Caples: Sometimes change is good, right?

January 16, 2015January 16, 2015 MiHockey Staff

By @MichaelCaples –

In our latest edition of MiHockeyMag, we list off some of the events and news items to be excited for in 2015 (that hits rinks this weekend, by the way). You know, some of the usual suspects, like youth and high school state championships, the NHL/OHL/USHL drafts and the Wings’ run to the playoffs. But there’s also a few big unknowns from the latest developments, like the thing we slapped on the cover of the magazine.

When the puck drops on the 2015-16 season, there’s going to be familiar faces in new locations.

The Plymouth Whalers will be calling Flint home, with a new owner and a new name attached to the OHL franchise. While Perani Arena will now feature a higher level of hockey, Compuware Arena will still be offering up elite junior hockey.

Click on the image above to see MiHockey's report from the Plymouth Whalers' press conference earlier this week. (Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey) — Click on the image above to see MiHockey’s report from the Plymouth Whalers’ press conference earlier this week. (Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey)

USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program will be moving from the Ann Arbor Ice Cube to Compuware, which means some of the top U17 and U18 players across the country will be skating in Plymouth on a daily basis. With that comes USHL hockey in Metro Detroit, along with potential NCAA and international games. While nothing has been made official yet, a source close to the program has confirmed to MiHockey that the sale is still going according to plan, and that there will be plenty of renovations coming to Compuware, as well.

There are question marks that still remain, of course; where will Perani Arena’s current residents – the Michigan Warriors – end up, and will the Ann Arbor Ice Cube find a way to fill the hole left by the NTDP’s departure.

Needless to say, these are big moves in Michigan’s hockey scene. How will an OHL franchise fare in Flint? Will they benefit from the proximity to Michigan’s other OHL team in Saginaw? Will the NTDP improve upon their fanbase as they move into a new building?

The best news to come out of all this, at least in this editor’s humble opinion, is that major organizations will stay inside our state’s borders. The speculation and reports that the Whalers would be moving to Canada was easy to accept when you take a look at attendance numbers and consider how OHL hockey is received in our neighboring country. Instead of watching them pack up and move out of the Mitten State, however, we will watch a new ownership group renovate a historic arena in Flint and try to reinvigorate a once-vibrant professional hockey market (or so I’ve been told, since the Flint Generals moved out of the city three years before I was born.

Meanwhile, the NTDP’s new location will bring new awareness to the fact that some of the best young players in the country come through our state each year. With an arena that seats more than 3,500 for games, USA Hockey will have new options for international events, showcases, prospects game and more.

With all that said, it is sad to see the Whalers leave Plymouth. It’s too bad that the product didn’t stick the way that it could have in that market.

Yet with change comes new opportunity. Hopefully when all the puzzle pieces fall into place, it will be to the benefit of hockey in Michigan. After all, that’s the most important thing, right?