kids selected.

The mere presence of the Fog Devils had a trickle down effect in this province. Minor hockey kids from all over would attend games in their jerseys, and realize that playing major junior was attainable.

Want proof?At the 2005 QMJHL midget draft - the first for the Fog Devils - there were 14 Newfoundlanders selected. The next year, there were 12 locals.

In 2007 - the final year for the Q in SJ - 15 hopefuls were taken.This June - after the Fog Devils had moved to Montreal - just four kids from my province were selected.

Granted, the Fog Devils drafted a lot of local kids, but not 11 every year. That's a huge drop.

Sadly, the Q has died in St. John's, and hockey fans have moved on. Unfortunately for the minor hockey players who still believe they can become pros, getting noticed has become a heck of a lot more difficult.

Recap: Moncton vs Montreal

2008-11-19T08:56:00.001-03:30

The Montreal Juniors handed Moncton just their second regulation loss this season.

Score: 3-2 Montreal
Shots: 37-25 Montreal
Faceoffs-Won: 31-25 Montreal
Hits-Given: 9-7 Montreal
Penalty Minutes: Moncton -- 17; Montreal -- 11
Powerplays: Moncton -- 1/2; Montreal -- 0/5

There was no scoring and little penalty action in the first period. Pierre-Marc Lessard and Matt Boyle each picked up a minor penalty for the Wildcats, and Angelo Esposito received one of his own for the Junior.

Pier-Antone Dion opened the scoring with five minutes left in the second period. His seventh of the year was assisted by Pat O'Keefe and Guillaume Asselin. Just twenty-four seconds later Alex Wall netted his fourth of the year from Chris Thorne and Matthew Brenton. This would send the Juniors to the dressing room up by two at the break.

Asselin continued the scoring a little over two minutes into the third with his eighth of the year from Dmitri Kostrimitin. Pierre-Marc Lessard would cut the lead back to two goals with his sixth from Matt Eagles and Randy Cameron on the powerplay at 7:11.

At the 13:01 mark of the period Montreal captain Matt Fillier threw a devastating check on Wildcat forward Devon MacAusland along the boards in the Moncton zone. Defenseman Paul Dimitruk would come to his teammate's aid and drop the gloves with Fillier. Filler received a fighting major while Dimitruk was thrown from the game. MacAusland would be alright, and would finish the game. Later in the period, with the Moncton net empty, Scott Brannon put home the 'Cat's second of the game, his 12th of the season, from Ted Stephens to cut the Juniors lead two one, but it was too little too late as Montreal hung on for the win despite some intense pressure by the Wildcats in the dying seconds.

Jake Allen made 23 saves for the win while Louis Bouleau-Domingue made 34 saves in a losing effort. Matt Fillier lead the team with four hits.

Three Stars:
1 - (MTL) Guilaume Asselin (1g, 1a, gamewinner)
2 - (MTL) Alex Wall (1g)
3 - (MTL) Matt Fillier

Adam gives QMJHL all-stars a winning start

2008-11-18T09:16:00.001-03:30

Gets opening goal in victory in first of two games with Russian Selects

SYDNEY, N.S.The Canadian Press

St. John's native Luke Adam scored the game's opening goal as the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League all-star team registered a 5-3 win over a team of Russian selects Monday night in Sydney, N.S., in the first game of the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge.

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles goaltender Olivier Roy made 18 saves, several of the spectacular variety, and earned him player of the game honours in front of 4,378 fans at his home rink.

The Russian selects outshot the QMJHL 15-8 in the first period, but couldn't beat Roy. The only goal came from Adam, who tallied on a power play about 12 minutes into the contest. Adam, a second-round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres, has 10 goals and 19 points in 19 games for the Montreal Junior this season.

Nikita Klyukin scored the only goal allowed by Roy just 13 seconds into the second period, but Gatineau Olympiques forward Paul Byron gave the lead back to the QMJHL seconds later, putting the puck between the legs of Russian netminder Sergey Gayduchenko.

"As the game went on, it was very clear that we started to get some kind of cohesion amongst the lines," said QMJHL head coach Guy Boucher. "Most of these kids were stuck on the plane all day and our legs were still in there for the first 10 minutes. And we didn't have one practice together. Luckily our goalie kept us in the game right off the bat."

Roy was replaced just before the games halfway mark by Gatineau goalie Maxime Clermont, who was scored on early in his shift. Russia's Anatoly Nikontsev intercepted a pass by Dave Labrecque and fired a lightening shot past Clermont's stick-side with plenty of net to spare at 10:25.

Nicholas Petersen of the Shawinigan Cataractes put the QMJHL up 3-2 when he lofted a pretty shot over Gayduchenko's right shoulder, and Montreal standout Angelo Esposito used the same shot on the power play to send the Canadian team into the break with a 4-2 lead.

The fans were on the edge of their seats after Dmitri Kugryshev put the puck high over Clermont's stick-side and into the net at 7:54 into the third. But that was as close as the Russians would come.

The two teams will play again in Saint John, N.B., on Wednesday night.

Junior Hockey: It's Good Enough for Me

2008-11-17T13:36:00.008-03:30

(The following article is used without permission but the importance of Mr. Short's message is one that has to be shared any way possible. If you are one who, like me, clips articles and emails them to everyone you know, consider clipping this one. Every hockey 'fan' on the North East Avalon needs to hear this message.

- W)

By Robin Short - The Telegram

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Halifax has gotten over it. Moncton's moved on. Same with Sydney and Charlottetown.

But here in St. John's, where apparently 14 years of pro hockey makes one a haughty hockey aficionado, folks snub their noses at junior hockey, preferring instead the (minor) pro game.

Oh sure, it was great to see the American Hockey League back at Mile One Centre this week. And yes, another AHL franchise for St. John's would be welcomed, especially so considering the next bit of hockey we'll see downtown won't be until spring with the Herder Memorial Trophy championship.

Within the realm of hockey - pro or otherwise - bigger and faster is always better, and there's no denying the flow and puck movement of the pros is a step or three quicker than the juniors.

On that note, St. John's Sports and Entertainment's quest for another AHL franchise is commendable. But it's futile.

By now we all know the obstacles staring down St. John's. Geography. Money. The Herculean sales pitch required to convince an NHL club to set up shop here again.

Did we mention geography?

"The logistics have changed", said former St. John's Maple Leafs defenseman Brendan Bell, in town Wednesday as a Binghamton Senator in their neutral site game with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

"It's a different league now. It will be an uphill battle," he said, before adding, perhaps with a sense of pity or half-hearted assurance, "although it worked here before."

Indeed, but...

Where once Atlantic Canada had it's own division, the AHL now boasts teams deep in the heart of Texas - in San Antonio and Houston, with a third in Austin all but a sure bet.

The turnstiles are smoking, I'm sure.

Where once the AHL was the quaint and and homey Glens Halls and Fredericton, it's now the glitz and glam of Toronto and Chicago.

No, the future of hockey in St. John's does not rest with the AHL. Time to get over it. Rather, it remains with the familiar Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

I know. Been there and done that. The St. John's Fog Devils, poised to make a splash in eastern Newfoundland three years ago, amounted to nothing more but a drip on Mile One ice before being peddled off to Montreal.

For three solid winters, we heard the comparisons of the junior game to pro hockey. Arguments ranged from the informed to the outright stupid.

While junior hockey remains a staple of Canadiana, from Kamloops to Kelowna, Oshawa, Peterborough, Chicoutimi and, lately, Halifax, it was frowned upon within some quarters of St. John's.

Like we're Toronto or Montreal.

If it's good enough for London and Oshawa, where the Knights and Generals remain a community staple, it's good enough for St. John's.

The fact is junior hockey, given the right on-ice product with a hearty shot to the marketing arm, can work in these parts.

Undaunted, however, SJSE will try to chase down the Bridgeprot Sound Tigers, envisioning a St. John's/New York Islanders tie. They might even have Brian Trottier and Mike Bossy drop by every so often (with Bossy wowing one and all with his personality).

And SJSE will hope like heck the locals pay close to $25 a ticket to watch Rob Hennigar, Sean Bentivoglio and Jason Pitton for 40 games.

Granted, there'll be no-names on a junior roster, too. Plenty of 'em in fact.

And there's that one little detail: like the AHL, there aren't many QMJHL teams available. But it would be a whole lot easier finding a seller in the Q than one in the AHL, with an NHL parent willing to come along for the ride.

The choice is, well, there is no choice. It's junior or nothing at all, including the off-the-radar notion of an ECHL franchise for St. John's.

Of course, there's always Ronnie Milsap, B.J. Thomas and the Cabin Party crooners who shuffle into Mile One from time to time.

But I suppose the way city looks at these things, B.J. and the boys bring in more money than that pesky, privately owned "high school hockey" team ever did.

Robin Short is the Telegram's Sports Editor. He can be reached by e-mail at rshort@thetelegram.com

Preview: Moncton vs Montreal

2008-11-16T17:42:00.003-03:30

By Chris Murphy

Moncton Wildcats (18-1-2-0) 38pts 1st in Atlantic
VS
Montreal Junior (12-12-0-0) 24pts 2nd in Western

Notes:

Moncton enters ranked 1st in the CHL and QMJHL. Moncton enters this game having won 11 of their last 12 games and are coming off a 3-2 loss last night in Drummondville. Moncton are led by Matt Eagles (15-16)31pts, and Scott Brannon (11-8)19pts. Moncton are (10-1-0-0) on the road this season.

Montreal enters this game having lost 3 of their last 4 games, and are coming off a 3-2 loss last night in Gatineau. Montreal are led by Nick Layton (6-21)27pts, and Luke Adam (10-9)19pts. Montreal are (8-5-0-0) at home this season.

Season series:
(1-0-0-0) Moncton
in Montreal: 1st meeting
Oct 12th: Montreal 0 Moncton 1

Webcast:Today's game will have a live video webcast available at http://qmjhl.mytelus.com/index.asp at 6pm.

Well some things never change with this franchise, no matter they be the Devils or Junior still same incosistant club. After a horrible loss in Gatineau the Junior will take their non existent scoring back home in their 3rd game in 3 nights against the number 1 club in the CHL. If the Junior play as they have been the last little while I'll call a Moncton win.

Lets hope the Junior can wake up and get the top line scoring and grab 2 big points at home.

Recap: Montreal vs. Gatineau

2008-11-16T17:37:00.003-03:30

By Earl Noble

The Gatineau Olympiques used two third-period goals and physical play to end their 13-game losing streak at home against the Juniors.

Score: 3-2 Gatineau
Shots: 36-23 Gatineau
Faceoffs-Won: 45-22 Gatineau
Hits-Given: 10-2 Gatineau
Penalty Minutes: Montreal -- 21; Gatineau -- 15
Powerplays: Montreal -- 0/4; Gatineau -- 2/7

The first period saw no goals, but plenty of penalty action. Chris Thorne and Joshua Domingues received major penalties at the six-minute mark, surrounding the circumstances that saw Gerrit Fauser receive a minor penalty of his own. David Foucher, Pat O'Keefe, and Dmitri Kostromitin each sat in the box for two minutes as well.

Montreal's Angelo Esposito opened the scoring 4:53 into the frame with his seventh of the year, assisted by young German prospect Toni Ritter. It was Ritter's first point in the Q. Gatineau evened the scoresheet two and a half minutes later when Paul Byron netted a powerplay goal while Guillaume Asselin sat in the box. It was Byron's seventh of the year as well, with assists going to Jean-Philip Chabot, and Hugo Laporte. Kostrimitin regained the Juniors one-goal lead at 15:19 with his first of the year, assisted by captail Matt Fillier. Jan Stransky of the 'Piques and Benjamin Rubin received the only additional penalites in the second.

Paul Byron scored his second of the game (eighth of the season) at 16:02 of the third to once again tie the game. It was a powerplay goal assisted by Maxime Mallette and Chabot. Forty-three seconds later Nicolas Boyer netted his first of the season unassisted, which would turn out to be the game-winner for the Olympiques, who had lost their last thirteen games. Vincent Barnard received Gatineau's only penalty of the period while Dion, Brenton, and Ritter each took minor penalties for the Junior.

Montreal goalie Jake Allen, returning to action after being chased from the net two games prior, made 33 saves to record the loss.

Maxime Clermont made 21 saves at the other end of the ice for the win.

Three Stars:
1 - (GAT) Paul Byron (2g)
2 - (MTL) Angelo Esposito (1g)
3 - (GAT) Nicolas Boyer (1g - gamewinner)

In other news around the "Q":

-- Shawinigan downed the PEI Rocket at home 3-1 to set a new franchise record with their 14th straight win. Gabriel Girard was in net for the Cat's.
-- Drummondville squeaked out a 3-2 win against the Moncton Wildcats to end their point streak at 20 games. It was Moncton's first regulation loss of the season. They are now 18-1-2.
-- Val-d'Or picked up just their third win of the season beating Acadie-Bathurst 3-1 at home.
-- In other action around the league, Cape Breton beat Baie-Comeau 4-1, Chicoutimi doubled up Halifax 4-2, and the Sea Dogs needed overtime to down Rouyn-Noranda 6-5.

Preview: Montreal @ Gatineau

2008-11-15T17:10:00.001-03:30

by Chris Murphy

Montreal Junior (12-11-0-0) 24pts 2nd in western
VSGatineau Olymipques (5-16-1-1) 12pts 3rd in western

Notes: Montreal enters this game having lost 2 of their last 3 games and are coming off a 1-0 win at home vs PEI last night. Montreal are led by Nick Layton (6-21) 27pts and Luke Adam (10-9) 19pts.

Montreal are (4-6-0-0) on the road this season.

Gatineau enters this game having lost 13 straight games,and are coming off a 4-1 loss last night in Shawinigan. Gatineau are led by Alexandre Quesnel (7-14)21pts and Paul Byron (6-13)19pts.

Gatineau are (4-5-1-1) at home this season.

