The end of the Central Hockey League as we know it?

** Part one of a four part series **
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Central Hockey League’s post-season is well underway and therefore, so is the annual folly of speculation as to the form the league will take in the coming season, if there’s a coming season at all (that’s a new one). This year is a bit different however and what was once folly has become more serious as several teams, including the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, who have earned a spot in the Ray Miron President’s Cup championship series, and the Colorado Eagles who are currently battling the Rapid City Rush for the same opportunity, are rumored to be looking to move to other minor pro leagues. In addition, Global Entertainment Corporation, the league’s parent company, acknowledged in their quarterly report filed in mid-April that revenues had dropped 52 percent from the same time the previous year and accumulated losses (from inception) of approximately $11.6 million have raised “substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

Cracks in the CHL ice began to form in South Texas as early as mid-February, when things began to slip in Laredo, as evidenced by a letter to the fans from the Bucks’ President/GM/Head Coach Terry Ruskowski, imploring them not to abandon the team. The Bucks had lost five games in a row and were sitting at the bottom of the Berry Conference standings with a 16-25-7 record, facing the realistic notion that they would miss the playoffs for the first time in their mostly successful nine-season history. It’s a sure bet that Ruskowski, a former NHL center who led the Bucks to four straight trips to the CHL finals (2004-07), including championship wins in 2004 and 2006, never thought he’d have to utter the words used in his letter: “Don’t give up on us now, we need you.” Within a couple of days, Rio Grande Killer Bees General Manager Dan Belisle perhaps overstated their intention on remaining in the league. “Our position is this: we’re committed to the Central Hockey League,” Belisle told The Monitor ’s Brian Sandalow. “There’s never been any doubt we’re committed to the Central Hockey League and we have no intention ofplaying anywhere other than the Central Hockey League.
Meanwhile, Sandalow asked Ruskowski about the Bucks’ status following a 4-0 loss to the Killer Bees on February 18th. “I really don’t know yet. It’s up to our owner (Glenn Hart) what he wants to do,” Ruskowski said. “I know he has some options on the table and I think he’s seriously considering any option that’s viable to him that he can do well and make some money at and not have to worry about putting a lot of money into it.” It wasn’t long before people began to anticipate a Bucks move to the North American Hockey League, a 26-team Junior A Tier II league, sanctioned by USA Hockey, as the CHL’s Corpus Christi Ice Rays and Amarillo Gorillas had the previous May. On February 25th, Bucks owner Glenn Hart addressed the growing rumors in an open letter to their fans.“The overall goal is to keep the Laredo Bucks right here in Laredo, and we are exploring any and all avenues to keep the Bucks here,” Hart said. “We want to ensure that no matter which league we are a part of, the level of competition is equal to or greater than what the Laredo Bucks fans have come to expect. While the Laredo Bucks have reached out to the NAHL and expressed an interest in becoming one of their franchises, nothing is finalized.” Two days later, in an article in the Laredo Morning Times , reporter Kenny Ryan asked Hart if other CHL teams based in Texas were considering moving to the NAHL. “There are other Texas teams considering it,” Hart said. “I would say it’s shy of all of them, but there are others. I can’t speak for everybody else. That’s the one (the NAHL) that makes the most sense for us on the geographic sense but there could be others. There’s another pro league that might be in another person’s geography better than ours.” Besides the basic economic model of the CHL with all the associated expenses of running a minor professional hockey franchise, Hart touched upon the additional costs due to the player’s union. “…there’s a myriad of things that became worse when the players union came into the league a few years ago and it drove up the cost for everybody.” Then on March 1^st, the Odessa American ’s Lee Scheide dropped the following bombshell: The Odessa Jackalopes confirmed Tuesday that they are in final negotiations to bring a North American Hockey League club to the Permian Basin for the 2011-2012 season.Scheide went on to say that members of the Jackalopes’ ownership group and front office staff had flown to Ann Arbor, Michigan to attend the NAHL’s Prospects Tournament and make a presentation to the league’s governors, along with Laredo. Both presentations were reportedly accepted and according to Scheide, both Odessa and Laredo began negotiations to put a franchise in each of their respective buildings next season. While the Laredo Bucks came out the next morning with the following statement, it was still clear that the CHL wasn’t in the mix of future options for the team. “As of this time we have not executed any agreements, nor paid any fees to the NAHL. We are still considering our options, and will not make further comment until a decision is made.” Meanwhile, the three other Texas teams, the Allen Americans, Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and Texas Brahmas each pledged their commitment to the league. “We have committed to being in the Central Hockey League,” Texas Brahmas General Manager Mike Barack said. “We’re committed to pro hockey.” “We’ve said it before, we’re committed to the CHL,” Killer Bees General Manager Dan Belisle said. “We have no intentions of playing in any other league but the CHL.” “At this moment, we have no plans of making any move,” Allen Americans’ Director of Media Relations Jarred Yost said. But things were different in Bossier City, Louisiana. On March 13th, owner Tommy Scott would reveal the tenuous future of the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs. Wednesday: The Mudbugs consider a move to the SPHL while the Colorado Eagles hint at a move to the ECHL. Contact the writer/photographer at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com