Thunder Bay hockey team finds new home in Toronto

TORONTO -

When they stepped onto the ice at Toronto's Scotiabank Pond last weekend, the Thunder Bay Kings minor hockey team had travelled more than 13 hundred kilometers to find a home.

"The reality is for our triple A teams we generally didn't have a league," Jeff Riccardi, coach of the Thunder Bay Kings under 18 minor hockey team, said.

That all changed last weekend. In a ceremony, three teams from Thunder Bay have now joined the Greater Toronto Hockey (GTHL) League. The teams are travelling to Toronto at least seven times this year and are playing all their games in the city.

"I'll be the first to acknowledge that when they first reached out to be I thought it was a crazy idea," Scott Oakman, Executive Director GTHL said.

He says that discussions started in 2019 when the Thunder Bay Kings organization contacted the GTHL. The teams joining are elite under 18, under 16 and under 15 'AAA' teams.

Previously, the problem for elite players living in Thunder Bay was finding teams to play against.

"Some weekends they would have been in Minneapolis, that's generally a five and a half to six and a half hour bus ride," Riccardi said. Other weekends he said the team would have to fly "from Washington to Dallas to Colorado into Michigan potentially Pittsburgh."

"They were regularly flying through Toronto to get to their games in the US," Oakman said.

So now teams from Thunder Bay will fly 1,391 kilometers every other weekend to Toronto. The teams charter a plane and stay in hotels for three days at a time. The schedule is tough, as they will play four games each weekend.

The competition in the GTHL is strong and it provides players with an opportunity to be seen by scouts.

"I'm very excited to play in one of the best leagues around the world," Under 18 player Carter Anton say.

The players even got a personal message from Ottawa Senators Goalie Matt Murray, who is from Thunder Bay, wishing them all luck in this new league.

"To have a regular league, with regular high competition, this is a special moment for Thunder Bay hockey," Riccardi said, adding that he is happy the team has a home, even if it takes a while to get there.