ROBISON, WHL WELCOME NHL TO SEATTLE
By: Andy Eide
MyNorthwest.com
KENT — As the Thunderbirds and Silvertips battled it out on the ice for Game 3 Tuesday night, the commissioner of the Western Hockey League paid a visit to the accesso ShoWare Center.
Ron Robison was on hand to take in the action and touch on some league-wide news of late.
Of course, outside of the playoff series between the region’s two WHL teams, the big hockey news in Seattle is the probable arrival of the NHL to Seattle. The WHL has long had a strong partnership with the NHL and Robison is excited for the impact it will have on Puget Sound hockey.
“I think as everyone knows, this is a great hockey market and we’ve had great success in Everett and in Seattle and throughout the Pacific Northwest for that matter,” he said. “I think it’s only going to help promote the game, especially if there’s a strong grass roots component to grow the game at young age levels and encourage young boys and girls to play the game. I think there’s no better way to do that than to bring the National Hockey League to this part of the country.”
Diehard fans of the two junior hockey teams here have had some fear that the arrival of the NHL would spell instant doom for both the Thunderbirds and Silvertips.
Robison does not share that concern and feels that the current franchises will prosper.
“I think it’s great for hockey in this region,” he said. “We’re well entrenched in this market. We’re positioned well with a team in the north in Everett and a team in the south in Kent. We look forward to welcoming the NHL to the market.”
Television and Seattle ownership group
Robison also commented on the WHL’s search for a new television partner in the future. This year, the league did not have a regular weekly broadcast as in the past with Shaw TV in Canada.
“We need to get more broadcasts,” he said. “We have a national broadcast partner in Sportsnet which has a tremendous agreement in Canada. We’d love to have a partner in the Pacific Northwest, we have some local broadcasts here but certainly Shaw, and replacing that would be priority for sure. In the meantime we’ve got webcasting of 100% of our games and that’s available to our parents and our fans. I think that’s critical service that we’re going to continue.”
The Thunderbirds had a change in ownership prior to the start of this season as Dan and Lindsey Leckelt purchased the franchise that had been owned by general manager Russ Farwell. So far, Robison likes what he’s seen from the new group.
“They’re very enthusiastic,” he said of the Leckelt brothers. “First of all, they have a hockey background. They played the game, they love it, and have been investing in it. They have franchises in other leagues but this is something they’ve always really strived for, was to obtain a Western Hockey League team. They have business interests here in Seattle area so they’re connected to this community and very committed long term.”
