There has been talk of possibly relocating the Acadie-Bathurst Titan to St. John’s since the beginning of this season. Now, it looks like the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador will get another shot at being the home of a high-level hockey club. Insider Jeff Marek recently pointed to an imminent vote at the next Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Board of Governors meeting, which is said to be taking place this week, which seems to have corroborated the recent rumours.
At the QMJHL BOG meeting this week expect a vote to pass on the sale and relocation of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan to a group in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) December 8, 2024
This would be the first franchise relocation in the QMJHL since the Lewiston Maineiacs folded and returned as an expansion team in 2012, becoming the Sherbrooke Phoenix. If this move goes through, St. John’s could inherit a team on the upswing that could be a QMJHL championship contender sooner rather than later.
St. John’s Financial Considerations
St. John’s is a hockey town with a passionate fan base. However, Newfoundland has not had a professional or major junior hockey team since the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers terminated operations at the end of the 2023-24 regular season, declaring bankruptcy after only five years of operation. St. John’s remote location has made it a challenge for hockey teams to stay financially viable.
Before the Growlers, St. John’s has been home to several teams over the years. The Toronto Maple Leafs had their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate in the city, known as the St. John’s Maple Leafs from 1991-2005 before they were moved to Toronto and renamed the Marlies. The Manitoba Moose relocated to St. John’s between 2011 and 2015, becoming the Winnipeg Jets’ affiliate IceCaps before the Jets moved the franchise back to Manitoba. The Montreal Canadiens eventually took over the IceCaps name when they relocated their AHL affiliate, Hamilton Bulldogs, to St. John’s from 2015-17. Before the 2017-18 season, Montreal moved the club to Laval.
Am told the names of those buying Bathurst Titan & moving them to St. John’s is out there.
— David Salter (@DaveSalter_) December 10, 2024
John Patton, Jason Sharpe, & Shaun Keefe. Patton runs Browning Harvey Pepsi bottling plant which basically has a near soda monopoly on the island & has deep pockets. Don’t know the other 2
Fans in the St. John’s area may be excited now, but they will need to show it from their wallets as well. David Salter, a former communications director with the Canadiens, Jets and others, lives in the province and has done the math, noting that the relocated franchise will need to average 4000 fans per game as well as being the only franchise that needs to pay the travelling costs of the visiting teams. That means fans will have to pay more to see games than in other QMJHL venues.
This was a hard lesson learned when the town hosted the QMJHL’s St. John’s Fog Devils close to 20 years ago, and it did not turn out well. The club failed to find enough financial backing from fans to keep them going despite watching its players develop into NHLers like local boy Luke Adam (Buffalo Sabres) and Stanley Cup champion goaltender Jake Allen (New Jersey Devils).
History shows that a franchise cannot work without a good fanbase and strong community support. When the team struggles, fans must continue to attend games if they hope to keep the club on the island long-term. The QMJHL could be a success in the province’s capital city, if fans adopt the team and learn to accommodate the build and rebuilding cycles of junior hockey. When the AHL St. John’s IceCaps were tenants, fans paid anywhere from $16 to $26 per ticket, and the average attendance was 6297 per game. However, those clubs didn’t pay the travel costs of visiting teams.
Bathurst Left Behind
The community losing their club, Bathurst, New Brunswick, has a strong minor hockey association, a Maritime Junior A League (MHL) franchise nearby, and even a senior hockey league team led by former NHLer P.A. Parenteau (considered the biggest steal of the 2001 NHL Draft). While hockey is engrained in the community there, the loss of the franchise will sting for some time. It’s a small town with pride in who they are.
The Titans have called the city of Bathurst home since 1998 when the franchise relocated from Laval. Since then, the club has won the Gille Courteau Trophy as league champions twice–in 1999 and 2018. Led by future NHLers Jeffrey Viel and New York Islanders star defender Noah Dobson, the 2018 edition of the Titans won the franchise’s only Memorial Cup.
With a date for the BOG meeting confirmed by PNI Atlantic News for Dec. 12, the final decision on the franchise is near. For the fans in Bathurst, time might be running out for their beloved Titans. For the fans in Newfoundland, the excitement grows with a renewed hope that high-level hockey will return to St. John’s.
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