No Cranbrook in 19-20 ? or Know Cranbrook soon ?

Although it was very close it now appears that  Cranbrook will not ice a team in the KIJHL next season.

The Kelowna Chiefs were all set and KIJHL approved  to play out of Cranbrook but because the WHL Kootenay Ice still have a lease on the rink with the City of Cranbrook they couldn’t come up with a deal that allows a new tenant. 

As usual it’s all about money, or was it one final shot at the City of Cranbrook by the Winnipeg Ice ? You can read about it in detail here. 

Kelowna became available because their owner Grant Sheridan contacted bacterial meningitis and has been hospitalized for months, it’s a very sad situation.

I find it odd that in a big city like Kelowna there isn’t someone who wants to take over the team. Anyway the aforementioned article says that it’s still possible that the team could move to another location...

But as we already know from a couple of years ago new teams have to be within the KIJHL “footprint”, just ask Quesnel and Williams Lake about the big foot monster.

Moving the team will get harder as the days pass because this is the time of year the schedule gets made and that’s a very challenging job fitting in 20 teams with 49 games each and “Black Days” meaning days they can’t get the ice. Plus everyone wants Friday night, the biggest beer and attendance night of the week.

Having Cranbrook in the league would be great for travel times, costs and rivalries but the payback would be the stark reality  that recruiting players to a big City with a College is easier than to smaller centres like Fernie. 

We also hear one of the teams in our division would have to play out of another division if Cranbrook got in.

If I was a governor in either the AJHL or the BCHL I would have a hard time agreeing to travel to Cranbrook, but Cranbrook will keep on lobbying for Jr A  or another WHL team. Meanwhile expect the Key City to join the KIJHL next season…but in my opinion if a Kelowna deal could be made in the next couple of weeks I believe the KI would bend a bit.