BELLEVILLE, Ont. — From the outside looking in, the Belleville Senators' inaugural seasons looks like a failure.



In the 30-team AHL, Belleville sits 28th, having won just 26 of its 68 games. With eight games left in the regular season, the playoff hopes have long since faded. A little over 200 kilometres East, in Kanata, the Ottawa Senators sit 30th in the NHL, and mired by financial and arena instability.



From the parking lot outside Belleville's Yardmen Arena, in a city of just over 50,000 people, it doesn't look like much has changed in the 1978-built rink that lost the OHL's Bulls in 2015. The brown-panelled facade remains, contrasted by its neighbouring community rink, the green-fronted Wally Rever Arena and the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre.



It is the second-smallest arena in the AHL to Utica's Adirondack Bank Center.



But a closer look reveals something different, a success story against the odds in a town that craves hockey —...