This weekend marks a significant milestone in the history of Ohio professional hockey. Winning the right to host one of the league’s highest profile events speaks to how meaningful the city of Columbus is to the NHL landscape. While it has taken a long road to gain national respectability, the Blue Jackets are showing they belong as the hockey world descends on the Ohio capital. Ohio has enjoyed a long, but mixed history of professional hockey, some of it more noteworthy than others.
Major league hockey arrived in Ohio when the NHL’s California Seals moved east to Cleveland in 1976. The Barons spent two dismal seasons skating at the largely empty Richfield Coliseum before merging with the Minnesota North Stars just two years later.
Earlier in the decade, the WHA sought to place franchises in largely untouched markets as well as fill voids left the NHL abandoned. The Cincinnati Stingers and Cleveland Crusaders played to mixed reviews before folding in the mid 1970s.
Pro hockey has dotted the minor league hockey map in Ohio, too.
Cleveland has previously been home to the Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League and the Barons of the American Hockey League. Today, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche are affiliated with the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters, sharing the same facility as the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers.
Dayton was once home to the Owls (IHL) and Gems (IHL and Central Hockey League) and Bombers (East Coast Hockey League). Toledo enjoyed success over the years as the Owls (IHL), Goaldiggers (IHL) and Storm (ECHL), the latter of which experienced great success in the early 1990s which includes back-to-back championships in 1993 and 1994. Toledo now supports the Walleye, who play in a new downtown arena, a major reason why the Storm folded.
Cincinnati was home to a flock of Mighty Ducks who played for a few years at the Cincinnati Gardens, a magnificent building constructed in the same likeness as iconic Maple Leafs Gardens. While success on and off the ice was hard to come by for Anaheim’s AHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Cyclones have enjoyed good fortune in both the IHL and ECHL.
Both the Mighty Ducks and the Cyclones skated from 1997-2001, the latter at the downtown US Bank Arena, their current home. The Cyclones have enjoyed multiple championships in recent years and have consistently been among the tops teams in their league. Although it never left the station, a team which would have been known as the RailRaiders, was to begin playing as an AHL club in 2005.
While other Ohio cities have gained more attention surrounding a rink over the years, Columbus’ history on the ice is full. Although the teams involved franchise relocations and departures from nearby cities, the Owls, Seals and Checkers called Columbus home for awhile as members of the IHL.
More recently and with some longevity, Columbus enjoyed the Chill from 1991-99. As members of the ECHL, this popular minor league team played at the State Fairgrounds. What a neat, old barn which at one time held the longest consecutive sellout streak in minor pro hockey. With the impending arrival of the NHL Blue Jackets, the club moved to Reading, Pennsylvania where they still operate as the Royals. A few years back, the club won the 2013 Championship, an achievement the Chill never reached.
Even after the Blue Jackets arrived, an effort was made to place a minor league team in the market. In 2004, the Columbus Stars played in the United Hockey League a mere 21 games. Despite the league’s best record, the club drew an average of 973 fans per game. At the time it was the smallest draw of any minor pro hockey team.
But hockey has really taken hold in Columbus since the Blue Jackets arrived and it has increased just over the last few years. Like most expansion franchises, the novelty of something new began to wear off, but the transition to being a competitive team drawing fans did not take hold as quickly as one might think.
Consider the Blue Jackets entered the NHL with the Minnesota Wild in 2000. Fan in the Twin Cities watched their club finish their third season with a winning record and advance to the Western Conference Finals. Columbus, on the other hand, was at the opposite end of the spectrum, finishing last in the conference for the second consecutive year and struggling to draw fans.
After averaging 17,457 fans their inaugural season, average attendance continued to steadily decline in all , but a few seasons, bottoming out at 13,658 by the end of the 2010-11 season. In eleven seasons, Columbus delivered just one winning record and one playoff appearance, a sweep at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings.
Poor drafts, uninspired coaching and subpar player development led to a listless environment with little hope of a turnaround unless major changes came. Then things did change, almost instantly, with the hiring of John Davidson as President of Hockey Operations. After leading a turnaround with the St. Louis Blues, the former goaltender, broadcaster and administrator arrived in Columbus and set out to accomplish what he delivered in St. Louis, an overall turnaround.
The atmosphere began to change during the 2012-13 season as fans could see a blue-collar worth ethic in the players donning the uniform, there were better results and finally, there was more spirit in the building The next season involved a shortened lock-out campaign and Jarmo Kekäläinen was hired to be General Manager in late February. He and Davidson were part of a resurgent Blues team which is now among the top organizations in the NHL.
