Hockey fans in Hamilton are buzzing with excitement for a new AHL team, whatever it will be called
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As the puck-drop of Hamilton’s new American Hockey League team nears, members of the local hockey community — including some tenants at the AHL team’s practice facility — say they’re already loving the buzz that comes with having professional hockey back in town.
“For our players and their families, it will be great,” said Mitchell Payne, general manager of the Wentworth Gryphins, a senior AAA hockey club based at the Harry Howell Twin Pad Arena, where the new AHL team will have its training facility.
“[The AHL team is] there will be more. We will be there a lot. So, no question, we will cross paths.
“We’re very excited to see what they’re doing there and we might learn a little bit about how they work,” he said.
Payne is among the many future fans of the team eager to learn what it will be called. The announcement will take place on May 21, TD Coliseum general manager Nick DeLuco told CBC Hamilton on Tuesday.
The AHL team is part of the New York Islanders organization, which has applied to trademark the names Hamilton Havoc, Hamilton Mustangs and Hamilton Hammers, fueling speculation as to which will be the final choice. Until the end of this season, this team was called The Bridgeport Islanders and is based in Connecticut.
Eager viewer Matt Lupal, 49, says he hopes there are more options for names using the little girl.
“The Hammers seem too perfect to mess with but I also like the Havoc,” said Lupal, who describes himself as a die-hard Toronto Maple Leafs fan who is willing to have more options for live game venues. “Honestly, the name is secondary, as it is exciting to bring pro hockey back to the city.”
DeLuco, who is from TD Coliseum, said his team has received many emails from local hockey fans with strong opinions about the team’s name, and that he shared those with the Islanders organization and provided his own feedback.
Single-game tickets will sell for about $30
“There were a lot of things that came our way,” he said in an interview at TD Coliseum. “That was one of the things when we started this renovation [talking with the team about] coming to Hamilton: how much the fans loved hockey, how much they missed it, how much they wanted it back.”
He said the stadium has received deposits of more than $100,000 from people interested in season seats, who come to the stadium in person to choose where they want to sit, or get their $100 back if they change their mind. He said the starting price is about $875 and that there are 36 home games this season.
DeLuco said single-game tickets are expected to sell for about $30.
When asked what his team would be doing to try to get bums in the seats at the venue, which holds up to 18,000 people, he repeatedly mentioned the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League, a team known for its theatrical presentation and organized entertainment off the ice.
“It really brings the community into the area and brings people together,” he said.
The city promises to connect with the community in the practice area
The city of Hamilton, which owns the Harry Howell arena near Waterdown, has promised the same when it comes to the team’s use of the facility, which is already a busy center for local hockey and figure skating.
When it announced the plan in early April, it said current service levels would not be affected for stadium users and there would be open practices, development clinics and other community-oriented opportunities, “which will create an important opportunity for the community to connect with the team and the sport,” the city said.
The city said the stadium “will undergo a transformation, including the construction of a two-level AHL-specific training facility integrated into the existing stadium.”
Payne, of the Wentworth Gryphins, said construction had already begun, and that his club had been told it would house a gym, kitchen and media area in a separate but attached building.
He said he was told that the AHL team would get ice time every day from 7 a.m. to noon at one of the rinks, and that his team was using another rink so it would not be affected.
Dawn Nikita, director of community and public relations for the Flamborough Hockey Association, told CBC Hamilton on Tuesday that she was told her team’s ice time will not be affected, as the AHL team will practice in the morning while the new players are in school.
“It’s going to add excitement to the hockey community in the area here, which as an organization, is what we want,” he said Tuesday in a phone interview. “We want people to come to our center. We want people who know Flamborough.”
