Officials in Johnstown, PA are in a debate over which hockey league they would like to see play at the Cambria County War Memorial next season and beyond.

The North American Hockey League's Wenatchee Wild would like to move their NAHL franchise to Johnstown to make way for a new British Columbia Hockey League franchise that will operate under the same name back in Washington.

In a discussion with the Johnstown Tribune's Mike Mastovich, Wild President Bill Stewert was candid about his visit to western PA. "I know Johnstown has a rich tradition of professional hockey," he continued. "I like the market and think Junior A hockey would fit."

Stewert is competing with the three-year-old Federal Hockey League and proposed Northern Professional Hockey League for the arena lease.

The arena's own authority member John James is quoted in another Tribune article in regards to the two professional leagues. "The Federal League's biggest problem is stability and the Northern Pro league has not dropped a single puck."

Let's take a look at some hard facts.

The NAHL has played every scheduled game, in the scheduled city, since 2004 (according to records obtained from Pointsreak). During this time, not a single team has folded mid-season and the league has gone to great lengths to maintain the integrity of the schedule. During this same period of time, overall league attendance has risen almost 30%. Most importantly, six of the top seven teams in attendance are former professional markets; the seventh team is Wenatchee, which currently sites at #2 with over 3,000 fans a game.

The FHL on the other hand has only a single team, the flagship Danbury Whalers, that averages in excess of 1,000 fans a game. In just two seasons, the league has had two mid-season relocations and another team dissolve before the end of the season. Another team, the Delaware Federals, does not have a home arena after replacing the Vermont Wild on December 16th, losing 18-0 to the Cape Cod Bluefins.

Tuesday we talked about FHL and the situation in Elmira, NY. In a conversation on Wednesday with former Jackals' General Manager Robbie Nichols, Nichols denies any intention to join the FHL. "I brought the ECHL to Elmira and want to work with the league to make sure it stays. Yes, we did meet with the FHL, but nothing was concrete. As far as Jimi Simmons is concerned, he is going to do what he is going to do. I cannot control what he (Simmons) has to say or what (Don) Kirnan and (Sarge) Richards is saying."

The Northern Pro Hockey League's Chuck Harrison is considered to be the second coming of Jim Cashman among hockey insiders. His league has a nice website, but no real teams or history of games. That site has also prematurely listed Johnstown as one of the seven nameless teams in the league. This tells us that in reality, Harrison is simply dreaming. Even Cashman was able to come up with some kind of lease, team name, and logo before listing new teams on his many sites.

It is often said that Canada is running decades ahead of the United States when it comes to developing players. Like the United States is seeing now, the number of minor pro hockey teams has dwindled to only three American Hockey League franchises and whatever you want to call the Federal Hockey's mess in Akwesasne. To date, the FHL has drawn 142, 175 fans through 180 games this season. Last season, the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League alone drew 196, 844 for the season.

It is obvious that Canada has figured out the relevance of junior hockey. In North America, there are 76 junior teams that outdraw the FHL's Danbury Whalers, 29 of those are US based, and 9 from the NAHL.

The good folks in Johnstown need to take a serious look at the numbers. Pro hockey has been a part of Johnstown since the 40's, so the area is going to recognize good hockey when they see it. They would quickly reject the FHL circus and embrace the fast and exciting play of the NAHL. Don't take my word for it, look for yourself.

FEDERAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

http://youtu.be/jD-dDg_MsNc

WENATCHEE WILD

http://youtu.be/bnI_mpdjNDo

What do you think?