There are other hockey possibilities, Zoldan and Ryan said, including the ECHL, a high-level minor league with each team having a National Hockey League affiliation, or the Ontario Hockey League, a top Canadian-based junior hockey league with a team in Erie, Pa.
It would be interesting to see if the league has any interest of venturing to Youngstown. Erie will be the closest team which is about 100 minutes away. The two Michigan based teams are at least four hours away.
Overall travel would be a lot easier in the OHL because I believe everything is within a ten hour radius. Just to Omaha, Nebraska it's 13 hours. That's by car not a bus which could add up to another hour.
Would the people support the OHL? It's three hours away from Columbus, Ohio where Ohio State is located. They wouldn't be competing with the Buckeyes directly. Ohio St. isn't an elite colle hockey program but a decent program.
I would think the Blue Jackets or the Penguins would be drooling at the possibility of an ECHL club with the close proximity. The ECHL does have financial problems with teams folding.
Either way I see Youngstown getting high quality hockey.
That's My Take
(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment