Some of my fondest memories growing up, no matter the occasion, were trips to St. John’s where I got to watch my favourite team hit the ice.
The only thing that changed over the years was what team I was watching.
Being born in 2002, I witnessed a rotating carousel of five teams playing in whatever league represented the highest level of hockey in the province at the time.
Since the St. John’s Fog Devils’ inaugural season in 2005, Newfoundland hasn’t had a team stick around town for more than six consecutive seasons.
Most recently, the Newfoundland Growlers’ sixth season was cut short on April 2, 2024, due to the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) terminating the team’s membership for failing to meet league bylaws.
That day, I truly believed I could never fully commit myself to Newfoundland hockey again. History tells us that it’s just not sustainable enough to be worth emotionally attaching yourself to it, especially from afar.
That changed in an instant on Dec. 20 when the owners of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) announced that their team had been sold to a group of investors in Newfoundland.
I was immediately back on board. It just goes to show how important hockey is to the province — no matter what — people can’t help but go back.
The majority of the province seems to feel the same, as over 1,400 deposits have been made to purchase season tickets as of Jan. 25.
At full capacity, the Mary Brown’s Centre in downtown St. John’s seats 7,000 fans.
My emotional bond to Newfoundland hockey hit its peak with the original St. John’s Ice Caps, back when they were affiliated with the Winnipeg Jets.
Watching the Ice Caps was such a special experience. After that season, which was their fourth in the American Hockey League (AHL), the team was relocated to Manitoba.
Luckily the Montreal Canadiens’ affiliate team, the Hamilton Bulldogs, relocated to the rock, keeping the Ice Caps alive.
That wouldn’t be the case for long, as the Canadiens repeated history by relocating the Ice Caps to Laval before the 2017-18 AHL season.
At this point, I thought the same as I did before the announcement of the Regiment, hockey on the island would never be able to mean the same to me again.
It didn’t take long.
The Growlers thought that it was a good idea to do a tour around the island for their preseason games to get fan’s attention back on hockey. They made stops in Stephenville, Deer Lake and my hometown, Clarenville.
Reluctantly, I attended the game, mainly because I love the atmosphere of a hockey rink. It had nothing to do with the team.
I left the arena that day with a jersey and a hat.
Newfoundland had never won a championship across any of the leagues that the province’s teams had been a part of, but the Growlers shocked the rock by winning the 2019 Kelly Cup in their inaugural season, led in scoring by Newfoundlander Zach O’Brien.
I was in the building that night and I can’t say that I’ve been in an arena that loud ever since.
The community came together from all over the island to support the Growlers until the day they left, yet the reception for the Regiment seems to be even stronger.
As an isolated island that often feels disconnected from the rest of the country, having a hockey team to cheer for and call our own is such an important part of our culture.
It connects us in a way that nothing else in the province can.
Whether you’re in the Mary Brown’s Centre, another province, or another country, Newfies will always be able to feel like their home when they sit down to watch the Regiment.
Hopefully, for a long, long time.
