Will junior hockey return to the Valley? Palmer, Wasilla among options in effort to expand in Alaska

PALMER — The North American Hockey League is exploring the potential for expansion in Alaska, and Palmer and Wasilla are among the options.

In late March, Alaska’s two NAHL franchises, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs and Kenai River Brown Bears, played a pair of neutral site games in Palmer and Anchorage. The games were used to test the markets and gauge the interest of both fans and potential owners as the Junior A Tier II league eyes potential expansion in the 49th state.

The results include a pair of sellouts, a combined attendance of nearly 3,000 fans, and growing excitement among officials from both franchises about the potential of a four-team Alaska division as soon as the 2019-2020 season.

“All and all, we couldn’t ask for anything more,” Fairbanks Ice Dogs general manager Rob Proffitt said of the attention the games received.

The MTA Events Center hosted the Ice Dogs and Brown Bears on March 23. Arena manager Steve MacSwain said he honestly didn’t know what to expect. But once the doors were open, MacSwain said, the fans kept coming. The official attendance, according to nahl.com, was 1,527.

“I’m pretty sure it’s the most people we’ve ever had in his building,” MacSwain said.

Kenai River head coach Josh Petrich spent a season in Palmer working as an assistant for the Alaska Avalanche, the Valley’s former NAHL team that was sold after the 2011-12 season and moved to Pennsylvania.

“It was pretty special to see that many people in that building,” Petrich said. “There wasn’t an empty seat in the house. It was a really fun environment to be a part of.”

The teams drew 1,237 total fans the following night at the O’Malley Ice Center in south Anchorage.

The NAHL in Alaska

Fairbanks, founded as a Tier III team in 1997, is Alaska’s oldest junior hockey franchise. The Ice Dogs found quick success at the Junior B level and joined the NAHL when it merged with the America West Hockey League in 2003. Two years later, the league expanded to Wasilla to add a second Alaska team.

The Wasilla Spirit, a program formerly of Springfield, Missouri, joined the NAHL for the 2005-06 season. The following season, the Spirit were purchased by local ownership group and rebranded the Alaska Avalanche. The Avs called the Menard Arena in Wasilla home until 2010, when the franchise was moved to the MTA Events Center in Palmer for financial reasons.

The Avs spent two seasons in Palmer before the team was sold and moved to Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

Prior to the 2007-08 season, with the Ice Dogs and the Avs in the league, the NAHL expanded to Soldotna, and added the Kenai River Brown Bears.

Both Proffitt and Petrich said expansion in the state is needed to keep the current teams in Alaska.

“It’s very important,” Proffitt said. “That’s why we’re putting so much time and energy into this.”

Proffitt said for the two Alaska tams to remain sustainable, “the only option is to get more teams in Alaska.”

With more teams in Alaska, travel costs could be reduced immensely, both said.

Petrich is in his first season as the head coach of the Brown Bears. Before Petrich made his move to the Peninsula prior to this season, the Brown Bears appeared to be on their way out of Soldotna.

The organization struggled on an off the ice, and the team’s days were numbered. Thanks to a late community effort, and thousands of dollars raised, the Brown Bears were able to stay for the 2017-18 season. Petrich said things are looking up for the franchise, and attendance is on the rise. The Bears drew nearly 1,600 fans during its game against Springfield March 17. Petrich said team officials have already signed paperwork that guarantees the Brown Bears will play at the Soldotna Sports Center against next year.

Now, the focus is on the future of both the Brown Bears and the Ice Dogs, Petrich said

“Us and Fairbanks would love to see two more teams, love to see an Alaska division,” Petrich said. “Travel would be a lot easier.”

Petrich said the Brown Bears have already had trips to the Lower 48 this season that have lasted up to 45 days.

“That’s tough on the boys,” Petrich said. “If we had two more teams, we could go up on a bus on a Thursday morning and go back on a Saturday night after the games. That would be great.”

The NAHL features 23 teams scattered across the country. There are currently franchises in Alaska, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas, Louisiana and Kansas.

Proffitt said Palmer, Wasilla, Anchorage and Eagle River are all currently seen as viable options for league expansion. He said plans are in place to once again play neutral site games in Southcentral Alaska next season. The target, Proffitt said, is to see at least one Alaska team added for the 2019-20 season. But the hope is two.

