HENDERSON, Nev. – At full strength the ice surface in an NHL hockey game has 16 people skating. Sixteen adults skating on a 200 foot by 85 foot sheet of ice. The only thing missing is a traffic cop at center ice. Things are little better in the international game where the width is bumped up to 100 feet across. This is not to say the four officials are not needed. Those nasty little infractions behind the play are less likely with the extra set of eyes.
But the sheet of ice is crowded.
Seems a simple enough statement. But Dennis A. Murphy and Rocky Kalish have taken that simple thought and created a entirely new professional hockey league.
The International Hockey Association, as the new league will be known, will skate players in a 4-on-4 system (four players and a goaltender on each side) not unlike the National Hockey League’s overtime format.
“There is nothing wrong with today’s game,” Norbert Ecksl, IHA president said. “But we see the 4-on-4 format as opening up the game and returning the fluidity of the sport o the game.”
Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux was a frequent critic of the clutching and grabbing on the ice that limited the scoring chances and speed of the game. A 4-on-4 format would certainly open up the ice and reintroduce speed and back-checking to a game sorely in need of both.
“We really see this as a chance to change the game by doing something completely different,” Ecksl said. “All of that open ice will make the game more wide open and enable players to be more creative offensively.”
The IHA is the brainchild of a group of longtime sports entrepreneurs that include Dennis A. Murphy and Rocky Kalish. Murphy, who originated the idea and helped develop this concept almost 10 years ago, serves as the Chairman of the new association. Murphy is a veteran sports executive who co-founded the American Basketball Association in 1967, World Hockey Association in 1972 and World Team Tennis in 1974. Kalish, a noted television writer, producer and director in Hollywood is Vice-Chairman of the IHA.
The IHA is looking to begin official play in the spring of 2011 and continue throughout the summer of that year. The league champions will be crowned in September, prior to the start of the North American minor leagues and NHL.
The league slogan will be “The coolest game in town.”
“After careful thought and consideration, we have concluded that both the timing and chances for success in a new professional hockey venture such as this was never greater,” Kalish said.
“This association will expand the game of professional hockey to new fans, because we will be able to provide affordable family entertainment in a comfortable indoor environment,” added Murphy.
Ecksl said that ticket prices are projected to be in the $10 to $50 range, giving hockey fans an alternative sports outlet in the dog days of summer.
When asked about the eligibility of players and who fans can expect to see on the ice, Ecksl was quick to say that the league will be a professional organization on the level of any other league in North America.
“We see the IHA as fielding teams with players from the minor league ranks as well as the NHL, college and Junior levels,” Ecksl said. “There is no reason to think we cannot be a place for players to get some conditioning in prior to the start of training camps after our season ends.”
The IHA will be a member organization of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Ecksl said the league’s front office sees the IHA as a place for players coming off injury to get in shape and compete more quickly in training camps than if they had not had the IHA opportunity.
“The format gives more open ice and cuts down on the slower style of the game now,” Ecksl added. “We will give these (rehabbing) players the chance to skate and get their game legs back.”
In the west the targeted markets include Anaheim, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Ontario (CA), Phoenix, San Diego, San Jose, Seattle/Tacoma, and Vancouver. In the east, the IHA is interested in Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, New York, St. Louis, Tampa, and Toronto/Hamilton.
“We are looking at small to mid-sized markets,” Ecksl said. “We believe hockey fans in cities like Oklahoma City would be thrilled to see hockey in the summer.”
A touring “show” will be conducted in the spring/summer of 2010 as a way to introduce the league and format and generate interest.
“The IHA is about excitement and we add be adding a few quirks and innovations in the game too,” Ecksl added. “Ways to generate excitement and scoring.”
Time will tell. But all that open ice and offense has some allure.
Contact lou.lafrado@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.