RICKY POLLITT

DELMARVANOW STAFF WRITER

The process to bring ice hockey to Delmarva has started, Wicomico County officials announced Friday.

Wicomico County Executive Bob Culver announced the move along with Jim Calpin of Paramount Sports Service. Calpin’s company represents investor groups buying minor league sports teams and junior A hockey franchises.

Culver said the county is looking into having a semipro team come to Wicomico County and play 25-30 nights at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. Officials are studying two areas to put a team in — the Southern Professional Hockey League and the ECHL, a minor league serving as the "AA" affiliate to teams in the National Hockey League.

The SPHL features many teams along the East Coast, including the Fayetteville FireAntz and the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs, while the ECHL, a more national-based league, is home to the Norfolk Admirals, Wheeling Nailers and Reading Royals.

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Calpin said he hopes the first puck can drop by October 2018.

“Based on the demographics, it’s a good place to set up a team,” Calpin said. “We’re very excited about the process.”

Calpin and Culver are both optimistic a Wicomico hockey team could see success similar to that of the Delmarva Shorebirds, an Orioles Single-A affiliate founded in 1996.

“It’s like a natural fit, just like the Shorebirds have been,” Culver said. “You always hear there’s not enough to do in the wintertime, and this will give another venue of something people can do.”

The Worcester plan that fell through

Worcester County brought forward a plan to add a hockey arena to the area in 2016. The arena was projected to bring in $7.5 million in revenue while hosting 125 events per year and adding more than 100 jobs, according to Hat Trick Consultants. Crossroad Consulting Service, however, later deemed the county would not be able to support the arena.

"It would be a small fraction of the money that would have been used in Worcester County," Calpin said regarding the funds needed to bring a team to Delmarva.

The addition of new seats, smoother walls and an overall more modern look during the 2016 renovations to the Civic Center were all part of a plan to raise attendance at events, as well as making way for a possible hockey team.

RELATED : Study shows Worcester may not be able to support arena

Paired with the new alcohol sales permitted at the Civic Center, Culver believes all the new features will help make a hockey team the next big thing on Delmarva.

“Wicomico County has changed so much over the years. We’ve had people move in that have brought their love of hockey with them,” Culver said. “I hope 20 years from now I’m still able to come to the games.”

Becoming part of the community

Much like the Shorebirds, Salisbury University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the new ice hockey team would play a pivotal role with youths in Wicomico.

Calpin said youth programs will be developed for students, players will interact with kids on and off the ice rink, and family activities will be held during games to strengthen the relationship between the team and Wicomico residents.

“We can even start developing youth hockey leagues and make this a full community thing,” Culver said.

Though much focus would be on the semipro team, adding an ice rink to the Civic Center would also give SU’s club ice hockey team a home to play its games. Currently, the team travels one hour to Harrington, Delaware, to compete with other club teams.

Freshman Connor Lawrence, a member of the SU hockey team, thinks the chance for locals to see a hockey game live would create a following much like Salisbury students have seen from their lacrosse program.

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“We had our last game in Harrington and got fan buses for people to go to the game, and the show up was huge, so if we’re only 10 minutes away people would come, because there’s a huge hockey following on campus,” Lawrence said.

Want to name it?

Friday’s announcement gets the ball rolling on a long-awaited process, but many steps still need to be taken to secure a hockey team on Delmarva.

One step that Wicomico residents can have a hand in is the decision about a team name.

Calpin hopes a countywide poll can be created giving Delmarva a voice in what its hockey team will be called for the foreseeable future. This process was used in 1996 when then-owner Art Modell had the city of Baltimore decide to name its football team the Ravens.

“It’s Wicomico’s team, they should have a say in what it's named,” Calpin said.