New subscriber!! Man, don't know how I missed this channel but glad I found it. Been a fan of the OHL since my dad brought me to my first Sudbury Wolves game in 1985.
While attending Laurentian University in Sudbury in 1984, I went to a Wolves, Spitfires game in the old barn in downtown Sudbury. I had a great time. Sudbury has always had great jerseys with the wolf logo
It's not just about the arena. The fans have to be loyal to the team in good seasons and bad. I have been a Windsor Spitfire fan for 49 years. The fan base in Windsor has remained passionate about this team. The WFCU Center seems to have attracted a much younger crowd to the games. This is essential. I have watched teams come and go out of cities in the OHL for most of my life. Modern arenas with all of their amenities are nice, but a fan base that loves the team, knows hockey and remains loyal are the real building blocks of a successful OHL franchise.
I would love to see Thunder Bay come into the league, but unless there is a newly formed “Far West” division and Minneapolis, Duluth and Fort Frances jump in, it would be very difficult (see any team in Newfoundland in the Q).
th. bay is closer to whl's eastern most team in brandon, manitoba than the ohl's closest outlet ssm. unfortunately th. bay is too far away with just one road in and out across lake superior.
I agree! Being from Brantford I’d love to see Woodstock get a treat, unfortunately I don’t think they have a big enough arena. Even Stratford would be a good choice, the warriors draw a good crowd. William Allman would be a good stand in until they build a new arena.
@@sensoryoverload6809 I’m not sure if you’ve ever been to the Owen sound attack arena but it’s super small arena size is usually based off population so maybe a few renovations could do the trick
I had Cornwall, Chatham and Niagara Falls (or Buffalo but in NY State for sure). Others on my list, with obvious rink building issues were Cambridge - pop over 125 K, natural rivalry with Guelph, Kitchener, potentially Burlington (which I really like), Woodstock - pop 40 K +. Blue Collar town, rivalry with Brantford, Kitchener. Instead of Toronto perhaps they go back to Newmarket ( Home of Connor McDavid. With a pop of 90K +, it’s not Toronto but heavy minor hockey city which the draw will always be lots of kids and families. Great video.
For Ontario expansion I had: 1) Mississauga 2) downtown Toronto (since the GTA barely has any OHL teams) 3) Thunder Bay (to represent Northern Ontario) 4) Hamilton (to represent the Hamilton-Burlington-Oakville area)
How about relocate the Otters to Hamilton, Ontario where they would be the Hamilton Otters 🦦 and would be in the OHL Eastern Conference and East Division with the Barrie Colts, Niagara Ice Dogs 🐕, Mississauga Steelheads, North Bay Battalion, Oshawa Generals, and Sudbury Wolves Peterborough Petes, Kingston Frontenacs, and Ottawa 67’s while the Brantford Bulldogs would relocate to the OHL West Division and their other OHL Western Division members would be the Kitchener Rangers, Guelph Storm, Owen Sound Attack, London Knights, Sarnia Sting 🐝 Windsor Spitfires, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Saginaw Spirit and Flint Firebirds. If the Otters were move to the OHL East Division and relocate to Burlington, Ontario they would be the Burlington Otters 🦦 in the OHL Eastern Conference and then the Brantford Bulldogs would move to the OHL Midwest Division and OHL Western Conference and bring an OHL Expansion team to Thunder Bay, Ontario where they would play in the West Division and OHL Western Conference as the Thunder Bay Thunderbirds
While PWHL Toronto sold out the 3,000 seat Mattamy Athletic Centre for the season and the 8,900 seat Coca-Cola Coliseum for 2 playoff games, you need to remember that the novelty factor is still high. You need to remember that GTA OHL teams with the exception of the Generals have never done well. The Majors, Battalion, and Ice Dogs were merely rich owners feeding their egos.
Well, the Marlies used to sell out or close to it, every Sunday back in the day when they played at the Gardens. It's demographics. Kids in Toronto are playing almost anything else but hockey these days. So you're right on current state of puck in TO.
@@gregpost3320 I remember that the Marlies would play Saturday afternoons at the Gardens, and there were always free tickets floating around to watch the game and the Leafs' pre-game skate. Mom wouldn't take us. Everyone loves to scream demographics, but the truth is that the GTA isn't a hockey market, it's a Leafs market. Brampton's demographics show that in 2016, when there were 153,390 residents of European descent, the Battalion struggled to average 2,000 fans, both paying or not. The Owen Sound Attack, with a 2021 population of 21,612, sells out the Harry Lumley Bayshore Arena on a nightly basis. That means over 10% of Owen Sound's people are at the Attack game. Blame new Canadians all you like, but the harsh truth is that only the Leafs matter in the GTA. I say this as a former Battalion season ticket holder, and a day one Beast subscriber. The Powerade/CAA Centre was always a great place to go when I wanted to be alone with my thoughts.