Season series: (3-0-0-0)Montreal
in Gatineau : (1-0-0-0) Montreal

Sept 28th: Gatineau 0 Montreal 5
Oct 24th: Gatineau 2 Montreal 3
Nov 7th: Montreal 6 Gatineau 3

Webcast:Today's game will have a live video webcast available at http://qmjhl.mytelus.com/index.asp at 5:30pm.

Well another big game today against a team that Montreal has dominated all season.I still think the Junior need to find their scoring touch,even thou they won it was still a 1-0 win.Lets hope the Junior can find their scoring touch against a struggling Gatineau team and steal 2 pts on the road.

PEI vs Montreal Recap

2008-11-15T17:07:00.001-03:30

By Earl Noble

The Montreal Junior made up for allowing four goals in the previous game by shutting out the PEI Rocket.

Score: 1-0 Montreal
Shots: 40-33 Montreal
Faceoffs-Won: 31-30 Montreal
Hits-Given: 15-8 Montreal
Penalty Minutes: PEI -- 13; Montreal -- 14
Powerplays: PEI -- 0/6; Montreal -- 1/5

The first period saw no scoring and minimum penalties, only one minor penalty handed out to each team. The second period was much alike; no goals and double the penalties -- two per team.

Junior defenseman Pat O'Keefe finally broke the scoreless tie two and a half minutes into the third period, scoring an unassisted powerplay goal while Rocket Chris Doyle sat in the dressing room after receiving a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a hit from behind on TJ Brennan. The Rocket saw some powerplay time in the final period but were unable to beat Montreal's goalie JF Berube who held on to preserve the shutout -- his first of the season.

Louis-Marc Aubry lead the Junior with six shots on-goal while LUke Adam and Nick Layton each had five. Matt Fillier was the team's one-man wrecking crew once again, taking over the physical game with a credited seven hits-given. Taylor MacDougall took most of the draws for the home team, going 13-10 in the circle. Berube stopped all thirty-three shots thrown his way for his second win of the year.

Three Stars:

1 - (MTL) Jean-François Bérubé (33 saves, Shutout)
2 - (PEI) Bobby Nadeau (39 saves)
3 - (MTL) Pat O'Keefe (1 goal - gamewinner)

In other news around the Q, Timo Pielmeier made 27 saves as Shawinigan downed Gatineau 4-1. It was Timo's 13th win of the year, and Shawinigan's 20th (13th straight). Coincidentally it was the Olympique's 13th straight loss. The Moncton Wildcats have extended their road-win streak with a 4-3 shootout victory in Quebec.

Ritter joins Juniors

2008-11-14T09:27:00.002-03:30

The Montreal Juniors announced today that Toni Ritter, an 18 year old forward from Germany, will play his first game with the Juniors on Friday, November 14th when the the team will face the P.E.I. Rocket.

Ritter, from Bad Muskau, Germany, is a 6-3 left shooting right-winger who tips the scales at 198 lbs.

In 18 games with the Heilbronn Falcons of the German Bundesliga, Toni registered 2 goals, 3 assists for 5 points, and picked up 8 minutes in penalties.

Toni's strong play in the Bundesliga, accompanied by steady performances for both the U20 and U18 teams saw him earn a 3rd place ranking amongst his countrymen.

Preview: PEI vs Montreal

2008-11-14T09:14:00.002-03:30

by Chris Murphy

PEI Rocket (10-10-1-2) 23pts 5th in the Atlantic Division
vs
Montreal Junior (11-11-0-0) 22pts 2nd in the Western Division

Notes: PEI enters this game having lost 2 of their last 3 games and are coming off an 8-2 win at home vs. Rouyn Noranda on Sunday afternoon. PEI has 2 NHL draft picks: Jordon Southorn (BUF), and Chris Doyle (NYR). PEI are 6-6-0-1 on the road this season.

Montreal enters this game having lost 2 straight games and are coming off a 4-0 loss at home vs. Acadie-Bathurst on Wednesday night. Montreal are led by Nick Layton (6-21) 27pts, and Luke Adam (10-9)19pts. Montreal are 7-5-0-0 at home this season.

Season series:1st meeting

Webcast: Tonight's game will have a video webcast available at http://qmjhl.mytelus.com/index.asp at 9pm.

Tonight is another big game for the Junior who need to get something sparked. The team has been in a bad scoring drought as of late, getting shut out in their last game. PEI, who started off slow, has been playing better hockey as of late so it wont be an easy 2 pts.

Lets hope the Junior can find their scoring and get on the winning side again.

New Feature on Fighting Newfoundlander

2008-11-13T09:39:00.002-03:30

(Hola amigos!

It's been a while since I last posted an article here but I became a new father and took some time off to spend with my families newest addition.

However I plan to make it up to you!

Fighting Newfoundlander will be adding regular game previews and summaries for all remaining games on the Montreal Juniors schedule. However I will not be doing this alone. Two great Fog Devil fans will be helping me provide this extra value to you.

Game previews will be provided by Chris Murphy.
Game summaries will be provided by Earl Noble.

Thanks to those guys for coming on board, er, blog. As well, we'll have the usual commentary from yours truly.

So without further adieu, here is the summary from last nights Montreal Junior action.)

By Earle Noble

A first period collapse built a mountain the Montreal Junior couldn't even start to climb over, but they should be given credit for trying.

Score: 4-0 Acadie-Bathurst
Shots: 39-12 Montreal
Faceoffs- Won: 36-29 Montreal
Hits-Given: 15-9 Montreal
Penalty Minutes: Acadie-Bathurst -- 8; Montreal -- 4
Powerplays: Acadie-Bathurst -- 1/2; Montreal -- 0/4

The Titans scored four goals on nine shots, all coming in a five-minute span of the first period, which provided all the support Bathurst goalie (and Lab. City native) Nick Champion needed to record his first shutout of the season. Éric Faille opened the scoring just over ten minutes into the period; a powerplay goal nineteen seconds into a Nick Layton penalty, assisted by Spencer Jezegou. Two minutes later Jezegou returned the favour to net his tenth of the year, assisted by Faille. Two minutes after that Tomy Joly scored his 12th of the year assisted by Brad Tesink and Rémi Blanchard. Less than a minute later Joly netted his second of the game with assists this time going to Faille and Maxime Renaud.

The second and third periods saw Montreal outshoot Bathurst 29-3, including four powerplay opportunities, but they could not beat Champion, who held on to maintain the shutout for his tenth win of the year.

Three Stars:
1 - (BAT) Éric Faille (1g, 2a)
2 - (BAT) Nick Champion (39 saves, SO)
3 - (MTL) Chris Smith

High-School Hockey?

2008-10-11T12:17:00.001-02:30

Mr. Ellsworth,

On April 28th of this year, as St. John’s was preparing to elect a new mayor and deputy mayor, I wrote you a letter regarding comments you made in council in which you referred to major-junior hockey as ‘high-school’ hockey.

In that letter I asked you to respond to 3 points so that voters, for whom hockey is a more important issue than snow clearing, could make an informed decision as they headed to the polls.

I received no reply.

Mr. Ellsworth, I would like to bring to your attention last night’s NHL contest between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars.

That game featured Jakub Voracek, a rising star who skated on Mile One Centre ice as a ‘high-school’ player for the last two seasons. In his NHL debut, Mr. Voracek scored 1 goal and added 1 assist as the Blue Jackets defeated the Dallas Stars 5-4.

Not bad for a player who has yet to graduate from the Quebec Major Junior High-School League.

Other players who made the jump straight from high-school to the pro ranks include: Sydney Crosby, Luc Robataille, Guy Lafleur, Martin Brodeur, Vincent Lecavillier and Patrick Roy.

Names such as these highlight the difference between the AHL and QMJH(s)L; AHL players tend to be sent down while Q players are still on their way up!

Mr. Ellsworth could you please explain why you think major-junior hockey is comparable to high-school hockey when there is clearly no comparison?

Thank you in advance for your time.

Winston Legge

The Revolution Grows

2008-10-10T09:50:00.002-02:30

Robert Janes, of the Facebook group "Fog Devil Memories" has become the latest revolutionary to take up the cause of Junior Hockey!

Robert writes:

To whom it may concern:

I am one of many major junior hockey fans in the province of Newfoundland.

I am writing this letter to voice my dissagreement with St. John's Sports and Entertainment's pursuit of an American Hockey League franchise for the capital city.

I, along with many of my bretheren, believe that the AHL is a league whose time has past in Atlantic Canada. Major junior hockey, however, is growing by leaps and bounds in all other parts of Canada, and I feel that it can here as well.

My reasons for believing major junior is a superior brand compared to the AHL are varied. With graduating players each year from junior, there is always a fresh influx of hungry, talented players; unlike the AHL where players are assigned and mostly spend the rest of their careers there, becoming stagnant. As shown at the recent AHL tournament held in the city, with members of the St. John's Maple Leafs still playing for the Toronto Marlies 5 years later.

Also, I feel that a junior team is the best opportunity for local talent to be displayed. Again, I call your attention to the recent tournament in which each team had only 1 Newfoundlander playing, where as the Fog Devils had 5 or more local players on the ice each and every night, with many more in the wings awaiting their time. If a junior team resided in this province, local legands such as Ryan Clowe, Matthew Ryder and Dan Cleary would not have had to leave home to pursure their careers.

Myself and other fans of junior hockey want the opportunity to watch future stars, such as Sidney Crosbie and Patrick Roy, who never played a shift in the AHL, but came through the junior ranks.

We want our rivalries to be with cities like Halifax, Moncton, Sydney, and perhaps Corner Brook. Not far off cities like Toronto, Winnipeg, and Cinncincati. We want to watch a team full of local boys battling against the rest of Canada, not one or two a season.

For the reasons explained above, as well as countless others, I would like to request that the pursuit of an AHL franchise for the province be re-considered, and the possibility of bringing a junior franchise, be it QMJHL, OHL or WHL, be revisited.

I believe that in the right atmosphere, and with equal amounts of co-operation by all parties involved, a junior team would thrive in this province, as it has in every other province in Canada.

In closing, I would like to suggest that the attendance numbers for the recent Iceberg and Herder Cup tournaments held in the city are deceiving, and it would be in error to use them as a foundation for the pursuit of a Pro franchise. These events are "one offs" and do not accurately display the true desire of hockey fans.

The large numbers for the Iceberg Cup are made up of people wanting to relive the glory days of the St. John's Maple Leafs, true hockey fans, who just want to watch the game, and people looking for a night out.

I believe that such numbers would not exist on a regular basis for an AHL team located here.

The Herder Cup crowds are mostly comprised of "out of towners" who are following their team for the championship run and would not travel to the City on a regular basis.

AHL Reality Check

2008-10-08T15:49:00.000-02:30

I really struggled with what I was going to write for this blog entry which is about the recent Iceberg Cup tournament in St. John’s.

For those of you who don’t know, the Ice Berg Cup was a mini-tournament featuring the Manitoba Moose, Toronto Marlies, and Hamilton Bulldogs, farm clubs for the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Montreal Canadiens respectively.

I struggled because after all this blog advocates for the return major-junior hockey to St. John’s and tries to educate people how major-junior hockey is the better product for this market.

But I especially struggled with what I witnessed and what I heard that first night of the tournament, which was a near packed house on a Wednesday night, and more derogatory comments made towards the Fog Devils than I care to recall.

“This is much better than that old Fog Devils garbage!”

I struggled because I had to face the fact that maybe major-junior will never be back. Maybe St. John’s is, and forever will be, an AHL town.

But I waited to write about the tournament because I wanted to hear all the stories I could hear, and read as much as I could read before delving into my own thoughts.

I’ve heard people care not one bit that the potential AHL club would never be ours; it would be lent to us, for a time, but it would never be truly ours.

I’ve heard people say they don’t care that there would never be a single trade or move that was meant to strengthen our borrowed AHL club.

And I’ve heard people say that a call-up of a top player leading to the potential tanking of an entire season wouldn’t matter.

“It would be worth it”, they said. Worth what exactly? Worth watching a team succeed for 30 games, only to lose ten straight and miss the playoffs?

No, all it seems that the St. Johns hockey fan cares for is seeing bigger players, skate faster, and pass the puck from tape to tape in that same emotionless, robotic way that professional hockey players do.

That’s not good enough for me.

I don’t want my team to be an after thought whose success is secondary after the needs to the ‘big club’ are looked after.

When I walked into Mile One Centre last Wednesday the first thing I noticed were the faces; it was a completely different crowd. It was, dare I say, a lot less friendly than the crowds I was used too. Sure, some of the faces I recognized. Some even wore their Devils gear, like me. Be we were far and few.

I think it’s time for change.

I think it’s time for the old guard to step aside and let the next generation of hockey fans inherit the St. John’s hockey tradition.

The ‘AHL crowd’ supported the Maple Leafs for 14 seasons, a feat to be proud of, but now is the time for them to step aside.

I think it’s time to face the reality that the AHL has outgrown us (it will never outgrow how big St. John’s thinks it is). There is a new economic reality that didn’t exist 10 years ago. Today, oil costs more, travel costs more, and salaries are higher which means farm teams cost more.

Former General Manager of the St. John’s Maple Leafs and current Hamilton Bulldogs GM, Glenn Stanford, was twice heard in interviews as saying that the AHL trend is to move AHL teams closer to their parent market. The AHL is moving west, with 2 teams in Texas and another on the way. There will be no future expansion, and right now no team is looking to move their affiliate.

Mr. Stanford painted a clear picture: our geography hurts us. Period.

Here in the east, we are an out of the way destination for a league moving west.

Comparisons were made to the Manitoba Moose, also an out of the way destination who must fly to every game. But Winnipeg, the city the Moose call home, is not St. John’s. Winnipeg averaged 7700+ fans this season. On occasion the attendance topped 13,000+, and for the playoffs the number was just under 10,000.