Proffitt also said there is, “very legitimate interest,” from potential future owners and/or groups.

“Lots of it,” Proffitt said. “But we’re not going to get caught with the cart in front of the horse.”

Proffitt said the league has to find the right owners willing to commit to a business with an operating budget of about $1 million. It starts with a $400,000 franchise fee.

Proffitt said potential owners must have the right business plan in place, but also an understanding that junior hockey goes beyond just business.

“There’s a philanthropy,” Proffitt said.

Proffitt, who has helped build one of the NAHL’s most successful franchises, said it’s as much about community and opportunity for young hockey players.

“I want to be very honest. It’s not a get rich quick span by any stretch,” Proffitt said.

Prior to the games in Palmer and Anchorage, NAHL commissioner Mark Frankenfeld promoted the contests in a video released by the league on Twitter.

"Both of these venues provide great opportunity and platform to grow the NAHL product in Alaska," Frankenfeld said.

The game of junior hockey

MacSwain, a former East Anchorage hockey star who went on to stand out for Division I Minnesota before a long professional career, has been a staple in the Alaska hockey community for decades. A longtime coach at just about every level, MacSwain said he wants junior hockey to return to Southcentral Alaska to provide another opportunity for the state’s best.

MacSwain said thanks to Alaskans who played in the NHL, such as Scott Gomez, the 49th state is no longer ignored.

“Alaska is on the hockey map,” MacSwain said. “Hockey people Outside know we have great hockey.”

Each year, dozens of Alaskan teenagers leave the state to advance in their hockey career. MacSwain said adding Alaska teams to the NAHL, which features skaters ages 16 to 20, would create more opportunity for local players to stay home while advancing in their careers.

“Why do we have to keep sending our kids Outside year after year?” MacSwain said.

MacSwain said he would like to see junior hockey strong enough in Alaska to keep the state’s best in the Last Frontier. He took it a step further, and said he’d love to see Alaska junior hockey feed Alaska’s Division I programs, UAA and UAF, with local talent.

Petrich said the officials from both franchises also wanted to use the games to showcase the quality of talent in the league. He used his season with the Avs as an example. The team included defenseman Casey Nelson, who is now playing with the Buffalo Sabers of the NHL. Another Avalanche standout during the team’s final year in the Valley was forward Evan Janssen, who won a Division I national title with Denver last season.

“The perception was this was just glorified high school hockey,” Petrich said. “The thing I’m most impressed with about our league, last year 300-plus kids got NCAA scholarships. (More than 100 were Division I) and had some money attached.”

The Fairbanks Ice Dogs includes former Wasilla High standout Tanner Schachle, who has already committed to play Division I hockey at UAA.

Petrich said he feels the level of play in the NAHL has risen dramatically since the Avs left in 2012.

Can junior hockey survive in the Valley?

Proffit said he believes a junior team can have success in the Valley.

“No question to me,” Proffitt said. “I don’t want to dwell on the past. That was an awesome effort back then. But the growth of youth hockey, just the community spirit seen and heard in the whole Valley area, quite frankly it becomes a no-brainer.”

Matt Ketchum is both a hockey coach and business owner in the Valley. Ketchum agrees with Proffitt.

“I believe that it can,” Ketchum said. “With the caveat, all of the youth organizations are supportive and engaged in it. Those are the ones that are really excited about hockey, and will put butts in the seats.”

From a business perspective, it’s a challenge, he said.

“I do believe it will work, but it’s a massive financial endeavor,” Ketchum said. “That’s a large burden, especially on our business community. But that’s growing and developing.”

Ketchum is also involved with the Valley Thunder competitive hockey program, recently created, which includes talent from youth organization across the Valley. Ketchum said the Thunder program is an example of how hockey supporters in the Valley can unify.

“Absolutely. It was a huge success last year. Not necessarily wins and losses, but our leaders from the different groups working together.”

MacSwain said among his biggest takeaways from the sellout in Palmer on March 23 are the number of fans he saw from both Palmer and Wasilla, and the support of the local hockey community. MacSwain said longtime hockey supporters such as Lisa Humphreys and Lisa Zulkanycz came together to lead the charge behind the scenes. Just one example of the support, he said.

“I was happy to see hockey fans from everywhere in the Valley, from Anchorage,” MacSwain said. “It was really, very special.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.