Hockey Sticks in the Red Stick: Hockey to return to Baton Rouge this winter
As I write this, it is currently 90 degrees outside in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a fairly mild day for early August. So it feels wrong to write this, but hockey will be returning to the capital city for the first time since 2003.
Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome’s office announced on July 18 that the Raising Canes River Center will host three hockey games this year. The games will not be played by a team based in Baton Rouge, but instead there will be two Federal Prospects Hockey League games and one exhibition game with the River Center hosting as a neutral ground.
Barry Soskin, an entrepreneur that already has multiple teams in the FPHL, is hoping to bring back hockey to Baton Rouge for the frist time since the Kingfish played in Baton Rouge for six years, from 1996 until 2003, when the franchise relocated to Victoria, Canada.
All games will be played by teams owned by Soskin, which includes the Mississippi Sea Wolves, Port Huron Prowlers and Carolina Thunderbirds.
The exhibition game will be between the Sea Wolves and the Thunderbirds on December 8 and the two FPHL games will be between the Sea Wolves and the Prowlers on December 15 and January 2.
The games will act as an litmus test for Soskin, who will make a decision to form the team after games, depending on response from residents and fans.
Soskin believes that hockey can find success in the Deep South, let alone because of the success the Tampa Bay Lightning have had in the last decade, but also due to the fact that he has found success in a similarly sized market in Biloxi.
The Sea Wolves were reorganized last year by Soskin after having success in the past 20 years, similarly to the Kingfish. The Sea Wolves went through a similar process to be created before a deal finally being sealed ahead of this upcoming season.
Soskin has stated previously that he believes that what suits his teams and the league best are by having players that are looking to move up the leagues in American hockey, with the end goal being the NHL. He hopes that Baton Rouge can be an important stop for the next stars of the NHL, but also emphasizes it’s up to the people of Baton Rouge to show out and show their desire for a hockey team.
If a team is eventually accepted into the FPHL, there will be a vote on a new name, so the Kingfish legacy may complete a full return.
Tickets go on sale for the games this Friday, August 5.