The support would definitely be there for Chatham. They showed that this summer with the expansion Chatham-Kent Barnstormers in the IBL. We need the arena!
Expansion would be exciting. Interesting to think about redistributing the divisions. A forth US team could see an American Division formed. What about somewhere like Oakville? Too close to Toronto, or maybe they call it the GTA team?
How about Lake Placid, NY? The arena is there. Great community with tons of year round tourists (new fans of the league) great historical place for Memorial Cup
My arena ideas for each market: Toronto: Varsity Arena (4,116) This is an old arena, but good enough for the possible attendance problems. Cornwall: yeah it's gonna be the Civic Complex Burlington: the new arena Pickering: the other new arena (I'll call it Durham Live Centre) Chatham-Kent: Honestly, if they can't get a new arena in time, it'd be the Memorial Arena. W. New York: If there's no luck with Centennial Park, then maybe Binghamton? Their biggest team is in America's FPHL. A market not mentioned could be Detroit.
Detroit once had the Detroit Junior Red Wings in the OHL. It was coached by Paul Maurice, coach of current Stanley cup champions. Peter Karmanos of Compuware and Hartford Whalers (Carolina Hurricanes fame) owned the team.
continued, I would like to add l have played hockey, coached hockey and seen alot of games at all levels of the game. There is virtually very little or no difference in LU mens(OUA) hockey cabibre of play compared to OHL, WHL or QMJHL . That's were alot of these elite players come from. Problem is LU doesn't play alot of games. LU average attendance l believe is actually higher than for or 5 or 6 OHL teams. TB loves their hockey. That could be one of the other problems we have too many options and too spread out. Thank you again. Frank G Costa
For those that suggested Thunder Bay, that’s never going to happen. They are just too far away. If you want another team in the North, Timmins would be a better option. Another southern Ontario city that would be a good location is Milton.
Cornwall would be a fun rival for the 67s and Frontenacs, and maybe Burlington Ontario can be successful as a franchise with right ownership group and a good OHL sized arena... They should move Brantford Bulldogs and Brampton Steelheads to Western Conference Central Division since a few times the league would schedule a 3 game weekend loop of Saginaw-Flint-Mississauga or Erie-Niagara-Mississauga
Agreed! Cornwall has hosted the OHL before and I’m confident that since the CCHL Colts get a ton of traction, the OHL Cornwall squad would as well. Kingston and Ottawa only being 60-90 minutes away from this market is also huge considering how few “Far East” teams there are.
@@BabyBlueMemories Exactly, and most teams who plays in Ottawa usually plays Kingston either before or after Ottawa games, so the OHL can simply add Cornwall and make a 3 in 3 weekend loop of Cornwall-Ottawa-Kingston
Duluth, MN would be a good US addition. Great hockey town and the DECC arena could be a potential spot. Belleville or Timmins would be other great additions. For Belleville, Yardmen arena (now known as CAA arena) is still there but might need some updating. Lastly, Timmins would be a great northern addition. McIntyre arena is a little small, 1,300 capacity and would need some updating as well and expansion.
For the money, Peterborough has needed a new hockey/multi-purpose arena for the last 30 years. Funding for these new teams and arenas should come from largely the private sector, keep public funding off-the-table. At some time in the near future the OHL should consider expansion to 1) Thunder Bay, 2) Timmins, 3) St. Thomas, 4) Brantford and 5) Woodstock. Chatham and Toledo, Ohio should be in the future mix.
And no one would go to Pickering from Oshawa. Rocco doesn't own that history or that culture. He is a jackass. The building is one of the best in the league and he has had the third to fourth best attendance in the league with the 9th or 10th largest building. He does NOT get how he is playing with fire
I think the new commissioner needs to address issues like officiating before discussing expansions, the officiating been so horrible and piss-poor for the last 2 years that it seems some games are fixed by the refs, especially when referees like Blake Beer, Sean Reid or Drew Jackson are listed as the referees, I been to all Ottawa 67s game last year (except the school day game) and I seen penalties not called by referees
@@gregpost3320 There is some good referees, there has been games not only with Ottawa but with teams like Kingston where referees made so many bad calls and misses penalties, and a majority of the time, the culprits of the bad calls are the usual referees
I think once the Hamilton arena renovations are completed. They’ll get a team back. Either the AHL sens or the Bulldogs return or an expansion OHL team. If the AHL sens move to Hamilton then Belleville will get a team back. I’d love to see more growth in the US. Toledo would be a great market but there’s an ECHL team there currently. Buffalo would be good as well.
They’ll probably get a pro hockey team. First Ontario was too big and too costly for Junior hockey, and they’re making more of a profit in Brantford. I’d like to see Andlauer bring the Belleville Senators back to Hamilton once First Ontario is complete.