A few days ago, Ron Ellsworth announced that official paid attendance was around 3200 per game. I fail to see how a team at such a high level as the AHL is financially viable when only 3200 people were willing to put their cash down and support it, especially when prices were as low as they were.

Would St. John’s hockey fans support AHL hockey over a 40 game stretch if ticket prices were 30 dollars? After all the Fog Devils were too expensive at less than 10 dollars er game.

Would St. John’s hockey fans be so willing to support a farm team for the New York Islanders, or Lowell Devils? Sure, the place would sell out when the Bulldogs and Marlies come through, but what then? Would Mile One Centre be only half empty the other 30 nights?

There are too many questions with too few answers.

The only thing we do know is there is no hockey in the capital city this winter and we may be looking forward to a few more winters like it.

Hockeytown, NL

2008-10-06T09:31:00.001-02:30

Mr. Short,

I am writing in response to your column "St. John's is not Hockeytown, NL" which appeared in Saturday's (Oct. 4, 2008) Telegram.

I agree with you on almost all points except one.

I agree that it's impossible for people to make noise at Mile One Centre without prompting from the scoreboard. To suggest they do otherwise would cause confusion on a scale the city has never seen. And there is definitely a culture of entitlement when it comes to free or reduced priced tickets; St. John's is the only city where scalpers sell tickets for less than their value. When I suggest to my friends that they should actually purchase tickets I'm the one who usually ends up as the laughing stock for suggesting such an idea. Imagine. Paying for tickets. It's outrageous!

And I certainly agree that with the right marketing, a change in hockey attitudes, and greater cooperation between the Fog Devils ownership and the City of St. John's, we would not only have enjoyed success on the scale of the Halifax Mooseheads, we would have surpassed it!

However I cannot agree with your suggestion that St. John's Sports and Entertainment should pursue an ECHL franchise. I'd sooner buy season tickets to the AHL than suffer the ECHL!

Aside for your ECHL blunder, you are doing a tremendous job!

Keep up the great work and keep the pressure on City Hall for all of us 'real' hockey fans... you know, those of us who actually pay for tickets.

Cheers,

Winston Legge

Focus on Youth

2008-10-01T09:45:00.002-02:30

Printed this letter, signed it, stuffed it in an envelope and fired it in the mailbox this morning:

Attn: Tanya Haywood
Mile One Centre
50 New Gower Street
St. John's, Newfoundland
A1C 1J3

Hi Tanya,

Back in late 2003 I was involved with the creation of the Mile Zero Ultimate (MZU) league here in St. John’s.

Early in 2004, as MZU negotiated with the City’s Department of Recreation regarding field spaces, I attended meetings in which you were also in attendance.

MZU was, and remains, an adult’s only league.

During those meetings you made it clear that the City places its priority on Youth and that consideration would be given to MZU once the needs of all Youth leagues were addressed.

Emphasis on youth is a very important point I would wish for both you, as General Manager of Mile One Centre, and for St. John’s Sports and Entertainment, to consider as you attempt to find a major tenant for Mile One Centre.

The presence of the exciting product that was major-junior hockey created better opportunities for not just the City’s hockey youth, but Newfoundland’s hockey youth. It is no secret that there are many more Newfoundlanders learning their skills in major-junior than the AHL.

The development of Newfoundland’s Hockey Youth as a result of a major-junior presence was accomplished in a number of ways:

1) More Newfoundland players got to play. Local youth like Matt Boland, Chris Thorne, Alex Wall, Tyler Gale and Kenny Pennell all had a chance to play high caliber hockey that they may not have had if not for the presence of a major-junior team in the province’s capital.

2) Playing at Home. Not only were local youth given a chance to play, they had the chance to do it at home with the support of the whole community, family and friends.

3) Increased exposure to NHL scouts. Tomorrow’s NHL stars are discovered in the CHL. Many local NHL stars made a name for themselves in the CHL, such as Danny Cleary (Belleville Bulls), Micheal Ryder (Gatineau Olympiques), and Ryane Clowe (Rimouski Oceanic).

4) Open tryouts. The Fog Devils held open tryouts for players from local hockey programs such as the Celtics, Caps, as well as high school teams. This is where players like Kenny Pennell were discovered.

5) Coaching Clinics. Clinics were conducted and attended by Fog Devils coaches and players to prepare local youth for the challenges they would face at the major-junior level.

By choosing major-junior hockey, the City chooses local youth, creates better opportunities for them to succeed, and achieves its Youth First mandate.

I would implore you to consider the better opportunities and great service you would be providing for youth from this province as you search for a major tenant at Mile One.

Best Regards and good luck in your search.

Cheers,

Winston Legge

Chad's Letter

2008-09-29T10:55:00.002-02:30

The Hockey Revolution has grown!

This is the stuff we need people. I knew you guys are out there, I know you guys are reading, and I know you are concerned about the future of hockey in St. John's. Do something about it and write a letter like this one from Chad...

To Whom it May Concern:

I am writing with regard to the attempts by St. John's Sports and Entertainment to obtain a major tenant for Mile One Centre.

I understand from comments in the local papers that you are attempting to secure an AHL franchise and are using next week’s mini-tournament as a “test”. I very strongly believe that another AHL team in this market would fail. The people of St. John’s and surrounding areas would have little to no interest in say the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The mini-tournament consist of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver farm teams, of course there will be some interest in that. Mostly because the Montreal and Toronto brands are involved and secondly because it’s the only hockey that we will be able to see this winter. However, I fail to understand how this event will forecast the public’s appetite for an AHL team that is affiliated with an NHL club that has little to no interest in this area. I can’t see the people of St. John’s having interest in say the New York Islanders farm club over an 80 game schedule, especially when I suspect tickets would be well over the $20 range.

I am pleading to you to give Major Junior hockey another try. A team that can be truly “OUR” team, not a team where top players get recalled on a regular basis and where only a limited number of individuals would have a vested interest in such a team.

Our great city needs a major tenant in Mile One and we need that is be Major Junior hockey. Major Junior hockey that has the proper marketing behind it and the time given to it to allow it to succeed.

Thank You

Chad Antle

Chad was also kind enough to send along a reply he received from Tanya Haywood, General Manager of Mile One Centre:

Dear Mr. Antle

Thank you for your email. I will ensure your comments are presented to Mr. Gerry Smith, Chair of the Board of Directors of St. John's Sport and Entertainment Limited.

Regards
Tanya Haywood
Interim General Manager
Mile One Centre

This is the stuff we need people! We need more letters like this!

Keep them coming!

JUNIORS GIVE MONTREAL A WIN TO REMEMBER

2008-09-29T09:47:00.002-02:30

Allen and Juniors Blank Gatineau 5-0

Montreal, September 28, 2008 - The Juniors faced their pre-season rivals, the Gatineau Olympiques, for their first regular season encounter this afternoon at the Verdun Auditorium. Anticipated to be a heated contest due to the four pre-season encounters these teams endured, Montreal was a step ahead of the Olympiques all game long.

After four games in the pre-season, in which Gatineau won 3 (2 decided by shootout), the Juniors were in need to put up a strong performance. Jake Allen and his team-mates made sure not to disappoint the raucous home fans (2880 showed up on this occasion!).

Montreal Juniors 5 - Gatineau Olympiques 0

Montreal didn’t wait long to erase any impressions that they were a stronger team than the Olympiques. The Juniors opened the game firing on all cylinders. Gatineau, strong in the first 10 minutes of the game, found themselves under fire as Juniors captain Matt Fillier got Montreal on the board first, scoring a power play goal at the 13:54 mark.

Grabbing the early lead, Montreal pressed on firing 11 shots on Gatineau netminder Maxime Clermont, scoring two more times in the final 2 minutes of the first, as Alex Wall and Taylor MacDougall staked the Juniors to a 3-0 lead after one. Jake Allen continued his strong performance following the Juniors Friday night win, stopping all 11 shots by the Olympiques.

No goals were scored in a second period that was much tighter as the Olympiques tried to clamp down on the Juniors explosive offense. Gatineau limited the Juniors to only 6 shots in the period, yet could not capitalize on any of their 9 shots fired towards Jake Allen. Gatineau pressed hard, too hard, taking 3 penalties and allowing a potent Montreal power play the opportunity to add to their lead. Fortunately for Gatineau, the Olympiqes played a much stronger period in front of Marc-Antoine Gélinas, who came into replace netminder Maxime Clermont for the second period, stopping the Juniors in all 3 power play attempts.

The strong emotions from pre-season boiled over in the third as the two teams accumulated 21 penalty minutes. Although the two teams provoked each other all period, only Montreal was able to get on the board. Pier-Antoine Dion got his 3rd of the season at 7:29 of the third, all but putting the game out of reach for the Olympiques. Sammy Grenache added an extra shorthanded goal for insurance with only 6:43 remaining. Gatineau fought hard, shooting another 11 shots at Allen, but Montreal’s talented goaltender was impervious, making a total of 31 saves, in only his second start, for his first shutout as a member of the Juniors.

With the 5-0 “blanchissage” of the Olympiques, Montreal now brings their regular season record back to .500, 3 wins and 3 losses. Montreal has scored 22 goals in their first 6 games while allowing only 19. The Juniors have the week off before they face Acadie-Bathurst next Friday, October 3rd at the Verdun Auditorium at 7:30pm. This will be Juniors last home game for 2 weeks as they hit the road for a 5 game road trip.

MONTREAL JUNIORS GET FIRST WIN AT HOME

2008-09-29T09:36:00.004-02:30

(Courtesty Montreal Juniors)

Montreal, September 26, 2008 - Opening the season at the Verdun Auditorium with 2 losses last weekend was not how the Montreal Juniors wanted to impress their new fans. Losing 3-2 to the Quebec Remparts and 4-2 to Rouyn-Noranda left the Juniors winless in their home debut and hungry to make their fans happy.

Enter the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Saint John came to town looking to continue the Juniors winless streak and make sure that the Montreal fans went home unhappy and hungry for a win. Unfortunately for the Sea Dogs, Montreal was primed and ready to face them, having welcomed back 4 of their 5 NHL draft picks this week.

Goaltender Jake Allen, forwards Matt Filier, Luke Adam and defenseman TJ Brennan all returned from their respective NHL camps in time for the Friday night contest versus Saint John and made an immediate impact.

Montreal Juniors 6 - Saint John Sea Dogs 3

The first period started with a flurry of shots as the Sea Dogs fired as much rubber as they could towards Montreal goaltender Jake Allen. Saint John registered 15 shots in the opening period, but were unable to crack the St.Louis Blues prospect. Montreal, on the other hand, countered with 11 shots and got some instant help from the other 3 NHL draft picks on their squad. TJ Brennan and Matt Fillier set up speedster Luke Adam on the power play to give the Juniors the lead after one.

And it did not stop there.

Ryan Sperling evened things up early in the 2nd for the Sea Dogs when his quick shot beat Jake Allen, seemingly shorting the Juniors momentum. After the goal, the game settled down until Luke Adam scored his second goal of the game, snapping home a top corner shot off a nice set-up pass from Matt Fillier. Adam quickly returned the favor to Fillier, setting him up only a minute later to give the Juniors a 3-1 lead.

The Sea Dogs continued to seem rattled as they began to take penalties resulting in Guillaume Asselin’s first goal of the season on the power play. Asselin tapped the puck through Sea Dogs netminder Robert Mayer’s legs after smooth skating defenseman Alex Wall went end to end with puck, dishing if off to Asselin at the last minute for the goal.. Matthew Brenton scored a shorthanded goal in the last minute of the period, to give the Juniors a 5-1 lead after two.

Montreal played a more reserved style in the 3rd, focusing on their defense and working on their ability to protect the lead. Nick Layton scored a beauty in the early going of the 3rd when Samuel Grenache, who was a human hitting machine on the ice tonight, fed Layton in the slot. Layton made a nice shoulder fake, faking out the defenseman and then firing home a snap shot between Sea Dogs goaltender, Karel St-Laurent’s legs. St-Laurent replaced Mayer in the 3rd period and made 8 saves on 9 Junior shots. The Sea Dogs fought to get back into the game, scoring two more goals before the end of the match, but it was too late. The new look Juniors successfully earned their first home win of the season and in franchise history.

The NHL prospects (Fillier, Adam and Brennan) combined for 3 goals and 4 assists, while Jake Allen made 32 saves on 35 shots, leading Montreal to victory. Other stand out players on the night for the Juniors were forwards Guillaume Asselin, Samuel Grenache and Matt Brenton, while D-men Alex Wall, although shaky at times, and Pat O'keefe played well on the back end.

Graham Returns to Acadia Axemen

2008-09-26T10:07:00.008-02:30

Ryan Graham has returned to the Acadia University Axemen from an NHL Prospects Camp held in Traverse City Michigan, where he attended as a Minnesota Wild prospect.

In 3 games during the camp, Graham scored one goal on former teammate and St. Louis Blues prospect Jake Allen, and added one assist. Here's the goal:

He also got in a couple of dandy scraps, seen here:

Ryan Graham vs Brennan Sonne Sep 14, 2008

Ryan Graham vs Joe Ryan Sep 17, 2008

Anticipation is high at Acadia with Ryan's return. As any Fog Devil fan knows, Ryan is an impact player who can an will be a solid addition to the Acadia lineup. Ryan brings that mix of toughness, skating, scoring ability and leadership.

Ryan is persuing a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

Acadia will host St. F.X., Saint Mary's and Queen's Golden Gaels this Saturday and Sunday as part of the Don Wells Invitational Tournament.

Sat. Sept. 27 @ Acadia

1:00 PM - St. F.X. vs, Saint Mary's
6:00 PM - Queen's vs. Acadia

Sun. Sept. 28 @ Acadia

1:00 PM TBD vs. TBD
6:00 PM TBD vs. Acadia

Letters

2008-09-25T10:24:00.004-02:30

Before I get to the real meat of this post I'll start off with a short note I fired off to Tanya Haywood, General Manager of Mile One Centre, regarding the lack of Park and Ride service in Mt. Pearl during the Ice Berg Cup tournament:

To: Tanya Haywood (thaywood@stjohns.ca)"
Subject: Park and Ride to Mt. Pearl?