By the team the season came to a close, the Blue Jackets had failed to make the playoffs, but had registered their second winning season in team history. High-priced veterans were dealt for younger, more affordable younger stars, upgrades at every position were taking place, changes to the player development process were made and there were better assets applied to drafting young players. The foundation was being built and the Blue Jackets were on the upswing.
In the 2013-14 season, Columbus qualified for the playoffs on the last weekend of the season, clinching the first wild-card position. It was just the second time in team history the Blue Jackets had qualified for the playoffs. Their opponent would be the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins.
Armed with a new energy and a much improved identity over prior years, Columbus battled Pittsburgh, registering their first playoff victory in double overtime of game two of the series to knot it up before heading home. Before a sellout crowds approaching 19,000, Columbus won their first home playoff game in overtime to tie the series at two games each.
While Pittsburgh ended up taking the series in six games, five of the battles were decided by one goal with two of those games decided in overtime. The game six loss was witness by 19,189 fans.
More and more fans are getting involved with the game and supporting their Blue Jackets. While in Columbus for the All Star Game, I spoke with Zach Rosen, a casual hockey fan who used to live in Cincinnati and casually watched the ECHL Cyclones. He has enjoyed the game since he was very young.
Rosen says, “I have an uncle who has played all his life. He still plays. So I have known about hockey through him and my Dad who used to play. My uncle is the “best goalie to never make it to the NHL. He has had an influence on my enjoying the game, but it wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I became obsessed with the sport.”
He remembers the game. “My first NHL game, when it really clicked for me was December 21, 2011, when the Blue Jackets hosted the Calgary Flames. It was just a few minutes after the opening face-off when Jared Boll got into a dust-up with Tim Jackman.”
Rosen recalls, “Boll fed Jackman his dinner and the crowd went nuts. I was hooked! The Jackets went on to win the game and I have been a die-hard hockey fan ever since. I can’t get enough of it, watching the game, reading about, watching the draft, trade deadline day, everything about it.”
And that fervent approach to the game is also the way Sydney Stype sees it. A field hockey goalie for the Ohio State University Buckeyes, Stype has been playing the grass form of the sport for ten years. When asked about playing ice hockey, she says, “I never got into playing ice hockey, unfortunately. My skating is not the best, as I have to use the boards to stop myself.”
But if watching ice hockey and supporting a team is any indication of one’s love for the game, Stype is pro. “I began to go to Blue Jackets games in their first season. I watch every Blue Jackets game because they are my favorite team, but I try to catch every team at least once a week.”
Each fan has a unique connection to the sport and how it comes about is interesting. Stype talked about how she first got involved with enjoying pro hockey. “I am very proud to say that my family has been season ticket holders since the very beginning of the Blue Jackets’ history.
My family bought season tickets because my mom worked for Nationwide at the time Columbus was granted a franchise. She also knew that it was a big deal for the city to be receiving a professional team, and she wanted us to be a part of it.”
It’s one thing to have opportunity and yet another to embrace that opportunity. When asked about why she likes to attend NHL games in person, Stype remarks, “I love the atmosphere, especially at Nationwide Arena. It is amazing how close hockey fans are and how we bond in comparison to other professional sports. I love seeing what is unique to each team and arena, from the cannon at Nationwide Arena to the lightning at Tampa Bay’ Amalie Arena to hearing “When the Saints Go Marching In” after Blues’ goals at the Scottrade Center.”
As for the game itself no matter where it is played and how many people are watching, Stype says, “I love the speed of the game and how it is so continuous, especially with the players changing on the fly and the quick decisions they have to make based on what is going on around them. It amazes me how quickly the game can change and how momentum can swing to the other team in a matter of seconds. Out of the major four sports in the United States, it is definitely the most entertaining and exciting to watch, in my opinion.”
Rosen and Stype are excited to show visitors to All-Star Weekend the excitement of witness a major event at Nationwide Arena and showing off their city to the hockey world. Stype says, ”
I look forward most to the fact that people will get to see what a great city Columbus is. People do not realize the size of our city and what amazing things there are to do here. I’m still learning, and I’ve lived here for almost 22 years! I can’t wait for people to experience Columbus and to make amazing memories here.”
The NHL Fantasy Draft to determine which All-Stars will battle on either Team Foligno or Team Toews, will be held on Friday, January 23rd at 8:00 PM Eastern time and televised on the NBC Sports Network.
On Saturday, January 24th at 7:00 PM Eastern time, the 2015 NHL All-Star Skills Competition takes place. The event will be televised on the NBC Sports Network
On Sunday, January 25th at 5:00 PM Eastern time, the 2015 NHL All-Star Game will be held. The game will be televised on the NBC Sports Network.
Follow my stories from the 2015 NHL All Star Game all weekend at StadiumJourney.com and ProHockeyNews.com AND follow me on Twitter at DMMORRELL
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