Thunder Bay is never going to get an OHL franchise. The Fort William Gardens is a dump and only seats about 3800 people. It is too far removed from the southern part of the province. The closest team is the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds which is 7,5 hours away if you speed. And the plan for Keith Hobbs all purpose convention centre fell flat. But you are getting a new art gallery that nobody wants.
@TotoFrancey you make some very unfortunate points. The unfortunate part is that your points a 100 % true. At least they have a northern ontario junior team
What would be your thoughts on a new league in Atlantic Canada!? Teams in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland & the NewEngland states ? The American hockey league was there in the 1980's did pretty well
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland already have their own Junior A league, the Maritime Hockey League, I think Hockey Canada would not put another sanctioned league in their territory
In my opinion, it chould be Kingston Senators in the ahl (instead of Belleville Senators), and Belleville Bulls in the ohl, and maybe adding Cornwall, Newmarket and Chatham to the OHL
I live in Cornwall. *LOVED* the Royals. We won't get OHL. Not soon, anyway. 1) the mayor is a tool. 2) the Cornwall Colts (Tier II Junior team) are cheaper and now have a stronghold on junior hockey here. It STINKS.
What a shame. I was a big Marlies fan in Toronto when I was a kid, and in the mid 70's we moved for a couple of years close to the Ontario/Quebec border, and the closest team was the Royals. One of the kids that went to the same school was the son of Orval Tessier.
I think you may actually see contraction and potentially a CHL-wide league after all the court cases go through. The NCAA south of the border already just went through this and not paying your players due to dated notions of "amateurism" is probably not sustainable.
need another u s/michigan team. port huron, mi. just over the border from sarnia. rival sarnia, windsor, saginaw, flint. mcmoran place arena, 3500 capacity. fhl has hosted ihl, col, uhl, fhl teams.
What about Woodstock they have the Southwood arena not the perfect size with 1,848 seats but you could throw them in the Midwest 40mins from London. 45mins away from Kitchener 50mins from Guelph 30mins from Brantford and 1.5h from sarnia really close
I think a 4 team expansion could be done not all at once but I can see Belleville and Cornwall move to the added to the east move Brantford to the Midwest to be their 6th team to play with London Guelph add Chatham or even a Detroit team to the west to play with Windsor or sarnia then add Burlington or another Hamilton team to be number 6 in the central so add Belleville Cornwall Burlington/Hamilton and then Chatham/Detroit
It's been a while since I visited Niagara Falls NY but it struck me as pretty run-down place. Forget naming cities. Where you expand or relocate to will be dictated by which community is economically healthy enough and progressive enough to build an OHL-style arena to attract a franchise. A prospective ownership group there will have already put a bug in the commissioner's ear.
@@Chris-cx5qk I don’t think it’s the best place, especially if Brantford keeps their team. I guess there could be a good rivalry with Kitchener, Brantford, and Guelph, but that shrinks Cambridge’s market too. Cambridge has also had trouble keeping teams. The Winterhawks folded and have since been replaced. Is the senior team still going? Cambridge just doesn’t seem to be able to support higher level hockey so I don’t know how they could support an OHL team, even with a new arena. Waterloo would have a better chance of hosting an OHL team, and already have the memorial rec complex with a capacity of 4400. Even Woodstock would be a better option than Cambridge.
Andlauer owns the Ottawa Senators and Belleville Senators. If Ottawa gets a new arena my thought is he will move the AHL Senators to Kanata to have the AHL Senators closer to Ottawa. That opens up Belleville for a OHL team which I much prefer over an AHL team. I have no interest in the AHL and haven’t been to a game since they came here!
Lansing Michigan has the population but Michigan State is right in the area. Maybe could support both. Also upstate NY to help in the East and some decent sized cities but full of ahl teams already
Stop talking about any place in the GTA or anywhere around it. It's not OHL friendly, I hate to say it but as a London Knights hater they draw almost 10,000 per game. So how is this going to be feasible to put a team where they attract 1,500 or maybe 2,000.
Cambridge would be a great expansion team, but until they get an adequate arena, I don't see it happening. Imagine the rival between cambridge and kitchener, guelph and london.
They did have a team called the Cornwall Royals that played from 1981 to 1992 then relocated to Newmarket from 1992 to 1994 as the Newmarket Royals and then relocating again to Sarnia becoming the Sarnia Sting
@@abancwele I admit that was overkill, if you are from there I mean no offense, I know Cornwall loves hockey. Eastern Ontario has very few cities capable of having an OHL team. There are only 20 teams in the OHL, and there are several cities in Ontario that are much larger that don't have teams yet. The same thing applies to Northern Ontario but Thunder Bay (123,258) is twice as large as Cornwall. Cornwall is only 47,845 people (the metro is 61,415 people). - Downtown Toronto (2,794,356) - Mississauga (717,961) - Markham (338,503) - Vaughan (323,103) - Richmond Hill (202,022) - Scarborough (629,941) -Pickering (99,186) Ajax (126,666), Whitby (138,501) don't have teams (granted MAYBE whitby is too close to Oshawa) - Hamilton (569,353) - Burlington (186,948) - Oakville (213,759) - Not to mention the hockey markets in the states Lansing (541,297), Grand Rapids (1,077,370), Toledo (606,240), Buffalo (1,125,637), Rochester (1,067,486).