Hello Tanya,

I have been recieving feedback from readers on my blog that there will be no Park and Ride service going to Mt. Pearl for the Iceberg Cup tournament next week.

Is this an oversight or an intentional omission? I can assure you that Mt. Pearl will be well represented in the attendence numbers for this tournament.

Can you help shed some light on this issue?

Cheers,

Winston Legge
http://fighting-newfoundlander.blogspot.com

As well, Tanya did respond back to us regarding the letter we sent on 09/23/2008. This was the email we sent indicating the results of the "Choose Your Hockey" poll:

Good morning Mr Legge

Thank you for you email regarding the CHL vs AHL. I will forward your comments to the Board of Directors of St. John's Sport and Entertainment Limited for their review and consideration.

Tanya Haywood
General Manager
Mile One Centre

Not much, but it's something. A response is a response so at least they know we're here.

I'm been in contact with people who've pledged to start writing their own letters. I'm going to post a few pointers I've been sharing with people to make your communication more effective.

1. Angry rants won't get you anywhere. Be polite and courteous in all communication.

2. Make your points clear and communicate the effectively. Long winded paragraphs with run-on sentences will lose your readers attention.

3. No profanity. The people whose minds we are trying to change are professionals. Treat them as such.

4. Be patient. If you do not get a response immediately that's OK. Please consider that public servants are busy people and may not be able to get to you right away, but they will get to you. They are paid from the public purse (i.e. your tax dollars) so they have to reply.

5. Spell and grammar check. You have no idea how important this is to getting taken seriously.

Now on to the real meat and potatoes of today's post...

I received this message from JPM who posts over at QMJHL Atlantic. JPM is a Saint John resident and if you can recall recent history, Saint John received their QMJHL expansion franchise with us. Unlike us, they suffered through 2 seasons of cellar-dwelling and no post-season!

But Saint John stuck with it and finally turned the corner in year 3. Here's what JPM had to say regarding the "Still Here, Sulking":

I just read your piece about running into a fellow Foggie fan in Timmy's.

Your writing alone is enough to make me wish the Fog Devils still existed. You have a unique mix of humour, intelligence, and emotion that's rare in the so-called "blogosphere."

As your expansion cousins, this is the season where I get to see the city warming to the team, and I appreciate it all the more because you guys lost out. Hell, I just had a conversation at work about the Sea Dogs and the players who're off to pro camps. The team is penetrating the old "the AHL was better" crowd, and the "shut up and sit on your hands" folks at the games are becoming an increasing minority, although they still exist.

I'm sad for your loss. But if it's any consolation, know that the Fog Devils' plight has helped the people in Saint John (and I'd wager every Q town in the east) see how good we still have it.

Anyway, thanks for sharing. I ramble a lot, but I appreciated your pain.

Thanks for reading JPM, and thanks for taking the time out to respond.

One more season St. John's... that's all we needed was one more season and I think we would have been right where the Sea Dogs fans are now - rallying behind their team, enjoying the buzz as a new season approaches - and not living under the cloud of another AHL entry.

Enjoy your success Saint John!

You deserve it. You are great hockey fans and an example for the "so-called" fans here in St. John's.

Steve Knows Hockey

2008-09-24T09:22:00.002-02:30

If you’ve been involved with minor hockey in St. John’s as a player, coach, or hockey parent, Steve Power is a name that is well known to you.

Even if you are not involved with minor hockey or aren’t a hockey parent yourself, you may know Steve from a game of ‘shinney’, seeing his name in local papers, or even his appearances on television.

That’s because Steve has been a player his whole life, having come up through the Avalon and Celtics hockey systems. He progressed from sitting on the bench as a player to standing behind it as coach. In eighteen years he has coached six Atlantic Championships, two National tournaments and two World Championships.

Now, as Technical Director for Avalon Minor Hockey, Steve has been responsible for the overall operation and player development system in the region for eight years.

As if that wasn’t enough, Steve also scouts for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League; a position he’s held for the past 5 years.

Steve is one of the lucky few who can boast that he is truly doing what he loves and with a resume as impressive as his, its safe to say Steve Power knows hockey.

The Fighting Newfoundlander has long held the belief that the presence of a QMJHL franchise in St. John’s was important for young players learning the game through systems such as Steve oversees.

“There is no doubt whatsoever that the presence of the QMJHL helped player development in not only the St. John's area, but the entire Province as well”, he clarifies.

However the Fog Devils were not just a tool to help player development. The team’s presence in St. John’s gave kids something to aspire too; for many, making it to the ‘Q’ would be achieving a goal on par with making the NHL.

“Many young players that I worked with for sure had aspirations of being a Fog Devil one day. It was easy to tell as the number of kids in the Avalon system wearing Fog Devils jerseys increased every year!”

Once the goal or playing major-junior hockey was achieved for players such as the Chris Thorne’s, Alex Wall’s or Matt Boland’s, there was not only to play and learn at a higher level than might have been possible back in St. John’s AHL days, there was also that chance to get looked at.

“The presence of the team helped more kids from this province get an honest look from the teams in the Q as well. There is no doubt that the number of drafted Newfoundland and Labrador kids will decline with the departure of the Fog Devils. It's really too bad as our kids have proven in the last few years that they are just as good or better than anyone east of Ontario and the country in some regards.”

Steve recently joined the Facebook group “Bring the QMJHL back to St. John's”, a group whose name tells you why it was created.

“I joined the group because I would love to see another team come here”, he explains.

“I like the brand of hockey. I like the emotion the kids play with and the excitement that comes from inevitable mistakes that take place in the game at this level. They are still learning the game and have not yet become the "Robots" that play pro hockey!”

Like so many major-junior fans have done since the Fog Devils were sold, Steve often finds himself asking the “what-if” questions.

“I would love to turn the clock back to see if the Fog Devils would still be here if they were run by the city.”

He is, of course, referring to the City of St. John’s who was involved in the bidding process to acquire a QMJHL franchise soon after the AHL left. With 14 years of running a hockey franchise, one that was a model for the American League during that time, many have started asking themselves the same question, but Steve thinks he has the answer.

“I think they would but that's only my opinion!”

There are many who are starting to share his opinion.

Letter to Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Mile One Centre

2008-09-23T10:32:00.002-02:30

To: Mayor Dennis O'Keefe (dokeefe@stjohns.ca); Deputy-Mayor Ron Ellsworth (rellsworth@stjohns.ca); Councillor Keith Coombs(kcoombs@stjohns.ca); Tanya Haywood (thaywood@stjohns.ca);

cc: The Telegram (letters@thetelegram.com); Robin Short(rshort@thetelegram.com); Brendan McCarthy (bmcc@thetelegram.com); Donnie Power; Paddy Daly; Steve Callahan; Our Sports Central (staff@oursportscentral.com); VOCM (feedback@vocm.com)

Subject: CHL vs. AHL

Mr. Mayor, Mr. Deputy-Mayor; Mr. Councillor, Ms. Haywood,

On July 10th, the "Question of the Day" on http://www.thetelegram.com asked readers this important question:

"Would you like to see another professional hockey team as an anchor tenant at Mile One Centre?"

As a hockey fan I felt conflicted. I sincerely wished for hockey to return to Mile One Centre but in no way did I wish for professional hockey to make a return to St. John's.

Instead of voting, I felt the need to ask a clear question with more choices than simple yes or no. On my blog which is dedicated to hockey in Newfoundland, I wrote an article called "Choose Your Hockey" (http://fighting-newfoundlander.blogspot.com/2008/07/choose-your-hockey.html) and set up a poll which asked a clear question:

"What level of hockey best suits the St. John's hockey market and should become the basis for an anchor tenant at Mile One Centre?"

I gave my readers the following options: AHL, CHL (OHL, QMJHL), ECHL, and Newfoundland Senior Hockey.

In the months since my poll was open one result became clear, those who took the time to respond do not want AHL hockey to return to St. John's. In fact the American Hockey League finished 3rd in polling behind the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League.

The clear winner was Canadian Hockey League, having claimed over 50% of the vote.

Yet, in an article posted to the Mile One Centre Website on Sunday, September 21, 2008, Tanya Haywood is quoted as saying "This event is part of our strategic plan to bring the AHL back to St. John’s".

In the many months since I have started my blog, the people who have contacted me or that I have interviewed have made one thing perfectly clear. Major-Junior hockey is a product that is better suited to the St. John's market and many feel that in the hands of SJSE, the venture would be a success of which this city has never before seen.

Many people have cited that the professional game lacks the passion and energy of the junior game. Many have called the pro game "robotic" and a "glamourized training camp". Yet we cannot understand why the City continues to persue an AHL venture when an exciting product, which our Atlantic Canadian cousins have enjoyed with tremendous success, is within our reach.

My readers and I await your reply.

Cheers,

Winston Legge

http://fighting-newfoundlander.blogspot.com

MONTREAL JUNIORS VS. ROUYN-NORANDA HUSKIES

2008-09-22T10:35:00.003-02:30

(Pier-Antoine Dion in Action vs. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Photo and article, compliments Montreal Juniors)

Montreal, September 21, 2008 - Following an extremely hard fought battle with the Quebec Remparts last night at the Verdun Auditorium, which resulted in a 3-2 loss, the Montreal Juniors had little time to rest as they took on the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies this afternoon for their second home game of the weekend.

Playing in their first set of back to back games of the season, the Juniors needed a win versus the Huskies to bring their record back to .500. Jean-François Bérubé and his Junior team-mates were certainly tired as they fought the Remparts tooth and nail in a contest that saw both teams exchange a total of 66 shots while accumulating 46 penalty minutes (34 from the Juniors alone).

The Juniors, having 1 win and 2 losses in their first 3 games, started slowly against the Huskies. Montreal allowed 2 goals by the mid-way point of the first period as Huskies forward Martin D’Anjou got a little help from Juniors D-man Mathieu Lavoie’s stick for the first goal, while J.F. Bérubé didn’t have much of a chance on the second goal, a powerful slapshot by Benoit Gervais. The two quick goals seemed to high-light the fatigue the Juniors were suffering from after having participated in their emotional and energy charged home-opener only 20 hours earlier.
There were no excuses to be had though, as the Huskies were just as tired, having driven from a game in Drummondville late last night.

Despite being slow out of the gate, Montreal found its game as the Huskies provided them with a power play late in the 1st. Ben Rubin notched his second power play goal in as many games, assisted by Samuel Grenache and Vincent Bourgeois, and with that the Juniors offense was jump started. Montreal quickly evened the game when Alex Wall, off of a Nick Layton pass, beat Huskies goaltender Luke Gallant only 1 minute and 8 seconds later.

The second period belonged to the Huskies and if it were not for J.F. Bérubé’s 14 saves, the Juniors would have allowed far more than the 1 goal. Rouyn-Noranda outshot the Juniors 15-7, yet only Chris Losier was able to beat Bérubé, tapping in a rebound on the power play. Montreal’s energy seemed to fade as the period progressed, resulting in more penalties and less time for the Juniors top line of Asselin, Layton and Dion to try to even things up.

The Juniors attempted to pressure the Huskies early in the 3rd, but Rouyn-Noranda was too strong for the Juniors on this Sunday afternoon, outshooting Montreal 13-7 in the 3rd and 35-20 in the game. Gabriel Lévesque potted the final Huskies goal as Montreal took their second loss in a row, losing 4-2.

Montreal will face St.John next Friday night and Gatineau next Sunday afternoon at home.

Junior Hockey Makes A Triumphant Return to Montreal

2008-09-22T10:30:00.004-02:30

(Compliments, Montreal Juniors)

Montreal, September 20, 2008 - The Montreal Juniors officially embarked on their journey as the ‘new kids on the block’ in the QMJHL on Saturday night, as they made their home debut facing-off against Patrick Roy and his Quebec Remparts. Playing to a near capacity crowd of 3,780 at the Verdun Auditorium, including a few Q veterans in Maxim Lapierre and Guillaume Latendresse of the Montreal Canadiens, the Juniors lost a hard-fought battle with the Remparts, 3-2. The Juniors, who are replacing the Fog Devils, were looking to build on their 1-1 record heading into Saturday’s action and to avenge their season opening loss to the Remparts.

Montreal netminder Jean-François Bérubé faced a lot of pressure from the Remparts, but held up well, making only one real mistake, attempting to play a puck with his glove instead of his stick, which led to a first period goal by Jean-Simon Allard. Bérubé stopped 30 of 33 shots in the loss, but made some very spectacular saves to keep his Junior team-mates in it.

Despite falling behind 1-0 at the end of the first period, the Juniors stormed out in the second and were able to notch a power play goal when Benjamin Rubin completed a nifty passing play, slipping the puck between Quebec Remparts goalie, JF Roy, to tie the game at 1. The score remained even until mid-way through the 3rd period when penalites began to catch up to the Juniors. Perhaps it was the underlying tensions of playing the very first home game in franchise history, but the Juniors came out strong, playing the body and skating very hard. Perhaps too much so. Quebec took advantage of the penalties taken by Montreal in the 3rd as Jonathan Marchessault got a lucky bounce on Bérubé’s door step, shoving home a jumping puck to give the Remparts a 2-1 lead. Later, another bouncing puck found its way between Bérubé’s legs, scored by Sebastien Trudeau, with just under 5 minutes to play.

Montreal responded instantly as Mathieu Lavoie was able to fire home a low snapper, fooling J.F. Roy and giving the Juniors a breathe of life in the final minute of the game.

St. John’s Hockey, Inc.

2008-09-19T15:23:00.002-02:30

Here’s an idea… How about if a group of organized hockey fans were to buy a hockey team and move it here!

Wait!

Don’t click that back button just yet. Hear me out…

This idea isn’t as absurd as you might think. In fact it’s not even an original idea; the precedent has already been set.

