HOCKEY

HOCKEY

SteelHounds need a new owner

Fanfare:

Someone needs to get to the bottom of Herb Washington’s apathy for the Steelhounds.

He could have easily had the team in the IHL this year, yet chose not to. We need to find a new owner for the team. Someone who will step up and put his heart behind it. It is obvious to me that Herb never got minor league hockey. He needs to watch Slapshot or go to an ECHL game. I don’t think he is telling us the truth.

I think he wants the team to wither on the vine and die. I went to his press conference at the Chevy Centre. It was obvious to me that he doesn’t really care about hockey in the Valley. He has really let down all the fans, especially the season ticket holders. When and if the team starts up again, it will be like starting over. It will take time to rebuild. We have lost all the best players and one of the best coaches we could have ever hoped to have. Everyone on that team likes living here in the Valley, they like the people, the places, and the vibe. We all got screwed by Herb Washington.

If Herb’s plan had been to move to the ECHL he could have done it this year. At the press conference Herb stated that he had received the termination letter every year since joining the team. He stated that he had paid partial league fees in year one and none since. He knew he was going to get the termination letter again this year. If he wanted to be in the ECHL he could have used the letter as his way to get out of the CHL.

His story about the city and the mayor not helping him get out of the league is absolutely false. He had the out. He either chose not to use it or is that poor of a businessman not to see the opportunity. He does not want to restart the team. He wants to start a basketball team. This I know for a fact. He said it himself at the press conference.

We need to get the city to break the contract to allow someone else to come in and get a team going. I wish we could start a corporation and have the fans be the shareholders, like in Green Bay with the Packers. There is no reason other than Herb’s lack of support that we do not have a team playing this year. Don’t let him place the blame elsewhere.

Jeffrey Wormley,

Youngstown