An interesting video -- with lots of holes. About the cities mentioned. 1. Toronto -- Only supports the Leafs. Even the Marlies have a tough time sometimes. You were right a junior hockey team would go bust there. 2. Cornwall -- The city is financially broke. Not going to happen. 3. Burlington -- I could see this happening. It will probably be a relocation though. 4. Brantford -- The city is financially broke. They will lose the Bulldogs. 5. Pickering -- I could see this happening. Again another relocation. 6. Chatham -- The city is VERY financially broke. I'm surprised it still exists. 7, North Bay -- They better figure out how to build a new arena soon or the Battalion is gone. 9 Niagara Falls, NY -- Have you ever been there? This is the capital city of the rust belt. This city makes Chatham, Ontario look like a paradise. This city isn't just broke, it is in debt. But the falls viewing experience is better there than on the Canadian side. Conclusion -- I can't see the OHL expanding anytime soon. The same holds true for the Quebec and Western leagues. In fact I can see a time in which all three leagues have fewer teams and the USHL becomes the fourth league vying for the Memorial Cup. Major Junior hockey is an expensive proposition and only the London Knights makes any REAL money.
Re: Niagara Falls NY you state: “But the falls viewing experience is better than on the Canadian side.” Really? You’ve obviously never been to NF NY or NF ON.
@@RichPascoe You are completely wrong. I have been to both sides of Niagara Falls and prefer the experience from Goat Island (Niagara Falls, NY) than from the Canadian side. I will concede that the view of the Bridal Veil Falls is not as good, but it is much more up close. The Horseshoe Falls view is far superior than what you see on the Canadian side. The atmosphere on the American side is much more relaxing and calm than the "Las Vegas" feel of the Canadian side. Of the Canadians who visit Niagara Falls, 99 percent will claim the Canadian side is better without ever going over to the American side. YOU have not been to Niagara Falls until you have seen it from the American side. As for the city of Niagara Falls, New York -- it's a hell hole.
Millions of tourists, plus citizens on both sides of the border, will disagree with you. The view is better from the Canadian side. Have I ever been to NF NY you ask? Yes, numerous times. I lived many years in the Niagara Region.
New subscriber!! Man, don't know how I missed this channel but glad I found it. Been a fan of the OHL since my dad brought me to my first Sudbury Wolves game in 1985.
While attending Laurentian University in Sudbury in 1984, I went to a Wolves, Spitfires game in the old barn in downtown Sudbury. I had a great time. Sudbury has always had great jerseys with the wolf logo
It's not just about the arena. The fans have to be loyal to the team in good seasons and bad. I have been a Windsor Spitfire fan for 49 years. The fan base in Windsor has remained passionate about this team. The WFCU Center seems to have attracted a much younger crowd to the games. This is essential. I have watched teams come and go out of cities in the OHL for most of my life. Modern arenas with all of their amenities are nice, but a fan base that loves the team, knows hockey and remains loyal are the real building blocks of a successful OHL franchise.
I would love to see Thunder Bay come into the league, but unless there is a newly formed “Far West” division and Minneapolis, Duluth and Fort Frances jump in, it would be very difficult (see any team in Newfoundland in the Q).
Better chance TB joins the WHL
th. bay is closer to whl's eastern most team in brandon, manitoba than the ohl's closest outlet ssm. unfortunately th. bay is too far away with just one road in and out across lake superior.
Thunder Bay will never get either a new arena or a major junior hockey franchise. The economics and geography are not there for either.
Get on a bus in the Soo in January/February and take that trip up the north shore of Lake Superior, then tell me if that'll work.
Id like to see more smaller city and towns getting OHL teams like Woodstock, Chatham, Cornwall, Newmarket, Orangeville and St Thomas
I agree! Being from Brantford I’d love to see Woodstock get a treat, unfortunately I don’t think they have a big enough arena. Even Stratford would be a good choice, the warriors draw a good crowd. William Allman would be a good stand in until they build a new arena.
@@sensoryoverload6809 I’m not sure if you’ve ever been to the Owen sound attack arena but it’s super small arena size is usually based off population so maybe a few renovations could do the trick
I had Cornwall, Chatham and Niagara Falls (or Buffalo but in NY State for sure). Others on my list, with obvious rink building issues were Cambridge - pop over 125 K, natural rivalry with Guelph, Kitchener, potentially Burlington (which I really like), Woodstock - pop 40 K +. Blue Collar town, rivalry with Brantford, Kitchener. Instead of Toronto perhaps they go back to Newmarket ( Home of Connor McDavid. With a pop of 90K +, it’s not Toronto but heavy minor hockey city which the draw will always be lots of kids and families. Great video.