Have you ever heard of a little team called the Green Bay Packers?

What if I told you that the Packers, one of the most storied teams in North American sports, members of the largest and most powerful sports league in the world, were 100% owned and operated by the football fans in Green Bay, Wisconsin?

The city of Green Bay, population 102,313 (2000 census), exists and competes as an equal on a stage with cities that number in the millions.

While the Raiders seem to bounce back and forth between Oakland and Los Angeles, the Packers have never moved from Green Bay since they came into existence in 1919!

Green Bay Packers, Inc. (formerly known as Green Bay Football, Inc.) have been a publicly owned, non-profit corporation since 1922.

Currently there are 4,750,934 shares of Packer stock owned by 112,088 shareholders.

Stock sales took place in 1923, 1935, 1950, and 1997. Shares in 1923 sold for $5 apiece and shares purchased in 1997 sold for $200.

Back to the original point of this article.

Let’s assume for the sake of this example that some industrious hockey fan files the necessary articles of incorporation and created a non-profit company called “St. John’s Hockey, Inc.”

Let’s also assume the going rate for a Major-Junior franchise is a cool 3 mil. That’s the price the Dobbin’s paid to land the rights to what would become the Fog Devils, and it’s roughly the price that Farrell Miller paid to relocate the team to Montreal.

Using the price scheme of Packers, Inc. that’s an issuance of 15,000 shares to raise that kind of capitol! Why stop there? The QMJHL would slap a travel subsidy on any team that locates here. Numerous figures have been bandied about but the ball-park figure is another ½ million; that’s another 2,500 shares.

50,000 shares would raise starting capitol of $10,000,000.

And so on and so on.

With 50,000 shareholders, I’m sure St. John’s Hockey, Inc. could get a much better lease agreement at Mile One Centre. 50,000 is a lot of votes, more than participated in the last St. John’s municipal by-election, in fact! Safe to say that concerns over the city’s ability to work with private partners would be laid to rest. Council would practically bend over and grab their ankles for that many voters.

The idea of St. John’s Hockey, Inc. is a grand one to be sure, but it could be done.

Think it can’t?

Maybe you should ask the people of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Why Not Here?

2008-09-17T16:12:00.002-02:30

Ryan Halliday is a fan of the St. John’s Fog Devils and Major Junior hockey.

Like many Fog Devil fans in St. John’s, Ryan was devastated when it was announced that Brad Dobbin and sold the team to Montreal businessman Farrell Miller, and that the team would be relocated to Verdun, Quebec for the 2008-2009 QMJHL season.

However, unlike other Fog Devil fans, Ryan decided to do something about it.

That’s why he started up a Facebook group called “Bring the QMJHL back to St. John’s”.

Facebook is the hugely popular social networking website that allows people with common interests to find each other and interact.

There are other Fog Devil Facebook groups, but Ryan’s is the only one that is campaigning for the return of Major-Junior hockey to St. John’s. Ryan’s hope is to harness the power of the Facebook to create a social network of disgruntled Fog Devil fans so that the idea of another QMJHL team for St. John’s doesn’t die.

Ryan’s site is still young but it is growing.

Already he has attracted some impressive members: Jonathan Roy, son of NHL Hall of Fame goalie, Patrick Roy, former Fog Devil (now Quebec Rempart) Jean-Simon Allard, as well as native Newfoundlander’s currently playing in the QMJHL such as Travis Randell of the Halifax Mooseheads and Brandon Hynes of the Victoriaville Tigres.

Brandon, who grew up in Norris Point, was the 3rd overall pick in the 2008 QMJHL entry draft. Unlike the American Hockey League which only has franchises in Ontairo and Manitoba, Brandon feels the Canadian Hockey League is a better fit for the St. John’s hockey market.

“We need a team back [in St. John’s], because it keeps every province in the country involved with the CHL”, says Hynes.

Brandon also believes that Newfoundland’s entry in the QMJHL created better opportunities for upcoming Newfoundland hockey players.

“It gives more Newfoundland kids a chance to play”.

The Canadian Hockey League does link smaller Canadian communities together through hockey, and it does create opportunities for Newfoundland kids to play at a higher level without leaving home, but Ryan also believes it is simply a more entertaining brand of hockey.

“It's the stars of tomorrow in action; a very high pace, but with a rough and tough element. Plus, we had great rivalries with our Atlantic Canadian cousins as well!”

Facebook groups aren’t the only weapons in Ryan’s arsenal.

“I hope to have a petition and a website soon”, he says.

Ryan believes that with the right leadership, the QMJHL can succeed in St. John’s.

“We have a good market for hockey unlike what some people think. If we ever get a team back it has to be run right. We have everything to get a team here: a beautiful arena, a good fan base, a beautiful city. It can work here. The biggest key is we need an owner who knows junior hockey; someone who has been around the game long enough and can educate the fans that its not ‘high school hockey’”.

“Some of the game greatest players graduated from the QMJHL guys like Sidney Crosby, Patrick Roy, Mike Bossey, Martin Brodeur, Vincent Lecavalier”.

“The QMJHL has teams in Halifax, Charlottetown, Moncton and even in small towns such as Bathurst and Baie-Comeau. If they can all make it work why not here?”

That’s a good question Ryan - why not here?

If you would like to join Ryan’s campaign, his face book group can be found at http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=36582237106

Still here, sulking.

2008-09-11T15:43:00.004-02:30

Recently, I had the good fortune to meet a fellow Fog Devil fan in the line-up at one of the city’s many Tim Horton’s.

I didn’t know she was a Fog Devil fan. I didn’t know her at all.

But the passion with which she spoke and the subject of her conversation with one of the seated patrons got my attention. Since I was still quite a ways from my daily dose of Triple-Triple (extra-large), I decided to eaves-drop.

It seems she was flying to Montreal to catch the Junior de Montreal opener in Verdun, Quebec.

“Lucky”, I quietly sulked.

She went on to lament how much she dearly missed the Fog Devils.

“Don’t we all”, I sulked some more.

Then she mentioned how she had been a billet for #6.

By this time I felt I was a part of the conversation and being further from my Triple-Triple than I cared to be, I turned and said, “You were Max’s billet”?

Instantly, the connection was made. Two strangers waiting in line for coffee had made a connection. We talked a bit about some of the moves that had been made during the off-season, notably the trade that sent Jean-Simon Allard to the Quebec Rempart in exchange for Atlanta Thrashers hopeful, Angelo Esposito.

We speculated for a bit on who might make the team on Montreal. She hoped Max would but wasn’t sure. We knew Buffalo’s newest draft pick, Luke Adam was a lock even if we were both disappointed that we wouldn’t get to see him skate as an NHL prospect and build on his 66 (36 g, 30 a) points season from last season.

Then I decided to switch gears.

“Are you going to take in any of the AHL games”, I asked?

“Why would I want to go see the Marlies”, she replied.

“Aren’t you curious to see how they’ll be received back here”, I pressed.

“Why should I care about them when they didn’t care about us? They are the ones that left us” she said, the passion ever present in her voice.

By this time, the line had shortened and that sweet, Tim’s triple-triple nectar was within arms-reach.
“Ellsworth sure is trying hard to brand us as an AHL town”, I suggested as I paid for my purchase and we parted ways.

“Ellsworth AND Coombs”, she pointed out, “they never wanted them here in the first place! They’re glad they are gone! That’s just high-school hockey to them!”

Now she and her family are off to Montreal to watch Luke, TJ, Jake, and the Verdun Devils play high-school hockey.

And I’m still here.

Sulking.

The Fighting Newfoundlander and the new Hockey-Socialism

2008-09-11T11:49:00.007-02:30

The manifesto of the Fighting Newfoundlander Party.

Brothers and Sisters,

Often I am asked, “What is Hockey-Socialism”? They think that I may espouse the philosophy of Marx and Engels, which is untrue, and so I must respond to their question with questions of my own.

Have you ever met your hockey Brothers on George Street to share a pint before or after a hockey game?

Have you ever stood around at Caps bar during an intermission to discuss the game you were there to watch?

Do you look forward to taking your seat at Mile One Centre to see your new friends who share the seats around you?

Perhaps you and your friends ever adorned yourself in the Red Maple Leaf of Federalist Canada, to cheer on their hockey teams at the World Junior Hockey Championships each Christmas.

Do you participate in hockey pools, without fail, each season?

If you said yes to one or more of these questions then you already are a Hockey-Socialist. You seek out the company of others like you to share in the Brotherhood of Ice and Armour. You surround yourself with others like you because for you, hockey is your passion and you want to share that passion with others.

You will defend your team’s virtue against all who oppose you. You will awake at ungodly hours, dig out your gear and head to the rink to skate with your fellow hockey gladiators, waging war for no other reason than the right to brag. And when the battle is done, and the scores have been settled, you enjoy sitting in the change room talking about the game over a beer as much as playing it.

This is the essence of Hockey-Socialism -- Socializing with hockey as the focus.

Yet a spectre haunts St. John’s Brothers and Sisters - the spectre of a winter without hockey! All the powers of St. John’s Sports and Entertainment have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre: Ellsworth, heir apparent to the municipal throne, says “We haven't gone away from hockey. Hockey's gone away from us”; Mayor O’Keefe campaigned that hockey could play an integral part in the revitalization of the downtown core.

This alliance has made grand speeches in their hallowed halls on Gower Street but who can trust them with an issue as vital as hockey; our passion, our life blood?

The Fighting Newfoundlander is working hard to earn the trust of true hockey fans in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Fighting Newfoundlander calls for unity in the effort to return hockey to Mile One Centre; hockey that is of our choosing and reflective of our distinct identity, history, and culture and not the identity of some capitalist, corporate entity.

The Fighting Newfoundlander calls for the following:

1. A Referendum on Hockey

The Fighting Newfoundlander wants hockey back in St. John’s. St. John’s has a proud and rich hockey tradition that has been lost. First the Caps, then the Leafs and now the Fog Devils. If it is ever to be reclaimed it must be up to the people to decide the form it should take.

Hockey as an entertainment option in St. John’s should be a thing of pride for the city. We claim we are a “hockey town” yet recent history has shown that this reputation may not be deserved.

The Fighting Newfoundlander calls upon the powers at St. John’s Sports and Entertainment to hold a town hall meeting where all good Hockey-Socialists can meet and discuss the course that the City of St. John’s should take.

2. Public-Private Partnerships

The Fighting Newfoundlander calls on the City of St. John’s and St. John’s Sports & Entertainment, to cut out the rhetoric and put aside petty differences.

The Fighting Newfoundlander calls on the City of St. John’s and St. John’s Sports & Entertainment to seek out potential candidates in private business that would be willing to contribute the financial capital to bring hockey back to St. John’s.

The Fighting Newfoundlander calls on the City of St. John’s and St. John’s Sports & Entertainment to come up with creative and innovative ways to work co-operatively with these private partners to create a hockey environment that is beneficial first to the citizens of St. John’s, and ensures the long term success of hockey as a social focus in St. John’s community for generations to come.

3. Abolish Parking Fees

It is time to silence, for once and for all, those critics of Mile One’s location. They cite parking and the associated fees as justification that the City’s arena is poorly located.

The Fighting Newfoundlander calls on St. John’s City Hall to abolish all parking fees during hockey games. The imposition of parking fees is an unfair tax!

Removing parking fees are one way to make affordable games which people say are too expensive.

The City of Halifax, Nova Scotia offers such a token to its hockey fans.

It is time for St. John’s to follow Halifax’s lead.

It is time to abolish parking fees during hockey games.

4. Education

The children are the future. Young Hockey-Socialists grow up to be old Hockey-Socialists, who in turn have young Hockey-Socialists of their own. Thus the cycle continues.

Newfoundland has a strong and proud hockey tradition starting with the inception of the Herder Memorial Trophy in 1935.

The Fighting Newfoundlander believes in the value of educating today’s youth in the rich hockey history of Newfoundland.

Although the Herder trophy is awarded to the provincial senior hockey champions, The Fighting Newfoundlander believes that all energy and focus be channeled towards creating the best opportunities for our young Brothers and Sisters to succeed on the ice here at home.

5. Downtown Business

There are hundreds of bars and restaurants in the downtown core of St. John’s. They create wealth and employ Newfoundlanders.

Yet many businesses struggle to survive. Next time you walk down Water Street, look at the condition of buildings and businesses on the east end compared to the west.

The Fighting Newfoundlander believes that a hockey team as a major tenant at Mile One Centre can play an integral part in the revitalization of the downtown core.

Montreal takes another stab at Junior hockey

2008-09-10T09:56:00.002-02:30

Former Fog Devils get ready for first season in Verdun

(Reprinted without permission. Full credits to STU COWAN of the Montreal Gazette)

The perception that Montreal is a great National Hockey League city, caring only about the Canadiens and nothing else, will get tested this season.

And Montreal attorney/businessman Farrel Miller will be one counting on that perception being false.

This past January, Miller announced he was purchasing the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's St. John's Fog Devils for slightly more than $3 million and transferring them to Montreal and playing at the suburban Verdun Auditorium for the 2008-09 season.

Miller is banking that this city will support the newly named Montreal Juniors. It marks the first time Montreal has had a QMJHL team since the Rocket moved to Prince Edward Island following the 2002-03 season after playing in a near-empty Bell Centre.

Farrel is convinced that Montrealers are ready to welcome back junior hockey with open arms. And, judging by the fact the Juniors attracted 1,624 and 2,224 fans for their first two home exhibition games last week and Sunday against the Gatineau Olympiques, he might be right.

"We were pleased (with the crowds)," said Miller. "We were in Gatineau and they had 500 people. So for exhibition games, we're kind of excited and we're building on that."

The Juniors play their home opener on Sept. 20 against the Quebec Remparts. Regular-season ticket prices range from $15 to $45.

Miller says he knew an expansion team wouldn't work in downtown Montreal, a city with a reputation for only supporting winners when it comes to sports.

