BLOOMINGTON,
“The Prairie Thunder ownership group was, and remains, determined to preserve and grow professional hockey in Bloomington-Normal and felt it important to become part of the dynamic and larger league,” co-owner and team president Tim Leighton said following the announcement.
“We owe it to our loyal fans, sponsors and the Bloomington-Normal communities to create a great sense of cooperation among the member teams. This new relationship will allow all of us to work together, sharing, to better our practices and operations on and off the ice. While there were other options, the Central Hockey League was the best fit for us.”
Assistant General Manager Bryan Bloodworth indicated that the 2010-11 schedule of play should be done by mid-July and that head coach Jarrod Skalde, whose current contract is up at the end of the month, is expected to return. Bloodworth confirmed today that there is a verbal agreement between Skalde and the ownership group for him to return to the bench in 2010-11.
The Prairie Thunder will join the Quad City Mallards, Dayton Gems and Fort Wayne Komets in the expanded CHL. There’s been no word on the Port Huron Icehawks and the Flint Generals (who are still seeking new ownership) but IHL Commissioner Dennis Hextall has said another announcement (regarding additional teams) could be forthcoming.
Defenseman Justin Sawyer said he was happy to hear the news that
“I think it is a great change for the team, the city and the league,” Sawyer said. “With six or seven teams, it would be tough if the IHL lost a team or two. This will bring a lot more teams which means fans get to see a lot more players and a lot more rivalries.”
A member of the ownership group, Paula Hardy, also expressed her enthusiasm about
“I hope the style of hockey will be more exciting and rivalries will be fierce.”
Hardy acknowledged that there are many differences to be ironed out. When asked about a potential revision of the veteran rule (the IHL allows eight vets; the CHL allows four), Hardy didn’t think reducing the number of vets would be detrimental to the Prairie Thunder.
“The team has the potential of being new every year. All players have to try out, even the veterans. Having fewer veterans keeps the teams competitive; a team that could afford the salaries for a lot of vets would also have the potential to out-class a younger team. This is a way to keep things more even, and it also keeps the vets competitive and on their guard because they know they can be replaced.”
Other differences and operating guidelines will be ironed out during league meetings this weekend in
The Prairie Thunder announced Monday that their early bird pricing program for fans wanting season tickets was being extended until Friday June 11th. Undoubtedly, yesterday’s announcement holds lots of opportunities and excitement for the upcoming season.
Contact the author at carissa.fatheree@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.