For Ontario expansion I had:
1) Mississauga
2) downtown Toronto (since the GTA barely has any OHL teams)
3) Thunder Bay (to represent Northern Ontario)
4) Hamilton (to represent the Hamilton-Burlington-Oakville area)
How about relocate the Otters to Hamilton, Ontario where they would be the Hamilton Otters 🦦 and would be in the OHL Eastern Conference and East Division with the Barrie Colts, Niagara Ice Dogs 🐕, Mississauga Steelheads, North Bay Battalion, Oshawa Generals, and Sudbury Wolves Peterborough Petes, Kingston Frontenacs, and Ottawa 67’s while the Brantford Bulldogs would relocate to the OHL West Division and their other OHL Western Division members would be the Kitchener Rangers, Guelph Storm, Owen Sound Attack, London Knights, Sarnia Sting 🐝 Windsor Spitfires, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Saginaw Spirit and Flint Firebirds. If the Otters were move to the OHL East Division and relocate to Burlington, Ontario they would be the Burlington Otters 🦦 in the OHL Eastern Conference and then the Brantford Bulldogs would move to the OHL Midwest Division and OHL Western Conference and bring an OHL Expansion team to Thunder Bay, Ontario where they would play in the West Division and OHL Western Conference as the Thunder Bay Thunderbirds
While PWHL Toronto sold out the 3,000 seat Mattamy Athletic Centre for the season and the 8,900 seat Coca-Cola Coliseum for 2 playoff games, you need to remember that the novelty factor is still high. You need to remember that GTA OHL teams with the exception of the Generals have never done well. The Majors, Battalion, and Ice Dogs were merely rich owners feeding their egos.
Well, the Marlies used to sell out or close to it, every Sunday back in the day when they played at the Gardens. It's demographics. Kids in Toronto are playing almost anything else but hockey these days. So you're right on current state of puck in TO.
@@gregpost3320 I remember that the Marlies would play Saturday afternoons at the Gardens, and there were always free tickets floating around to watch the game and the Leafs' pre-game skate. Mom wouldn't take us.
Everyone loves to scream demographics, but the truth is that the GTA isn't a hockey market, it's a Leafs market. Brampton's demographics show that in 2016, when there were 153,390 residents of European descent, the Battalion struggled to average 2,000 fans, both paying or not. The Owen Sound Attack, with a 2021 population of 21,612, sells out the Harry Lumley Bayshore Arena on a nightly basis. That means over 10% of Owen Sound's people are at the Attack game.
Blame new Canadians all you like, but the harsh truth is that only the Leafs matter in the GTA.
I say this as a former Battalion season ticket holder, and a day one Beast subscriber. The Powerade/CAA Centre was always a great place to go when I wanted to be alone with my thoughts.
hockey on fire stay away of nhl
PWHL gonna fall off soon
The support would definitely be there for Chatham. They showed that this summer with the expansion Chatham-Kent Barnstormers in the IBL. We need the arena!
@@Alan77hp maybe not but 165 corporate sponsors goes a long way.
Good video ! Collingwood , Huntsville , Timmons and Thunder Bay could all be perfect for a new division
Im irritate im just finding this channel, your gem bud
Expansion would be exciting. Interesting to think about redistributing the divisions. A forth US team could see an American Division formed. What about somewhere like Oakville? Too close to Toronto, or maybe they call it the GTA team?
Brampton exists.
But the GTA 100% could support another team (or two).
Oakville isn't exactly close to Toronto. It is well off. But they do not have a rink to host an OHL team
How about Lake Placid, NY? The arena is there. Great community with tons of year round tourists (new fans of the league) great historical place for Memorial Cup
After the new NCAA ruling, I heard that Muskegon and Chicago of the USHL reached out about joining the OHL
My arena ideas for each market:
Toronto: Varsity Arena (4,116) This is an old arena, but good enough for the possible attendance problems.
Cornwall: yeah it's gonna be the Civic Complex
Burlington: the new arena
Pickering: the other new arena (I'll call it Durham Live Centre)
Chatham-Kent: Honestly, if they can't get a new arena in time, it'd be the Memorial Arena.
W. New York: If there's no luck with Centennial Park, then maybe Binghamton? Their biggest team is in America's FPHL.
A market not mentioned could be Detroit.
Detroit once had the Detroit Junior Red Wings in the OHL. It was coached by Paul Maurice, coach of current Stanley cup champions. Peter Karmanos of Compuware and Hartford Whalers (Carolina Hurricanes fame) owned the team.
Cornwall's arena has had huge upgrades, it only make sense, add Orleans and Belleville and a new division is born
PWHL Toronto also wants a larger venue so I guess that could be an opening.