"When you get an expansion team, you're going to be a losing club for several seasons, that's a given," Miller said. "We bought into a club that was a .500 team. The club we have now has five NHL drafted players, and of those five four of them were chosen in the first round and a half of the NHL draft. I was actually looking at it statistically with some people in my office and there's not another team in Canada that has four first-round-and-a-half NHL drafted players. There's quite a good talent nucleus on the club."

The five NHL drafted players are centre Angelo Esposito (20th overall by Pittsburgh in 2007, since traded to Atlanta), defenceman T.J. Brennan (31st overall by Buffalo in 2007), goaltender Jake Allen (34th overall by St. Louis in 2008), centre Luke Adam (44th overall by Buffalo in 2008) and left-winger and captain Matt Fillier (188th overall by Los Angeles in 2007). Esposito has already left for NHL training camp with Atlanta, but the other four are still with the Juniors, including goaltender Allen, who was named MVP of the world under-18 championship last season while leading Canada to its first gold medal in that event since 2003.

And Juniors coach Pascal Vincent has been impressed at training camp by Guillaume Asselin, the team's first-round pick (eighth overall) at this year's midget draft who will turn 16 on Tuesday
"For 16 years old, he plays a real mature game, which is impressive," Vincent said of the five-foot-10, 174-pound right-winger who had 24 goals and 30 assists in 45 games in the Quebec Midget Triple-A Hockey League. "He's composed, he's reliable, he's accountable so far with and without the puck. He understands quick. I think he's going to have some kind of an impact right away."

Vincent added that it has been a big adjustment for the players making the move from St. John's to Montreal.

"It's a lot of adjustments for these guys, new billets, new school, new town, new everything," the coach said. "It's going to take a little while before they get comfortable in this new environment, but so far it's going really well."

Things are also going well off the ice. Miller says the team has already sold 1,800 season tickets and needs an average attendance of 2,000 to break even.

"We're going to get our 2,000 a game, because we're surely going to get a lot more than 200 walk-ups," Miller said. "We're quite enthusiastic."

"The fact that NHL prices have risen so dramatically over the last 10 years, I think that's also partly responsible for the popularity of junior hockey now," he said. "Half of our seats in the Auditorium are $15, and I would suggest that's a reasonable price to see good quality hockey."

Miller is banking that Montreal is indeed a real hockey city now.

Choose your Hockey

2008-07-10T15:21:00.001-02:30

If you haven’t heard, the date has been set; October 1st, 2008 the AHL makes its triumphant return to St. John’s!

Sort of…

The Hamilton Bulldogs, Toronto Marlies and Manitoba Moose (affiliates of the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks respectively) will be participating in a mini-tournament as part of Hamilton’s pre-season training camp.

It is a training camp and tournament that will be largely comprised of (are you ready for this) junior aged hockey players hoping to break into the pro-ranks early.

You remember junior hockey don’t you? It’s the high-school hockey Deputy Mayor Ron Ellsworth couldn’t tolerate, yet is lauding as the entertaining, high-caliber hockey the ‘real’ hockey fans of St. John’s truly want not even a year later.

The Fog Devil corpse has barely cooled, yet you’d swear Ellsworth and the elitist ilk of 10 New Gower were preaching the second coming!

I guess in a way it is a second coming of sorts, as October 1st marks the return of the former St. John’s Maple Leafs, to Mile One ice!

But wait, there’s more! This tournament comes complete with affordably priced tickets, food and drink combo packages, and provincial and corporate sponsors which will make it easy for Joe Newfie and family to take in the spectacle.

Truly St. John’s Sports & Entertainment has come to the rescue of hockey fans all over the North East Avalon and pulled off the biggest miracle since some guy with a beard in a desert somewhere, waved his arms and parted a sea!

Now, I don’t want to come down to hard on the clowns at City Hall (although it’s becoming a bit of a past-time I will admit), for even I have to admit that American League Hockey is a more skilled brand of hockey. But is it truly a better brand of hockey for this market?

In a recent article in the Newfoundland & Labrador Independent, sports writer Don Power gave one example of what’s wrong with the AHL model. It is a recent example that I bring up in conversations as it’s still fresh in the minds of people.

Late in the 2007-2008 season the Hamilton Bulldogs, defending Calder Cup champions, were sitting in second place in their division and eye a deep run into the playoffs and possibly a second straight Calder Cup victory.

However on February 26th, 2008 the Montreal Canadiens traded Christobal Huet to the Washington Capitals and recalled Jarosalv Halak from Hamilton. Left without a true number one net-minder, you could say that the rug was pulled out from under the Bulldogs season.

Following that trade the Bulldogs went on to lose 13 consecutive games and missed the playoffs.

Let’s assume for just a moment that is was the St. John’s Bulldogs eyeing a playoff run back in February; would we want to be treated this way, effectively as second class hockey fans?

But that’s the AHL model. The little club is there to serve the big club, little club fans be damned!

How crushing it must have been to be a fan of the Hamilton Bulldogs during that time. One minute excited at the prospect of more playoff hockey, hopeful for a repeat championship, the next you are crushed as if some schmuck sucked out a miracle Ace on the river to put you out of the latest Dooley’s Hold ‘em tournament.

You poker players know that feeling… I know you do.

That’s the Fighting Newfoundlander’s beef with the American Hockey League; although the AHL team is located here, it’s never truly OURS! We had our own hockey team once; back in the eighties when the Caps were the pride of a city, and again for a brief moment in our history when we gave junior hockey a chance… with or without (mostly without) the help of the geniuses at City Hall. Sure, it might say ‘St. John’s’ on the jersey, but it’s still wearing the corporate brand of a foreign entity.

Sadly there are sheeple in this city, and many at 10 New Gower, who still hold to the belief that allegiance to a corporate logo is better than allegiance to ourselves. Is this what Dear Leader Williams teaches us when he takes on Big Oil or the Evil Minions of Lord Harper in Ottawa?

Does Danny lie down and let the CFA’s walk over us like the ‘have-not’ province they think we are or does he stand up and fight for us like the ‘have’ province we know we are?

In today’s Telegram the Tely Poll asks, ‘Would you like to see another professional hockey team as an anchor tenant at Mile One Centre?’

Now there’s a loaded question if there ever was one.

I think the question should be rewritten, and the choices broader in scope than simply ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

So that’s what I’m going to going to do. I may be sticking my neck out here but I’m going to ask hockey fans to choose their hockey! I ask one thing when you vote. Simply clip the link to this article and send it along to as many Newfoundland hockey fans as you know.

It’s time to put up or shut-up St. John’s! Time to make your voices heard!

Time to decide the hockey you want before the esteemed leadership of the city, in their infinite wisdom, makes that choice for you!

Cleary Liberates Cup!

2008-06-05T11:50:00.001-02:30

Brothers and Sisters!

In 1963, Bishop’s Falls native Alex Faulkner became the first of our Countrymen to play for the Nationalist Hockey League’s esteemed Stanley Cup, when he donned the colours of the Detroit Red Army Hockey Club.

That year, Brother Faulkner played seventy games, scoring ten goals and twenty points, helping the Red Army earn a playoff berth.

It was during the 1963 playoffs that the Spirit of the Fighting Newfoundlander possessed Brother Faulkner, as he exploded to score five goals in eight games!

In the semi-finals against the heavily favoured Chicago Blackhawks, two of Alex’s goals were game winners, as the underdog Red Army eliminated the Black Hawks and advanced to the final against Toronto.

Detroit would eventually fall in five games to the Maple Leafs, but Brother Alex proved himself in the Red Army’s lone victory, notching two goals (including his third game winner of the 1963 playoffs) against famed Leafs goalie Johnny Bower!

When Alex returned to Newfoundland following the ‘63 playoffs “Alex Faulkner Day” was declared! Schools were closed, parades were held, and rejoicing was in abundance!

It was a day of national pride in Newfoundland and it was where the seeds of the proletariat hockey revolution were sown!

Fast forward forty-five years… June 4th, 2008

At seventy-two years young, Alex now watches as one of his fellow Countrymen raises the prize that eluded him - Brother Daniel Cleary has liberated Lord Stanley’s Cup!

Like Brother Alex, Young Daniel of Riverhead, Harbour Grace, plays hockey for the great Union city of Detroit! Like Brother Alex, Young Daniel fights for the working-class on the ice, doing the blue-collar work that wins championships!

“I won it for Newfoundland”, Cleary exclaimed after the victorious Red Army eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. “I can’t wait to bring it home!”

Surely the summer of 2008 will see a celebration the likes of which we’ve never before seen in our Nation’s history! Surely Dear Leader will declare “Danny Cleary Day” in Newfoundland!

Without doubt, Brothers and Sisters, plans are underway for a parade through Harbour Grace as Newfoundlanders from east to west will converge on the small community; uniting in hockey solidarity to celebrate the first Newfoundland name (we hope the first of many) to be engraved on Lord Stanley’s Cup!

Perhaps the mighty Kyle will sail once more! What a glorious site ‘twood be to see her sail ‘round the coast, painted socialist red, the gleaming Stanley Cup affixed securely to her bow!

It would be the signal that the hockey revolution Alex started is alive and strong!

We trust those plans will include Brother Alex Faulkner!

Letter to Dennis O'Keefe - Candidate for St. John's Mayor

2008-05-01T10:23:00.001-02:30

Mr. O’Keefe,

On June 3rd 2008, the citizens of St. John’s will vote to elect a new mayor for the first time in 11 years. Among the issues you as Mayor of the City of St. John’s would have to consider are: cost over-runs associated with the water treatment plant, snow clearing on city sidewalks, and sound management of the city’s finances.

In a recent debate hosted by the St. John’s Board of Trade you commented that the acquisition of a new anchor tenant is a priority for Mile One and listed revitalization of the downtown core among your priorities.

Mr. O’Keefe, my Internet blog, “The Fighting Newfoundlander”, supports and serves the interests of the local hockey community. Now that the Fog Devils have concluded their 3rd and final season, The Fighting Newfoundlander now advocates for the return of Major Junior Hockey to St. John’s.

With the prospect of no high-caliber hockey in St. John’s for the winter of 2008-2009 – the first such winter in 17 years – my readers and I would like you to read and kindly respond to the following 3 issues:

1) Allegations that the Fog Devils were “run out of town” after a failure by SJSE to place a successful bid for the franchise. I should not have to point out that this is a very widely held belief.
2) The priority that a City Council, with you as Mayor, would place on securing a hockey franchise as a major tenant at Mile One and ensuring its long term success as a cornerstone of the community.
3) The role that a hockey franchise as an anchor tenant at Mile One, would play in helping revitalize the downtown core.

A copy of this letter is available on my website and for the courtesy of my readers, so will a copy of your response.

I thank you in advance for your time and attention on this subject and wish you the best of luck in the coming election!

Cheers,

Winston Legge

Dark Days

2008-04-28T14:53:00.002-02:30

Brothers and Sisters!

These are dark days for the Republic.

The guidance and wisdom of Dear Leader has been questioned in light of a scandal that has rocked Confederation Hill its very core.

Cost over-runs to rid St. John’s of the Bubble’s shame means the hard working citizens of the North-east Avalon could be asked to dig deeper into their pockets.

For the first time in a generation, St. John’s is left to ponder a council without the influence of the wise and benevolent, Andy Wells.

Yes Brothers and Sisters, these are truly dark days indeed!

But for the Faithful, those 2500 souls who can proudly call themselves true hockey fans, the darkest days lay ahead. The menace of a cold, dark spectre hangs over us all! After 17 years the City of Legends faces a winter with no hockey!

Too our shame and embarrassment - shame and embarrassment greater than the Bubble that greets each and every cruise ship that enters the Narrows - the Fog Devils are gone.

Like so many loved ones from the towns and bays that dot our shores, they head west; not to the Oil-Sucking Vampire that has taken so many, but Montreal.

Quebec - who has us by the balls and on our knees because of Churchill Falls - has this time reached into the heart of our city, gripped it, and ripped it away!

And now the Faithful suffer.

But none suffer so great as the young among us; Young Brothers like 5 year old Johnathan O’Brien, who ne’er missed a game in three short seasons. To the very end of Game 5 Young Johnathan could heard to cry, “I don’t want them to go Daddy!”

No Johnathan, none of us did.

It is Brothers like Tim May, who waved off so many an opposing goal from section 121, who realized even at a young age what the Fog Devils could mean in our community.

What now? What goals should the young Brothers and Sisters enrolled in hockey programs through out the province aspire too achieve? What dreams shall they dream?

Perhaps Scott Bray, winner of the St. John’s Minor Hockey Association’s award for the Top Midget AAA goaltender, dreamt of one day defending the pipes against Federalist incursions for his home town hockey club!

Now these dreams are gone.

Luke Adam, son of local Senior Hockey hero Russ Adam, must now chase his dreams away from family and friends. Ranked 42^nd among North American skaters in the 2008 NHL entry draft, Young Luke could be the next Michael Ryder or Ryane Clowe. Sadly, Luke now follows in the footsteps Michael and Ryane and must hone his skills before strangers.

Brothers and Sisters, there are those among us who would tell you the fight has been lost and that the Revolution has ended.

I tell you this is FALSE! These are the lies of the Canadian Wolf who would crush the Spirit of the Fighting Newfoundlander!

We the Faithful will make a difference! One day will have hockey back on the Rock and reclaim past glory! One day we will once again give our Young Brothers and Sisters dreams to dream and goals to shoot for!

The Revolution is only just beginning!

Viva La Revolución!

Letter to Ron Ellsworth - Candidate for Deputy Mayor

2008-04-28T13:46:00.003-02:30

Dear Mr. Ellsworth,

As the citizens of St. John’s prepare to head for the polls there are a number of issues that are on everyone’s minds: cost over-runs associated with the water treatment plant, snow clearing, and accessibility issues for persons with special needs will be important topics as we toward June 3^rd, 2008.

