Joey Payeur
The SIJHL could wind up looking remarkably different by the time the puck drops for the 2016-17 season.
The league originally planned to expand its current five-team stable by one by adding a franchise in Kenora next fall.
But a media report, combined with comments last week from SIJHL commissioner Bryan Graham, indicate that only might be the tip of the iceberg.
An article in the July 21 edition of the Thief River Falls Times/Northern Watch newspaper stated Thunder Bay native Kevin McCallum, the man behind the Kenora bid, also is looking to help bring an SIJHL team there.
“I’ve been in your city four-five times over the last couple of months, and I’m thinking of bringing junior hockey to the community,” McCallum was quoted as saying.
He added he would like to have a franchise in place to start play in the Ralph Engelstad Arena just over a year from now.
In order to do so, McCallum and any other potential investors would have to pay a $25,000 bond by Nov. 1, which is a prerequisite in order to help ensure league stability.
Should a franchise operate for three years, the investors would get their bond money back.
Graham made it clear McCallum’s possible future dealings in no way affect his plans to put Kenora on the SIJHL map.
“Kevin is still committed to the Kenora franchise,” Graham said.
“He’s on a fact-finding mission to see if we can get some potential investors in Thief River Falls.
“But the Kenora plan is not in any jeopardy at all,” he stressed.
SIJHL bylaws allow for the ownership of multiple teams by one individual—a concept not unfamiliar to Graham.
“In the ECHL, we had multiple owners owning different teams,” he noted about his former employer.
“The only condition was that the two teams with the same owner could not have player transactions between each other,” he remarked.
“Should the same situation present itself in the SIJHL, it’s something we’ll have to discuss with our board of governors.
“We would have to take a look at it and make sure everything is in place so that nobody has an unfair advantage,” Graham said.
“I’ve seen this situation before and it worked well when managed properly.”
Graham even will be accompanying McCallum to Kenora next week to discuss a lease agreement with city officials regarding the Kenora Recreation Centre.
Then they’ll travel to Thief River Falls to meet with potential investors there.
On top of all that, Graham revealed more potential SIJHL suitors are waiting in the wings that also could jump on board as early as the 2016-17 season.
“Definitely, we’re in talks with other markets, as well,” Graham said, without citing specific communities.
“There’s a lot of interest out there.”
Graham recently met with one of those interested parties in Thunder Bay last week, though he was quick to clarify the possible candidate was not pursuing a second team for the Thunder Bay area.
“What I saw at the Dudley Hewitt Cup in Fort Frances this past spring opened my eyes to what the league is all about,” Graham said about the week-long tournament here that ended up breaking the all-time attendance record for the event.
“It showed what would be possible for us in the future.”