Toronto should have another arena (but man do we need a proper football/soccer stadium)
continued, I would like to add l have played hockey, coached hockey and seen alot of games at all levels of the game. There is virtually very little or no difference in LU mens(OUA) hockey cabibre of play compared to OHL, WHL or QMJHL . That's were alot of these elite players come from. Problem is LU doesn't play alot of games. LU average attendance l believe is actually higher than for or 5 or 6 OHL teams. TB loves their hockey. That could be one of the other problems we have too many options and too spread out. Thank you again. Frank G Costa
There should be a northern division, Thunder Bay, Timmins, soo, Sudbury, north bay.
Belleville and Cornwall. Maybe Buffalo. Toronto has not worked due to big league issues. Overall a good presentation.
For those that suggested Thunder Bay, that’s never going to happen. They are just too far away. If you want another team in the North, Timmins would be a better option.
Another southern Ontario city that would be a good location is Milton.
Cornwall would be a fun rival for the 67s and Frontenacs, and maybe Burlington Ontario can be successful as a franchise with right ownership group and a good OHL sized arena... They should move Brantford Bulldogs and Brampton Steelheads to Western Conference Central Division since a few times the league would schedule a 3 game weekend loop of Saginaw-Flint-Mississauga or Erie-Niagara-Mississauga
Agreed! Cornwall has hosted the OHL before and I’m confident that since the CCHL Colts get a ton of traction, the OHL Cornwall squad would as well. Kingston and Ottawa only being 60-90 minutes away from this market is also huge considering how few “Far East” teams there are.
@@BabyBlueMemories Exactly, and most teams who plays in Ottawa usually plays Kingston either before or after Ottawa games, so the OHL can simply add Cornwall and make a 3 in 3 weekend loop of Cornwall-Ottawa-Kingston
Duluth, MN would be a good US addition. Great hockey town and the DECC arena could be a potential spot.
Belleville or Timmins would be other great additions. For Belleville, Yardmen arena (now known as CAA arena) is still there but might need some updating.
Lastly, Timmins would be a great northern addition. McIntyre arena is a little small, 1,300 capacity and would need some updating as well and expansion.
For the money, Peterborough has needed a new hockey/multi-purpose arena for the last 30 years. Funding for these new teams and arenas should come from largely the private sector, keep public funding off-the-table. At some time in the near future the OHL should consider expansion to 1) Thunder Bay, 2) Timmins, 3) St. Thomas, 4) Brantford and 5) Woodstock. Chatham and Toledo, Ohio should be in the future mix.
If Rocco Tulio (Oshawa Generals owner) moves the Gens to Pickering , The Steelheads would move to Oshawa in a heartbeat
And no one would go to Pickering from Oshawa. Rocco doesn't own that history or that culture. He is a jackass. The building is one of the best in the league and he has had the third to fourth best attendance in the league with the 9th or 10th largest building. He does NOT get how he is playing with fire
I think the new commissioner needs to address issues like officiating before discussing expansions, the officiating been so horrible and piss-poor for the last 2 years that it seems some games are fixed by the refs, especially when referees like Blake Beer, Sean Reid or Drew Jackson are listed as the referees, I been to all Ottawa 67s game last year (except the school day game) and I seen penalties not called by referees
hahaha. that's hockey. refs are fine. get used to it.
@@gregpost3320 There is some good referees, there has been games not only with Ottawa but with teams like Kingston where referees made so many bad calls and misses penalties, and a majority of the time, the culprits of the bad calls are the usual referees
I think once the Hamilton arena renovations are completed. They’ll get a team back. Either the AHL sens or the Bulldogs return or an expansion OHL team. If the AHL sens move to Hamilton then Belleville will get a team back.
I’d love to see more growth in the US. Toledo would be a great market but there’s an ECHL team there currently. Buffalo would be good as well.
They’ll probably get a pro hockey team. First Ontario was too big and too costly for Junior hockey, and they’re making more of a profit in Brantford. I’d like to see Andlauer bring the Belleville Senators back to Hamilton once First Ontario is complete.
So a city of over 100,000 people with no sports didn’t make the list? Like did you forget Thunder Bay exists like everyone else from southern Ontario?
Thunder Bay is never going to get an OHL franchise. The Fort William Gardens is a dump and only seats about 3800 people. It is too far removed from the southern part of the province. The closest team is the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds which is 7,5 hours away if you speed. And the plan for Keith Hobbs all purpose convention centre fell flat. But you are getting a new art gallery that nobody wants.
@TotoFrancey you make some very unfortunate points. The unfortunate part is that your points a 100 % true. At least they have a northern ontario junior team
Thunder bay would never get a team
Travel costs would be awful
We can only wish…
Michigan mullets lets get it! # first dibs
The OHL needs to step in and not allow Oshawa to move. There isn't many teams with history left and Oshawa has a lot of it.
Chatham will never happen as the city won't build anything that isn't a bingo hall or casino.
