Sports

Allan Cup Senior Hockey hoping to expand to Orangeville

June 13, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

Orangeville has a rich hockey history with champion teams in the past.

The Allan Cup Hockey League is eyeing Orangeville as a place to locate a new franchise for its Senior Hockey League.

The League has been awarded the Cup since 1909.

Senior hockey is played by athletes who have completed their Junior careers as well as those who have played at higher levels of the sport and still want to play competitive hockey.

The League currently has four teams – Wentworth, Stoney Creek, Richmond Hill, and Dundas.

Senior hockey is a fast-paced game with a lot of skill on the ice.

“The Allan Cup has a long, long history,” said Cary Kaplan, president of Cosmos Sports & Entertainment, who is assisting the Allan Cup Hockey League with expanding to six or eight teams. “It is a senior league. If you’re not playing in the NHL or the American Hockey League, it’s an option. It’s the same age group as the NHL. It’s really good hockey. There’s a tremendous amount of hockey players, especially in Canada, that are post-junior and decided not to go to Europe, and they are looking for this level of hockey to play.”

Orangeville, Kaplan said, is a natural for a senior hockey league based on several factors.

“Geographically, Orangeville is a perfect fit,” he said. “Orangeville has had a lot of hockey success. Our company, Cosmo Sports, got involved with this about a month ago. Orangeville was an easy place to identify as having passionate hockey fans.”

The League is a semi-pro league affiliated with Hockey Canada, and they are looking for a local entrepreneur who is interested in owning a hockey league. 

“We have had a couple of inquiries from people in Orangeville,” Kaplan said.

If successful, the plan will move ahead quickly with the aim of having a team compete in the 2024-25 season. 

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