By
Brandon Gwidt
While the National Hockey League is not
located in the backyards of Green Bay, the NHL lockout may have major effects
on local hockey teams, like the Green Bay Gamblers and the St. Norbert men’s Division
III college hockey team.
The NHL has locked its players out for the
third time in 18 years, and it is not known if the league will miss their
second full season since 2004-2005. Commissioner Gary Bettman has proven that
he will stand strong, and he is not afraid to miss regular season games until
they get a plausible deal done.
The Green Bay Gamblers, who are a member
of the United States Hockey League, have enjoyed major success both on and off
the ice recently by winning three Anderson Cup championships and two Clark Cup
championships in the last four seasons. They have also seen attendance rise,
which may be a direct correlation with their winning ways and deep postseason
runs.
The USHL is different from the NHL because
the fans are not as devoted to their teams. Fans may go to games not just to
watch hockey but rather just have a good time with family and friends.
“We have a base of our regular hockey
fans, but after that, people are coming for promotions and entertainment,” said
Jason Habeck, media relations coordinator for the Green Bay Gamblers.
For students at UW-Green Bay who
like to take in a little hockey during the winter, the NHL lockout may
influence whether or not they go watch a local hockey game this season. Greg
Lynch, senior majoring in marketing at UWGB, said that he thinks the NHL
lockout could have a negative impact in the Green Bay area because people are
not able to watch NHL hockey on TV to get them excited about the game of
hockey.
The St. Norbert men’s college hockey
team is in a different situation than the Green Bay Gamblers because its fan base
is very student driven while also involving community members who have attended
games for years. “St.
Norbert hockey probably has a larger impact on local hockey than the NHL does,”
said Dan Lukes, sports information director at St. Norbert’s. “The closest NHL
team is in Chicago, so it’s hard to develop a hard-core fan base for any team
located that far away.”
The NHL lockout is a market-driven
issue, but in Green Bay, with no NHL teams close to the area, it is hard to say
that the NHL plays a role in hockey here. Habeck says a team like the Chicago
Steel of the USHL may be affected more by the lockout because people in the
Chicago community are not attending Blackhawks games and they may choose to
attend a USHL game instead.
“St. Norbert hockey and the Green Bay Gamblers
probably have a larger impact on local hockey than the NHL does,” said Habeck.
The NHL recently submitted a
collective bargaining agreement proposal to the NHL Players Association
offering a 50/50 split on all hockey related revenue. The status of the NHL is
unknown regarding whether a deal is struck for them to play sooner rather than
later, but what is known is that the NHL cannot afford another lockout because
it may erase all of the progress they have made since the last lockout.
The NHL plays a role in the growth
and development of all levels of hockey, so whether or not it may affect
attendance for St. Norbert’s Men’s college hockey team or the Green Bay
Gamblers is debatable, but hockey needs the NHL to help gain popularity
throughout the country.