I would like to put forth an issue to the Candidate for Deputy-Mayor and ask for his comment. That issue is hockey and specifically comments regarding the St. John’s Fog Devils made by the candidate during his time as Councilor at St. John’s City Hall.

As recently as April 26^th, 2008 an article by Telegram Sports Editor Robin Short reminded hockey fans on the North-East Avalon of your reference to Major Junior hockey as “high-school hockey”.

I would trust that as a City Councilor and now Candidate for Deputy-Mayor, that you would recognize that such comments could be damaging to the business interests of a private citizen, regardless of the business, and that opinions such as these could undermine your role as a public servant – that role being to improve the quality, enjoyment and experience for all residents of, and visitors to, the “City of Legends”.

Mr. Ellsworth, my Internet blog, “The Fighting Newfoundlander”, supports and serves the interests of the local hockey community. Now that the Fog Devils have concluded their 3^rd and final season, the Fighting Newfoundlander now advocates for the return of Major Junior Hockey to St. John’s.

With the prospect of no high-caliber hockey in St. John’s for the winter of 2008-2009 – the first such winter in 17 years – my readers and I would like you to read and kindly respond to the following 3 issues:

1) Allegations that the Fog Devils were “run out of town” after a failure by SJSE to place a successful bid for the franchise. I should not have to point out that this is a very widely held belief.

2) Comments that the Fog Devils, occupants of Mile One Centre 35 nights per year, were not considered a “major tenant” by the definition of St. John’s Sports & Entertainment.

3) The priority that a City Council, with you as Deputy-Mayor, would place on securing a hockey franchise as a major tenant and ensuring its long term success as a cornerstone of the community.

A copy of this letter is available on my website and as a courtesy to my readers, so will a copy of your response.

I thank you in advance for your time and attention on this subject and wish you the best of luck in the coming election!

Cheers,

Winston Legge

No Mas!

2008-03-28T14:57:00.002-02:30

Brothers and Sisters!

Our young Fog Devil Warriors were not yet forged in the fires when, on November 25th 1980, two different warriors, Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard, fought their second of three epic battles!

With 17 seconds left on the clock in the 8th round, Duran turned to the referee, raised one gloved fist in the air and uttered the famous words…

No Mas!

No more.

Tonight our Devils arise from the fire and smoke, ready to fight an epic battle of their own!

On March 25th 2008, with 0.7 seconds left on the clock the Titan Traitor - the Wretched Ryan - raised his fist in the air and struck the blow heard ‘round the Island on our adopted Brother, Henrick Lavoie!

No more, Brothers and Sisters, no more!

No more are the days of playoff defeat! These are the Days of the Devils and tonight our Hockey Revolutionaries will raise their fists to defend the honour of the Faithful!

No more are the days of wallowing in mediocrity! These are the Days of the Devils and tonight our Warriors take the great stage to show the Faithful what we have waited 3 years to see; boys becoming men; talented hockey players becoming a talented hockey team!

In their darkest hour the clouds of despair were pushed back; the winds were shifted; the tides were turned and the Heroes emerged!

Now they continue to ride the waves, carrying the hopes and prayers of the Faithful - indeed, a Nation - with them for strength!

Tonight, 3 years culminates into a single moment – THIS MOMENT - and the moment is theirs! They will seize upon this moment and punish these Titan foes!

All we have to do is believe…

…Believe that they can win the battles in the corners.

…Believe that they will hit the enemy at every turn.

…Believe they can win the fights; endure through the pain.

And when an enemy says “No Mas!” we will show mercy like Brother Boland.

We will not ask for our foe to lie on the ice and be beaten, but stand and be defeated as men!

Fog Devils Top 100

2008-02-08T15:00:00.005-03:30

It was just about a year ago when The Fighting Newfoundlander first asked the question, "Are we a Hockey Town or aren't we"? Well, I guess we have our answer

to that question. Since this is the 100th blog entry on The Fighting Newfoundlander we thought that we'd do something special.

So, without any further adieu we give you... The Fog Devils Top 100!

100 - YouTube Fan Videos

There have been many tribute videos during the 3 seasons we've enjoyed the Fog Devils, but none as heart-felt as this video posted by tsaebofehtkram. Our Top

100 starts by saying good bye.

99 - Puck Bunnies

While we're on the on the topic of fan videos it's worth noting this bizarre video.

Ahh, Puck Bunnies... what would hockey be without you?

98 - The First Annual (Only) Fog Devils Christmas Classic

The St. John’s Fog Devils sponsored their first annual (only) Fog Devils Christmas Classic Atom Hockey Tournament on January 3-6, 2008. One of two Bonavista squads earned bronze, the St. John’s IceBreakers took home silver, and the other Bonavista team was crowned inaugural Christmas Classic champions.

It's St. John's youngest hockey fans who miss will miss the Devils the most.

97 - Slapshot Saturday's

To my recollection there was only one Slap Shot Saturday held at Bowring Park but as this video shows, it was a great way for the team and community to come together. Again, it's St. John's youngest hockey fans who are missing out with the Devils leaving.

96 - Fog Devils Republic

It isn't widely known, but St. John's almost had a fan run organization to promote the team and create stronger ties with the team and community.

95 - Dine with the Devils

Held annually, this was a great way for fans, young and old, to come out and meet their hockey team.

94 Devils vs. D.A.R.E Dogs

This charity hockey event featured the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary's hockey team and the Fog Devils in a fun and friendly game to raise funds for the

RNC's Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program

93 - The Insider

Of all the features on FogDevils.com, it's a safe bet that the Insider generated the most traffic. Who didn't want to hear Real's comments immediately following the game? Hosted by Matt Ryder, this was the feature for the fan who simply could not get enough.

http://www.fogdevils.com/newsite/theinsider.php

92 - Into the Fog

Also for the fan who could not get enough, Matt Ryder wrote some of the best Fog Devils out there. They were posted every Tuesday.

http://www.fogdevils.com/newsite/into_archive.php

91 - Stephanie O'Brien Sings "Oh, Canada"

Many a singer sang the National Anthem before each game but none could sing it like K-Rock's Stephanie O'Brien.

90 - Craig Sharpe Sings "Oh, Canada"

Although he had some technical issues, Newfoundland's Canadian Idol Craig graced ice of Mile One Centre on November 11, 2006 and gave us this redition of Oh,

Canada. The Fog Devils were playing the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

89 - Rex Goudie Sings the "Ode to Newfoundland"

Newfoundlander's love their Canadian Idol's and few will forget the home opener of the Fog Devils inaugural season when Rex Goudie sang the Ode to Newfoundland before a packed house at Mile One.

We couldn't find any video from that performance but we did find this video of Rex singing the Ode at one of this concerts. Hopefully it brings back those memories of that first Fog Devil game.

88 - Telus Webcasts

When Telus announced that they would webcast all QMJHL games it was Nirvana for Foggie fans! Suddenly we could watch all 70 regular season games!

87 - The Telegram

We loved them. We hated them. We loved to hate them! But when we look back we have to admit we were keen to read a Fog Devil article in the Telegram's sports section.

86 - Paddy and Cally on Rogers

It took a little while to find the right people to co-host Rogers hockey, but these two were meant to cover hockey. They are the Ron McLean and Don Cherry of Newfoundland! I'll leave it up to you guys to decide which is which.

85 - Brian Rogers

The voice of hockey in Newfoundland for many, many years, his last two years calling hockey were with the Fog Devils on Radio Newfoundland. Critics called him a homer for his bias towards the Fog Devils, but bias is exactly what we here at The Fighting Newfoundlander expect in our play callers. He was missed when he finally decided to turn off the mic.

84 - ACDC - Back in Black

The Fog Devils black jersey's were easily the favourite and when the league would switch road and home jerseys after the Christmas break, this was the song that welcomed the Black Jersey's to Mile One Centre.

83 - Mötley Crüe- Shout at the Devil

The Fog Devils victory anthem!

82 - White Zombie - Super Charger Heaven (Devil Man)

Seeing the boys skate out on the ice to one of my all-time favourite songs always got me pumped for the game; I can only imagine the adrenaline coursing through the veins of each and every Fog Devil!

81 - INXS - Devil Inside

Best goal song ever! Every time I hear this song I relive a Fog Devil moment.

80 - Fog Devil Faithful

For a so called "hockey town", the Fog Devils proved that the City of Legends has a population of about 2000 die-hard, hard-core hockey fans! Give yourselves a pat on the back... you know who you are.

79 - Message Boards

The Internet community for the QMJHL is very strong and QMJHLEast was no exception. It became the home of not just the St. John's Fog Devils, but all teams in the Eastern Division. QMJHLEast was the place to be for fans hungry for the latest news, rumours and gossip on their respective teams.

http://www.qmjhleast.proboards81.com/index.cgi

78 - Super Mario Theme Song

Always a treat when Kempe waould score a goal. Our Swedish Sensation put his own personal stamp on Fog Devil hockey.

77 - 2007/2008 World Junior Hockey Championships

The Fog Devils were twice represented at the WJHC. Oscar Sundh played for Sweden in the 05/06 WJHC, and Mario Kempe represented Sweden in 07/08. Mario brought home a Silver medal, losing an OT nail-biter to Canada.

76 - Scorch

Kids loved him! Kids will miss him. Here he is pictured with the Dark Lord of Sith:

(http://www.vaderparty.com/)

And check out the "Birth of Scorch" video which was shown at the very first Fog Devils home game.

75 - The Ryan Graham Picture

In 3 seasons, no picture captured a moment or the spirit of a player like the one Travis Parsons (http://www.vinlandphotography.com/) snapped on February 2nd, 2007. Ryan had just fought Joey Ryan of the Quebec Remparts and as he skated to the Sin Bin he pointed to the crowd.

74 - Maxime Dubuc vs. Robert Slaney February 23, 2007

Full credit must be given to Maxime Dubuc for sticking up for his team mate, however someone should have warned Max not to tangle with a Newfie, let alone one from "around the bay".

73 - Marty Doyle's Gordie Howe Hat-Trick

On February 8th, 2006 Marty Doyle recorded the first "Gordie Howe Hat-Trick" in Fog Devils history. He received a fighting major in the first period, registered an assist in the second, and picked up a goal in the 3rd.

http://www.lhjmq.qc.ca/lang_en/index.php?page=342374&id_partie=2622

73 - The Comeback

On October 29th, 2006 the Fog Devils found themselves down 3-0 to the visiting Lewiston Maineiacs and heading into the 3rd period. They responded with 4 unanswered goals. The win is even more remarkable because for the final 46 seconds the Devils were down 6 skaters to 3 with rookie goalie Devin O'Brien was in net.

http://www.lhjmq.qc.ca/lang_en/index.php?page=342374&id_partie=5017

72 - Big Hit

Some moments aren't ones we should proud of. In fact some we should try to forget such as Potsy's hit on Jakub Bundil on the road in Maine.

71 - Sucker Punch

Speaking of forgettable moments we shouldn't proud of... not sure if I agree with the announcer's assessment of our St. John's team though.

70 - Shootout Winner

Say what you will about Anthony Pototschnik though. Love him or hate him he produced on of the most memorable Fog Devil with this shoot out goal to secure our first win in our first game at Mile One.

69 - Matt Boland's first goal

http://www.lhjmq.qc.ca/lang_en/index.php?page=342374&id_partie=5427

68 - Pennell vs Gallant rd 1

Kenny Pennell was a local boy and a fan favoutite who made the team as a walk on. He knew what his job was and here he was doing it against one of the leagues most formidable fighters. Edge goes to Gallant on this one though.

67 - Pennell vs Gallant rd 2

Same game. Kenny wanted a chance to redeem himself. Gallant obliges.

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Hockey Future Unclear

2008-02-04T11:47:00.000-03:30

Ever since the January 22nd announcement that the St. John’s Fog Devils had been sold to Montreal businessman Farrel Miller and will be moved to Verdun, Quebec for the 2008-2009 season there has been much debate in St. John’s about what lies in the hockey future for the “City of Legends”.

As has been the case for the last 3 seasons in St. John’s, the detractors of CHL hockey have made their usual, ill-informed arguments that the Fog Devils were nothing more than glamorized high-school hockey.

Such drivel would be laughable if it weren’t for the fact that this belief is so deeply entrenched in people’s minds. I don’t recall the last time Gonzaga squared off against Brother Rice but I’m pretty sure there were not 11 NHL drafted players between their rosters as was the case when the Halifax Mooseheads paid a visit to Mile One Centre for two games versus the Fog Devils on February 1st and 2nd.

In fact, it’s a safe bet that there are not 11 NHL drafted players on the rosters of every high school team within the Avalon East School District… COMBINED!

The sad irony in comments such as these is that these same critics are found waving the Maple Leaf and cheering loudly for Team Canada every Christmas during the World Junior Hockey Championships.

A recent comment – one of many - in response to a Telegram articles about the team’s sale suggests that the QMJHL did not have players that fans could recognize. As evidence to back this claim the commenter states of the East Coast Hockey League that “at least the names can be recognized: Mike Minard, Chris and Peter Ferraro, Jamie Hodson, Nathan Barrett”.

Who?

I would suggest to people who share this asinine opinion that they at least do some research before entrenching their foot so far inside their mouth.

If I were to supply a list of “recognizable” names from the QMJHL, my list would include Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy, Mario Lemeiux, Luc Robitaille, Jeremy Roenick, Vincent Lecavalier, and Sid “The Kid” Crosby.

These players have skated in arenas all over the QMJHL and then jumped straight to the NHL without ever seeing a minute of AHL hockey, let alone the ECHL. With today’s NHL making a significant move towards youth, more and more junior players are making the jump straight to the pro ranks and learning the game there.

Tomorrow’s real stars skate in the Junior ranks; yesterdays cast-offs skate everywhere else.

For the first time since the Caps last skated in the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League, St. John’s finally had a team that was truly ours. All player transactions were intended to help the Fog Devils be competitive now and in the future, not some far off “parent club”. The Fog Devils best players would start the season with the team and remain here; no call ups to the “parent club” when they were needed here the most.

