ST. JOHN ’S, Newfoundland and Labrador – The return of the AHL to St. John’s has made a lot of people happy, including the president of the league, Dave Andrews.
During a recent trip to St. John’s, during which he took in two St. John’s IceCaps games, Andrews was impressed with what he saw from the team, the fans and the city. For two nights he looked on with satisfaction as more than 6,000 fans packed into Mile One Centre to watch the IceCaps battle the Toronto Marlies. IceCaps jerseys, hats and t-shirts could be spotted throughout the crowd and the entire downtown core of St. John’s came alive both prior to and after the games.
“It’s been wonderful for the AHL to come back here,” Andrews said. “It’s sold out every night, business is terrific and the hockey is great. This is as good a hockey city as there is in the American Hockey League.”
The arrival of the IceCaps, the top farm club of the Winnipeg Jets, marks the second go around for the AHL in St. John’s. For 14 seasons (1991-2005) the city was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs AHL affiliate, before that club became the Toronto Marlies.
When the baby Leafs left St. John’s, they cited geography as the chief reason for uprooting the team. At the time, Andrews did not think his league would ever return to Newfoundland and Labrador.
“I was not very confident the AHL would be back,” Andrews said. “Mostly because of the geography. It can be a very challenging place to travel from in terms of getting players back and forth to the parent club. It’s a wonderful hockey market and we were interested in having a team here, but it didn’t look particularly promising.”
Andrews said the sale of the Atlanta Thrashers to Canadian businessmen Mark Chipman and David Thomson opened the door for St. John’s to rejoin the AHL. Chipman and Thomson moved the Thrashers to Winnipeg, and moved their AHL team, the Manitoba Moose, to St. John’s to serve as the Jets’ top minor league affiliate.
With St. John’s native Glen Stanford, a veteran AHL executive, as well as former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams running the IceCaps’ off-ice operations, Andrews was certain the AHL would not only return to St. John’s, but also thrive in the east coast city.
Dave Andrews%2C president of the AHL.
“It’s not a surprise to me that’s it’s doing so well,” said Andrews. “I was quite certain we’d see the same response here that we saw in
Winnipeg for the Jets.
St. John’s has a terrific arena and Danny Williams is a person Newfoundlanders believe in and trust while Glen Stanford is one of the best operators in the AHL. You put all that together and there is no reason you shouldn’t be successful.”
When it was first announced the AHL was returning to
St. John’s, some fans questioned how the club would fare given the fate of the city’s most recent hockey tenant, the
St. John’s Fog Devils of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
The Fog Devils arrived in St. John’s just as the AHL Leafs skipped town and appeared poised to fill the gap left by the baby Leafs’ departure. However, the club was hampered by a nasty relationship with the City of
St. John’s, an expensive lease to play out of Mile One and a fan base that still longed for the AHL.
After three seasons, the team was sold and moved to
Montreal, leaving
St. John’s reputation as a hockey town in question.
But according to Andrews, none of these details were given much consideration when
St. John’s became an option for the Jets’ AHL affiliate. As far as he was concerned, the city supported the AHL well for 14 years and could do so again.
“I don’t know all that transpired with the major junior team here. I have a lot of confidence in Danny Williams, Glen Stanford and the ownership of the Winnipeg Jets, so I was sure they could make it work,” said Andrews. “The people of
St. John’s had shown their support for a long time for the type of hockey played in the AHL and I think they wanted it back.”
Andrews admits he has a personal reason for wanting the IceCaps to do well. Having grown up in nearby
Nova Scotia, he wanted to see the AHL return to the
Atlantic Provinces, a former hotbed for the American Hockey League.
“I’m from Atlantic Canada originally and I spent a lot of years here when I worked for the old Cape Breton Oilers and later as president of the league,” said Andrews. “I have a lot of fond memories from that time and I’m happy to see it working here again.”
Notes: IceCaps winger Carl Klingberg was recently recalled by the Winnipeg Jets. Klingberg registered nine goals, seven assists and 16 points in 20 games for
St. John’s and on many nights was the team’s top forward. In two games with the Jets, he has been held off the score sheet … On Oct. 5 the IceCaps signed forward Daniel Koger to a professional tryout contract. Koger began the 2011-12 season with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL, where he had 11 points in 12 games … The IceCaps have also recalled winger Tommy Maxwell from the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles. In 15 games with
Colorado, Maxwell had one goal and four assists … The IceCaps have released forward Garth Murray from his professional tryout contract and signed him to an AHL contract.
Murray has six points in 25 games with the IceCaps this season. Contact
Darcy.MacRae@prohockeynews.comRelated
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