WHL NOTEBOOK: League likes the idea of a Winnipeg franchise

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This article was published 28/03/2012 (5252 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — The commissioner of the Western Hockey League advises against reading too much into the scant attendance at the MTS Centre for the Brandon Wheat Kings’ “home” games against the Calgary Hitmen this week.

Pushed out of Westman Place for the first round of the WHL playoffs by the annual Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, the Wheat Kings drew only 3,578 fans for their first game in Winnipeg on Sunday night, while last night’s contest drew a sparse crowd again of 3,563, albeit a crowd limited by a snowstorm.

The WHL has made no secret of its interest in the Winnipeg market, and while this week’s turnout has led some to believe major junior hockey may not work here, commissioner Ron Robison doesn’t believe this is a fair litmus test.

“(The Wheat Kings are) Brandon’s team,” Robison said. “The fan base is in Brandon and there’s only games from time to time in Winnipeg, so it really isn’t a true indication of a support. What you really need is a Western Hockey League franchise to be established there and over time determine if it’s going to be successful.

“But based on our experience, more recently in Edmonton but also in Calgary in Vancouver, the success (at hosting both National Hockey League and WHL teams) has been tremendous and we could certainly see it being viable in the Winnipeg market.”

The arrival of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets certainly seems to open the door for the WHL, leaving a void in the affordable family market that was previously filled by the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose.

On the other hand, many of the Jets’ season tickets were split up by groups, which could dig even more deeply into the overall market than the NHL team’s 13,000 season-ticket base would suggest.

Either way, Robison suggested that the WHL is not very likely to hop into bed with Winnipeg while the honeymoon with the Jets is still in full swing.

“I think we’ve all agreed that probably right now in the market there is no room for anything else other than the Jets,” he said. “But in the future, we would certainly like to explore the feasibility of a Western Hockey League franchise in Winnipeg.”

PAYING THE PRICE:The WHL’s disciplinary department was busy after the opening weekend of the playoffs, handing out seven suspensions and levying $1,000 in fines.

Among them were a one-game ban to Moose Jaw Warriors forward Cody Beach for making a derogatory comment to the Regina Pats’ bench, a two-gamer to Kamloops defenceman Austin Madaisky under supplemental discipline and suspensions of lengths to be determined to Kelowna Rockets forward Brett Bulmer for kneeing and Everett Silvertips forward Manraj Hayer for checking from behind.

The Silvertips were also fined $500 for breaking the WHL’s social media policy, while the Pats were penalized $500 for making a request for supplemental discipline that did not result in punishment for the Warriors.

GIANT LEAP: Vancouver forward Jordan Martinook is the WHL player of the week after picking up three goals and five assists to lead the Giants to wins over the Spokane Chiefs in the first two games of their series.