Is hockey set for Shreveport revival?

Dekes, red lights, plastic crustaceans flying through the air and Zambonis. Those equal only one thing: Hockey in Shreveport-Bossier City.

Could it return?

The Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, a minor-league franchise born in 1997, ceased operations after a Presidents Cup championship in 2011. Ever since the moment, Tommy Scott, the organization’s final owner, closed the doors, he and former head coach Scott Muscutt, the original Mudbug, have tried to revive the game in this once-rabid market.

The chances for a return of the fast-paced sport are as good as they’ve been since the bittersweet championship celebration.

Scott, Muscutt and a group of investors have an established fan base and they’ve pinpointed a league: the NAHL, the only USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier II Junior league. One major obstacle remains.

A home.

There isn’t ice available in this town. The well-known financial commitment to play at the CenturyLink Center leaves Bossier City out of the mix.

However, if there was one benefactor from the departure of the area’s most-recent minor-league sport’s defector – the Shreveport-Bossier Mavericks of the ABA – it could be hockey.

The Mavericks were the main tenant at Hirsch Coliseum. The potential hockey investors would like to put some money (millions) into the Hirsch and bring the Mudbugs back to their original home.

“There is a lot of work to do (at the Hirsch), but Mudbugs hockey has always been about outworking everybody else,” Muscutt told The Times. “That’s why I think it’s a great fit for us.

“Everyone you talk to has a Hirsch story,” Muscutt said. “’I graduated from the Hirsch. We went to Elvis at the Hirsch. I saw ZZ Top at the Hirsch.’”

Talks with the folks who run the historic building are at a critical stage.

“The State Fair of Louisiana is currently discussing and negotiating with (Scott’s) Encompass Sports and we are very interested in working out a lease agreement,” Chris Giordano, president and general manager of the State Fair of Louisiana, told The Times.

The Mudbugs played their first three seasons in the Hirsch before the then-CenturyTel Center was built.

“I don’t think there is any better place to bring back a tradition than a place that already has it and is looking to restore it, just like we are,” Muscutt said. “We’re a perfect fit for each other.”

The North American Hockey League features student-athletes ages 16-20 with aspirations of playing college and/or professional hockey.

“This is not high school sports,” Muscutt said. “High school hockey isn’t anything like junior hockey. Junior hockey is THE breeding ground for the NHL. If you want to play in the NHL, you get drafted from juniors. This is an opportunity to see the very best up-and-coming players in the world.”

The NAHL will celebrate its 40th anniversary season this fall and features 22 teams in 10 states. Many of the Southern locations are familiar to Mudbugs fans: Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Lone Star (Fort Worth), Topeka and Wichita Falls.

“My friends and I would be extremely happy if hockey returned to Shreveport-Bossier City,” longtime Mudbugs fan Heidi Bennett said. “I’ve seen several games at the junior league level in Fort Worth, and the speed and quality of play was quite good. It would be fun watching developing players, especially those who could move up to the NHL.”

Former Mudbug superstar Dan Wildfong coaches Lone Star in North Richland Hills, Texas. The Brahmas, a former WPHL and CHL rival of the Mudbugs, recently completed their second NAHL season.

“It would be a hit,” Wildfong said of the league. “It’s very exciting. It’s fast; just as fast as the pros. They just make more mistakes.

“But you’re sending guys upward. Fans follow them through college as they earn $50,000-$200,000 scholarships and then they get drafted. The kids are ingrained in the community living with families.”

Wildfong’s goaltender Jake Kupsky (seventh round, San Jose) was one of seven players with NAHL ties — five who played in the 2014-15 season — drafted by NHL teams.

If the Mudbugs’ backers can get a lease, the plan would be to begin NAHL play in the 2016-17 season.

When the building can make ice again, the local youth and adult hockey programs could resume. That would simply set the table for another Mudbugs era.

“Our natural rivalries come from the fact we’ve always had the best fans in whatever league we’ve played in. We’re going to have the best fans,” Muscutt said. “Everybody wants to knock off the big dog. Our fans have been the big dog for 15 years. If this all works out, hopefully they’ll have the chance to be the big dog for 15 or 20 more.”

Twitter: @RoyLangIII