QMJHL hockey is the most entertaining, edge-of-your-seat, entertainment available in St. John’s and the arrival of the Fog Devils so soon after Toronto’s removal of the Maple Leafs was a fortune the city failed to recognize and support.

What the future of hockey in St. John’s will be is unclear.

What is known is that the Fog Devils are leaving and the immediate future will most likely be no hockey.

I for one believe this is probably for the better. Perhaps then the City of Legends will wake up and realize what it lost.

God Guard Thee

2008-01-25T13:29:00.000-03:30

“Don't know what you got till it's gone”
-Cinderella, 1988

Brothers and Sisters.

I come to you with a heart that has been shattered; a soul that has been rent.

These are sad days for the Republic. A dark cloud of dread has washed across our Country, from St. John’s to Corner Brook, like the lashing waves of the cold, biting sea.

Not even the successful round-up and neutering of Moncton’s Wild Kittens, those flea infested felines, can dry the tears, nor bring comfort to Newfoundland’s smallest Sons and Daughters.

Across the land, from the tops of the Pine Clad Hills, to the bottom of the Humber Valley, our Countrymen face an uncertain future.

Our Fog Devils, Defenders of our Republic, are gone; snatched away from those who held them dear.

Like the Regiment in 1916, the Pride of a Nation once more goes marching away to fight and bleed on some foreign shore. The Devils do not head East, but like so many before them, West; not to the oil sucking vampire of Alberta, but to Quebec.

Yes Brothers and Sisters, Quebec has once more stolen our greatest resource. Yesterday it was the hydro from the Mighty Churchill; today it is our heart… if this Country realized it had one.

Gone are Brother Boland and TJ’s, Signal Hill Slap Shot. No more will we see the Spirit of the Fighting Newfoundlander in Young Patrick or the thundering checks of Captain Crunch. Twice in a generation we have lost the “Newfie Bullet” without ever learning the true lessons of Scorch 3:16. The Big Black Dog will growl no more.

Many are quick to point fingers.

Rumours swirl that St. John’s Sports and Entertainment is a puppet organization whose strings are pulled from Ottawa. Fingers point at Councilor Coombs, who some say is in the pay of Lord Harper and used his power and influence to sabotage the Fog Devils hopes and dreams.

Were it true, how could a Brother betray a Nation so? Were it true that a Brother could betray a Brother, these are truly dark days. Were it true, Brothers and Sisters, we know that on the day of the final judgment it will be Devils that welcome traitors such as these through the fiery gates

Some point the finger at money and say that the costs of watching the Devils do battle was too great.

Wars are not cheap to fight yet we asked for hand-out after hand-out and proved to Canada what they say we are; a People who want it all and don’t want to pay.

Now we have paid the greatest price of all.

Point the finger at yourselves Newfoundland. We are why they failed.

In three years we proved we are not a hockey town despite our hockey past. In 1935, the Herder’s early years, our first hockey heroes traveled 32 hours by train to play for National Pride, yet we complain because we must park and walk for 5 minutes?

For shame.

Never again use those words to describe yourselves unless you mean it; unless you are willing to sacrifice like the Devils did for us.

Newfoundlanders support their own? HA!

In our failure we have proven to Canada, once again, that we can do nothing right. Lord Harper says we have a culture of defeat; that we have a sense of entitlement. We yell and cry and tear down the flags… but look at us.

In the QMJHL we were given a golden opportunity to do something right for ourselves, to join with Canada in a hockey brotherhood that stretched from St. John’s to British Columbia, yet now we again stumble like a toddler waiting for Ottawa to reach out, hold our hand, and admonish us like an unruly child.

In these final days, fight well for the Faithful, Fog Devils; the TRUE Faithful who stood by you through thick and thin; we will be with you until the bitter end!

Bring the fight to the enemy; Fight the Battle on YOUR terms! Always forward; never back! Ask no Quarter! Give none! Mercy is for the weak!

That’s Newfoundland Hockey!

But today we must say good-bye. Today we lift our glasses, raise a toast, and bid thee farewell…

Fare thee well Fog Devils.

You will forever dwell in our hearts and minds.

God guard thee, God guard thee, God guard thee, St. John’s Fog Devils.

Rock This Town!

2008-01-22T11:43:00.000-03:30

Brothers and Sisters!

The Ministry of Animal Control has issued an advisory asking all Loyalists of the Republic to be on the look out for Stray Cats!

No Brothers and Sisters, the writers of the 1982 hit, “Rock this Town” are not coming to Mile One Centre! These Stray Cats are of the furry, four-legged variety.

Every year at Christmas, young Newfoundland children are given a feline gift, only to realize that these pets require work to care for. In many cases these kitties are simply cast aside and become a nuisance.

The same is also true of the fine citizens in the Federalist strong-hold of Moncton, New Brunswick; however, in a sinister plot which reeks of Lord Harper’s meddling, Moncton’s fine citizenry are exporting their Kitties to St. John’s where they will roam our streets, tie up our resources, and hamper our war efforts!

The Ministry of Animal Control, in conjunction with the Ministry of Culture and Propaganda, asks the Faithful to be on the look-out for following species of Kittens:

# 36 – Matt Eagles (17g, 27a)
#44 – Mark Barberio (5g, 23a)
#17 – “Detroitus Red-Winnicus” – Randy Cameron (10g, 15a)
#10 – Pierre-Marc Lessard (12g, 10a)
#28 – “Pestus Annoyicus” Chris Morehouse (9g, 11a)

Citizens seeing these Kittens are asked to apprehend them and hand them over to the St. John’s Fog Devils at Mile One Centre for immediate neutering!

Come, Brothers and Sisters of the Republic!

Let us Unite behind our Fog Devils and Rock This Town!

A Test of Faith

2008-01-18T14:45:00.000-03:30

“Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage.”

- Joshua 10:25

Brothers and Sisters!

Can a man stop the sun from shining? Can a man move the moon and stars or cause the flowers to bloom? Can a man demand 10 billion dollars of Lord Harper?

If the man is Dear Leader Williams then the answer is YES!

Dear Leader promises us the sun and the moon and as our chosen and most revered leader, we put our faith in him to get what we demand of Ottawa’s coffers.

But our Fog Devils are not Dear Leader. Were they a team of Dear Leader clones they would finish he season 70-0-0-0 and sweep their way to the Memorial Cup!

Why then should we expect the Fog Devils to stop the very tide? They are men; and men can fail.

Brothers and Sisters, the true measure of a man is how he responds to failure. Does he hang his head in shame or does he take the set back as an opportunity to improve?

Hanging ones head is easy; holding ones head high, despite adversity, is not.

Much has been promised by the Ministry of Culture and Propaganda, and much is expected. Is this the team General Paiement promised at the beginning of the campaign - one capable of facing down any foe just as Dear Leader faces down the Canadian Wolf – or is this the team the Non-Believers decry them to be?

Tonight in Cape Breton, and in the days that follow, the Fog Devils and those who bleed Black, White, and Red face a test.

It is a test of Faith.

Will the Fog Devils hang their heads in shame, or will they hold their heads high; displaying the Passion, Pride and Unity of the Newfoundlanders they represent?

Do we, the Faithful, turn our backs and betray our young warriors like Judas; or do we believe in the Fog Devils and by extension, ourselves?

It is not until we have faced adversity and had our Faith tested that we begin to see how strong our Spirits are.

Believe me, Brothers and Sisters, the Spirit of the Fighting Newfoundlander, like the Republic it represents, is STRONG!

Viva la República!

Viva la Fog Devils!

Stop the Tide

2008-01-12T17:01:00.000-03:30

Brothers and Sisters,

The Fog Devils have snatched 4-2 Defeat from the jaws of Glorious Victory! In doing so they have extended their recent hot streak from five wins in their last six games to five wins in their last SEVEN!

So thorough was their submission to the Oceanic that many of the 3344 Faithful in attendance were seen leaving the building with 6 minutes remaining! We assume their exit was to contain their exuberance lest the energy blow the roof off Mile One! Many of the Faithful perhaps thought back on days gone by, perhaps as far back as October 2007 when the Fog Devils put on similar displays.

Not even a late time-out by General Paiement, presumably to discuss which bar on George Street the team would meet at after the game, could rouse the troops and pace them to victory!

When the final Fog Horn sounded, Tom Petty's "Even the Losers" could be heard amidst the faint booing of some of those who remained!

Let us hope for a better effort from our Young Ice Warriors tonight as they attempt to stop the Oceanic tide!

The Ocean

2008-01-11T10:55:00.000-03:30

Brothers and Sisters!

For countless ages the cold, icy ocean waters have pounded the rocks and beaches of our fair Island!

For centuries beyond memory, relentless tides have carved and shaped this Island and her People!

For generation after generation, the ocean has both given life, and taken it away.

Tonight, Brothers and Sisters, the Ocean comes into our house as the 16-29-1-0 Rimouski Oceanic come to Mile One!

Just as the ocean waters have pounded our Island, our Fog Devils will pound the Oceanic! Just as the relentless tides have carved this Island, our skaters, Mangan, Allard, and Kempe will carve the ice and Fillier, Lavoie, and Grenache will be relentless on the fore-check!

Wave after wave crashes against our shores and tonight, shift and Fog Devil shift will climb over the boards and crash the net! Tonight the Devils will give all they have to give and take away the 2 points!

Dear Leader calls on all loyal Defenders of the Republic to be on the watch for the following Oceanic players:

#24 Keven Veilleux – Pittsburgh Penguins 2007 draft pick 13 g, 35a
#16 Olivier Fortier – Montreal Canadiens 2007 draft pick 17g,15a
#67 Michael Frolik – Florida Panthers 2006 draft pick 10g, 21a
#91 David Skokan – New York Rangers 2007 draft pick 8g, 14a
#93 Max Gratchev – New York Islanders 2007 draft pick 3g, 5a

During the fierce storms of winter, seas swell and storms surge!

Believe me when I say, Brothers and Sisters, our Fog Devil Pride has Swelled and we will continue our Surge up the East Division standings!

Christmas Classic a Success

2008-01-07T13:48:00.000-03:30

Atom house-league tournament hits big
(From Fogdevils.com)

St. John’s (January 7, 2008) – The first annual Fog Devils Christmas Classic wrapped up on Sunday morning after four days of action that put 27 atom house-league teams from across the province on the ice. By all accounts the tournament was a massive success.

"It was a great tournament, really well organized and what not," said Connie Street, whose son Ethan partook in the festivities. "It was the first time we got to travel to a tournament this year and the team really loved it."

Steve Crickard, who represented the Fog Devils on the tournament committee, was also pleased with the way things turned out:

"People don’t realize all the hours, the volunteer hours, that go into something like this. They think it’s just tell people where to be and then let them hop on the ice. It’s not like that, but because we had so many great people and so much support it turned out to be a great event."

At the end of the tournament, there were three teams who walked away with medals. One of two Bonavista squads earned bronze, the St. John’s IceBreakers took home silver, and the other Bonavista team was crowned inaugural Christmas Classic champions.

By all accounts the first annual Fog Devils Christmas Classic was an overwhelming success. The event helped to solidify the Fog Devils and their commitment to great community initiatives, while also allowing children across the province access to a unique tournament experience that included visits from players, access to Mile One facilities, and the opportunity to play against teams they rarely see.

The entire Fog Devils organization would like to thank everyone involved, from the volunteers who made the event possible, to the sponsors who backed it, to all the players and coaches who participated.

The Fog Devil Way

2008-01-07T13:24:00.000-03:30

“…two out of three ain’t bad.”

-Meatloaf

Brothers and Sisters!

The Federation Ships, Sea Dog, has been scuttled! She has been sent back across the Gulf; her deck in flames; her sails in tatters! The cries of her crew echo in the night.

The Green, White and Pink banner of the Republic still flies free over the streets of St. John’s!

The Fog Devils vanquished their expansion foe in an extended campaign that saw 3 tests of will in 4 nights, and when the final horn was sounded it was the Fog Devils who had ripped Glorious Victory from the jowls of the scurvy Dogs!

Dear Leader was most pleased.

General Paiement has led the Brigade to victory in 5 of 6 contests to start the second phase of our campaign against Federalist Forces. Yesterday’s win improves the Fog Devil record to 20-20-1-3 on the season as they jockey with the Titan for 5th place in the East Division.

On Thursday it was a duel of net-minders as Fullerton and Pielmeier kept the score tied at 1 apiece until a goal by Scott Howes at 16:10 of the 3rd period ended the dead-lock to give first blood in the series to the Sea Dogs.

Recent recruits to the cause, Mathieu Labrie, Samuel Grenache, Henrick Lavoie and Phil Mangan, have all had an impact in their debut before the 10,293 Faithful in attendance during the 3 games.

On Saturday, 3103 Faithful fans were on the edge of their seats until Young Sammy Grenache notched the game wining goal with 1:40 remaining in the game to lift the Devils to a 3-2 victory and tying the series at 1 game each, setting up the rubber match for Sunday which the Devils dominated, handing the Sea Dogs a 6-1 defeat and their first back-to-back losses this season.

Jean-Simon Allard continues to lead the team in scoring with 44 points (12G, 32A) in 41 games while Luke Adam is second with 40 points (21G, 19A).

Mario Kempe will soon return from fighting the Federations Forces in Europe. It was there, in a covert mission ordered from Dear Leader himself, that he instructed his Swedish countrymen in the ways of Newfoundland hockey as they battled the Federalist Junior Red Army. With Super Mario’s return, the Fog Devils will be complete and our Quest in the Q will continue!

But there is still much work to be done, Brothers and Sisters! The march to the playoffs continues and the fight will be difficult! It will be a long road, and often not an easy one.

Believe me when I say that Our Devils can win this fight!

They will stand tall and proudly march down that road, even into the very heart of Canada if that is what it takes!

This is the Fog Devil way!