Posted by MajorStorm on 11/23/2005, 6:34 pm A Major investment The school motto -- Teach me goodness, discipline and knowledge -- is painted in big letters on the front of the old St. Michael's College Arena. For the Ontario Hockey League playoffs each spring, the maxim should be lengthened to include, And teach me to squeeze close to the person sitting next to me and to hold my breath for the next three hours. On Thursday, before the Toronto St. Michael's Majors' 3-1 win over the Mississauga IceDogs in the fourth game of their best-of-seven OHL opening-round playoff series, signs were taped to the front doors of the historic rink hours before the game to inform the faithful that the game was a sellout. Those who had standing-room tickets were lined up. Some had been waiting for two hours before the 7:30 p.m. start time. When the doors opened an hour before the puck was dropped, it took only a few seconds for the standing-room spots to be taken. It figures to be just as tight if the Majors, who lead the series 3-1, can't finish off the IceDogs tomorrow afternoon in Mississauga and the sixth game returns to the tiny downtown Toronto arena, the snuggest in the Canadian Hockey League, with a seating capacity of 1,100 fans. But the Majors' billionaire owner, Eugene Melnyk, has a grand vision for his team. It involves a new home, a tight alliance with his Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League and the evolution of the Majors into the Rolls-Royce of junior hockey franchises. "I was one of those 16,000 people who used to go to Toronto Marlies games religiously every Sunday," Melnyk said on Thursday, referring to the former Toronto Marlboros junior team. "It was great hockey, and when I was 14 we couldn't afford to go and see the Leafs." Melnyk, a St. Michael's alumnus, bought the Majors' franchise in the summer of 2001. He followed their win in the fourth game over the Internet from his boat "in the middle of nowhere." St. Michael's College is a Roman Catholic boys school in downtown Toronto. Since their inception, the Majors have played before a hard-core following that mostly resides within a few kilometres of the arena. Despite three consecutive appearances in the OHL's Eastern Conference final and sellouts most nights this past season, the team still loses money, and its games are largely ignored by most Toronto sports fans. "There's no question I think we can bring it back," Melnyk said. "We've been thrown some roadblocks, but once I get an arena of 5,000 to 7,000, we can break through the noise and reach all those hundreds of kids who would love to spend a Sunday watching junior hockey. Once we have our own facility in Toronto, we'll promote it to fans who I know exist." When Majors fan Paul Wilson arrived at the arena at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, there wasn't a spot left in the tiny school parking lot. The neighbouring grocery store was kind enough to open up a portion of its lot to St. Mike's fans. "That's one of the reasons a new arena is needed," said Wilson, a St. Mike's alumnus who owns a sporting-goods store in Toronto. "Eugene is committed to building a new rink. He would probably love to rebuild here right on the same spot." Melnyk tried to buy Maple Leaf Gardens as a home for the Majors. Rebuffed in that effort, a new arena is a top priority for the eight-year-old franchise, a project largely in the hands of Cyril Leeder, the Senators' chief operating officer. Leeder is down to a short list of locations inside Toronto and still hopes to announce something this month that would be ready for the fall of 2006. "We've been working with a couple of groups, but we're not yet at the point where we can say we like this site more than this site," Leeder said. "Our preference is to get moving on this. The league and the commissioner [David Branch] have been pretty patient with us and we'd like to move sooner than later. I think we've overstayed our welcome in the existing building. I don't think we can be a strong franchise with a long-term plan and stay at the current location." Leeder's involvement symbolizes the links Melnyk is creating between the Majors and the Senators. Melnyk is using the brain power behind the Senators to develop the Majors' grand plan. At the same time, he's turned the Majors into somewhat of a farm team for his NHL club when it comes to hockey staff and administration. "As far as a hockey organization and administration go, I've sent the message very clearly at St. Michael's that if you work at the Majors, you've got a shot to be in the NHL," Melnyk said. "That goes for office staff, to trainers, to coaches and assistants. "The first example of that was [last year's St. Michael's coach] Dave Cameron. He's now a coach with the [American Hockey League] Binghamton Senators. Where do you think his next job might be? We hope that some day he's with the Senators, but someone else may pick him off. If you go through the Majors, it's the same farm system both hockey administration and hockey operations. "I'll be able to attract the best talent to the Majors if people know this could be your future." Melnyk believes the close ties are advantageous to both teams. His European scouts for the Senators are also on the lookout for potential OHL talent. And he believes the Majors give his Ottawa scouts a front-row seat to all that goes on in the OHL. "We have unlimited resources to scout players and we've started the process of integrating those into the Majors organization," Melnyk said. "The Majors now have the advantage of overseas scouting, looking at players with NHL talent. That has started. Then players can come to St. Michael's and take advantage of all the hockey operation resources we have. The hockey know-how, the physical training programs, right from the time they are 16." Melnyk's passion for his junior team hasn't diminished since purchasing the Senators. He still telephones regularly for scores and watches games via satellite in his home in the Bahamas. "It's something I would never give up," he said. "I've had offers to sell them over the past couple of years, and I've said that as long as I'm on this Earth, this franchise is not for sale at any price."
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UPDATE: Woodbine Racetrack is building a arena as part of its Woodbine Live! (www.woodbinelive.ca) project. Eugene happens to be a racehorse owner and has connections to the Woodbine operators because of this. Its the most realistic site so far rumoured that would be of OHL quaility. This arena falls into the Downsview area as mentioned in the article.
Billionaire Eugene Melnyk purchased the OHL's St. Michael's franchise in 2001, and although it loses money, he has grand visions of linking it with his NHL team, the Ottawa Senators
By DAVID NAYLOR AND TIM WHARNSBY
Saturday, April 2, 2005 Page S5
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