NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — Major Junior League hockey could be coming to Niagara Falls within the next few years. Both the OHL and USHL confirmed to 7 News that the city is on both of their radars for expansion.
Two different league commissioners, Glenn Hefferan with the United States Hockey League (USHL) and Bryan Crawford with the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), are saying the same thing: Niagara Falls is on their shortlist for a potential expansion franchise.
WATCH: ‘Great opportunity’: OHL and USHL looking at Niagara Falls for a potential expansion franchise
“I think there is a great opportunity for us to build something pretty special,” Crawford said. “Great youth hockey programs, great and passionate hockey fans, most importantly. Second thing is that [it] is a really great fit within what is the footprint of the OHL. We have teams in Michigan, Pennsylvania [and St. Catherines]. 15 of our 20 teams are within three hours or less of Niagara Falls, New York.”
“The sport is in growth mode in the United States,” Hefferan said. “I certainly think that a tourist destination could be a really interesting place for us to operate… The town is, I think, just about the right size for us… I think it’s just far enough from Buffalo that it could really work.”
Players in both leagues are ages 16 to 20, with most of their next steps being a division one university or going pro to the NHL.
The OHL had 39 NHL draft picks this past June, including the first two picks, Matthew Schaefer and Michael Misa.
The USHL was just behind them with 29 NHL draft picks.
“We’ve been kind of given a mandate by the NHL to expand,” Hefferan said. “They want to see us create more opportunities. They are obviously looking to expand, and they need us to help create more players and give more opportunities for those young, developing players.”
“We have seen record interest in players wanting to come into our league from other places, because they understand this is the premier pathway for them to achieve their hockey and life goals,” Crawford said.
Both leagues have their eyes set on playing inside Mayor Robert Restaino’s $200-million Centennial Park stadium proposal.
It’s one of two proposals for the plot of land off John Daly Boulevard; the other is a data center.
Restaino: “It’s great to have that kind of attention and that kind of interest. It’s really about expanding the tourist season so that it’s not seasonal anymore, so that it has a full-year feel. And these types of tenants would help us expand that, and then we can keep these people working.”
Q: “Are you hopeful the stadium is what will be put on that land?”
Restaino: “I’m more than hopeful, I’m relatively confident.”
Both league commissioners tell me that if an expansion team were to happen, watching them hit the ice would likely still be a few years away.