What would be your thoughts on a new league in Atlantic Canada!? Teams in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland & the NewEngland states ? The American hockey league was there in the 1980's did pretty well
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland already have their own Junior A league, the Maritime Hockey League, I think Hockey Canada would not put another sanctioned league in their territory
The QMJHL stands for Québec -Maritimes Junior Hockey League
Half the league in Québec and half in the Maritimes
Traverse City , Michigan
In my opinion, it chould be Kingston Senators in the ahl (instead of Belleville Senators), and Belleville Bulls in the ohl, and maybe adding Cornwall, Newmarket and Chatham to the OHL
I live in Cornwall. *LOVED* the Royals. We won't get OHL. Not soon, anyway. 1) the mayor is a tool. 2) the Cornwall Colts (Tier II Junior team) are cheaper and now have a stronghold on junior hockey here. It STINKS.
What a shame. I was a big Marlies fan in Toronto when I was a kid, and in the mid 70's we moved for a couple of years close to the Ontario/Quebec border, and the closest team was the Royals. One of the kids that went to the same school was the son of Orval Tessier.
as a Kingston fan imo you can not take Oshawa out of Oshawa imo the fan are amazing and support you get is to big
The fan base wouldn't make the trip to Pickering. And the people in Pickering don't care
Thunder Bay could be a good option
Explain your opinion.
I think you may actually see contraction and potentially a CHL-wide league after all the court cases go through. The NCAA south of the border already just went through this and not paying your players due to dated notions of "amateurism" is probably not sustainable.
need another u s/michigan team. port huron, mi. just over the border from sarnia. rival sarnia, windsor, saginaw, flint. mcmoran place arena, 3500 capacity. fhl has hosted ihl, col, uhl, fhl teams.
What about Woodstock they have the Southwood arena not the perfect size with 1,848 seats but you could throw them in the Midwest 40mins from London. 45mins away from Kitchener 50mins from Guelph 30mins from Brantford and 1.5h from sarnia really close
Would be great to see about team in Woodstock... But they would need a new rink first.
There’s no reason why an OHL team can’t share with the PWHL team. It works well in Ottawa.
I think a 4 team expansion could be done not all at once but I can see Belleville and Cornwall move to the added to the east move Brantford to the Midwest to be their 6th team to play with London Guelph add Chatham or even a Detroit team to the west to play with Windsor or sarnia then add Burlington or another Hamilton team to be number 6 in the central so add Belleville Cornwall Burlington/Hamilton and then Chatham/Detroit
Still hold out for Belleville and Cornwall as soon as they are finished with that AHL crap
Belleville didn't work as an OHL market, we saw it once with the Bulls, but it seems to be working as an AHL market so keep it that way
Burlington, Belleville
Thunder Bay should get a OHL Team
No it shouldn't. Explain your opinion.
Put a team in Travis Citu, Michigan.😊
Petes are going no where Bro.
Build em a new rink. I am with you, as an Oshawa fan I was pissed when Belleville moved. I would also be pissed if the Pete's left.
It's been a while since I visited Niagara Falls NY but it struck me as pretty run-down place.
Forget naming cities. Where you expand or relocate to will be dictated by which community is economically healthy enough and progressive enough to build an OHL-style arena to attract a franchise.
A prospective ownership group there will have already put a bug in the commissioner's ear.
Cambridge would be an excellent location for an ohl team in the growing waterloo region, but they need to revamp the garden or build an arena.
@@Chris-cx5qk I don’t think it’s the best place, especially if Brantford keeps their team. I guess there could be a good rivalry with Kitchener, Brantford, and Guelph, but that shrinks Cambridge’s market too. Cambridge has also had trouble keeping teams. The Winterhawks folded and have since been replaced. Is the senior team still going? Cambridge just doesn’t seem to be able to support higher level hockey so I don’t know how they could support an OHL team, even with a new arena. Waterloo would have a better chance of hosting an OHL team, and already have the memorial rec complex with a capacity of 4400. Even Woodstock would be a better option than Cambridge.
Cambridge may struggle considering Kitchener and Brantford are near by. I’d love to see the odd ranger game out of the Galt Gardens.
Andlauer owns the Ottawa Senators and Belleville Senators. If Ottawa gets a new arena my thought is he will move the AHL Senators to Kanata to have the AHL Senators closer to Ottawa. That opens up Belleville for a OHL team which I much prefer over an AHL team. I have no interest in the AHL and haven’t been to a game since they came here!
You should have not lost the Bulls but the City of Belleville misread the owner in his demands to improve the arena AND his threat to move
What is your issue with the AHL?!
Markham in the GTA is big
U need to expand by 2 or throw the schedule off!
Lansing Michigan has the population but Michigan State is right in the area. Maybe could support both. Also upstate NY to help in the East and some decent sized cities but full of ahl teams already
Stop talking about any place in the GTA or anywhere around it. It's not OHL friendly, I hate to say it but as a London Knights hater they draw almost 10,000 per game. So how is this going to be feasible to put a team where they attract 1,500 or maybe 2,000.
Thunder Bay all the way! Come to the lake head, land of the Giant
Chicago and Thunder Bay.
Pickering is NOT too close to Oshawa....people from Pickering don't go to gens games
Never understand why the marlies play in the ahl they should play in the ohl
St. Catherine’s, Collingwood, Thunder Bay.
St. Catharines has the Icedogs.
Cambridge would be a great expansion team, but until they get an adequate arena, I don't see it happening. Imagine the rival between cambridge and kitchener, guelph and london.
Toronto is not a good market for Junior Hockey. If it is not Leafs Toronto fans don't want anything to do with it.
nhl stopped us !!!
Cornwall is an absolutely terrible choice....
They did have a team called the Cornwall Royals that played from 1981 to 1992 then relocated to Newmarket from 1992 to 1994 as the Newmarket Royals and then relocating again to Sarnia becoming the Sarnia Sting
Why?
@@abancwele
I admit that was overkill, if you are from there I mean no offense, I know Cornwall loves hockey. Eastern Ontario has very few cities capable of having an OHL team. There are only 20 teams in the OHL, and there are several cities in Ontario that are much larger that don't have teams yet.
The same thing applies to Northern Ontario but Thunder Bay (123,258) is twice as large as Cornwall.
Cornwall is only 47,845 people (the metro is 61,415 people).
- Downtown Toronto (2,794,356)
- Mississauga (717,961)
- Markham (338,503)
- Vaughan (323,103)
- Richmond Hill (202,022)
- Scarborough (629,941)
-Pickering (99,186) Ajax (126,666), Whitby (138,501) don't have teams (granted MAYBE whitby is too close to Oshawa)
- Hamilton (569,353)
- Burlington (186,948)
- Oakville (213,759)
- Not to mention the hockey markets in the states Lansing (541,297), Grand Rapids (1,077,370), Toledo (606,240), Buffalo (1,125,637), Rochester (1,067,486).
@@sampicanoGrand Rapids (AHL), Toledo (ECHL), Buffalo (NHL), Rochester (AHL) = All a solid NO. And, the U.S. is focusing on NCAA hockey.
@@JonDoe-ln6nl
So no team in the OHL can have ANY OTHER team in your mind?
Hamilton can only have AHL OR OHL?
That's dumb
An interesting video -- with lots of holes. About the cities mentioned.
1. Toronto -- Only supports the Leafs. Even the Marlies have a tough time sometimes. You were right a junior hockey team would go bust there.
2. Cornwall -- The city is financially broke. Not going to happen.
3. Burlington -- I could see this happening. It will probably be a relocation though.
4. Brantford -- The city is financially broke. They will lose the Bulldogs.
5. Pickering -- I could see this happening. Again another relocation.
6. Chatham -- The city is VERY financially broke. I'm surprised it still exists.
7, North Bay -- They better figure out how to build a new arena soon or the Battalion is gone.
9 Niagara Falls, NY -- Have you ever been there? This is the capital city of the rust belt. This city makes Chatham, Ontario look like a paradise. This city isn't just broke, it is in debt. But the falls viewing experience is better there than on the Canadian side.
Conclusion -- I can't see the OHL expanding anytime soon. The same holds true for the Quebec and Western leagues. In fact I can see a time in which all three leagues have fewer teams and the USHL becomes the fourth league vying for the Memorial Cup. Major Junior hockey is an expensive proposition and only the London Knights makes any REAL money.
Re: Niagara Falls NY you state: “But the falls viewing experience is better than on the Canadian side.” Really?
You’ve obviously never been to NF NY or NF ON.
@@RichPascoe You are completely wrong. I have been to both sides of Niagara Falls and prefer the experience from Goat Island (Niagara Falls, NY) than from the Canadian side. I will concede that the view of the Bridal Veil Falls is not as good, but it is much more up close. The Horseshoe Falls view is far superior than what you see on the Canadian side. The atmosphere on the American side is much more relaxing and calm than the "Las Vegas" feel of the Canadian side. Of the Canadians who visit Niagara Falls, 99 percent will claim the Canadian side is better without ever going over to the American side. YOU have not been to Niagara Falls until you have seen it from the American side. As for the city of Niagara Falls, New York -- it's a hell hole.
Millions of tourists, plus citizens on both sides of the border, will disagree with you. The view is better from the Canadian side.
Have I ever been to NF NY you ask? Yes, numerous times. I lived many years in the Niagara Region.
@@RichPascoe And millions of tourists and citizens will agree with me. There were many people on Goat Island the times I have visited.
Yes a other U.S. team.
Traverse City , Michigan
Put a team in Travis Citu, Michigan.😊
Traverse City , Michigan