HockeyJets not popular in Newfoundland - yet

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Even though Winnipeg has brought back pro hockey to the Rock by placing their AHL affiliate in St. John's, the team will still have to turn the locals into fanatics of the Jets. (Joe Gibbons/Canadian Press)

CONCEPTION BAY SOUTH, N.L. - Newfoundland hockey fans do not alter their NHL  allegiances easily.

Most of them are long-time supporters of the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs or Boston Bruins, or they cheer for the team of their favourite Newfoundlander, like Daniel Cleary of the Detroit Red Wings or Ted Purcell of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

So even though the Winnipeg Jets have brought back pro hockey to the Rock by placing their AHL affiliate in St. John's, the Jets have some work to do in this province to turn the locals into fanatics of the Jets.

"I think once we get to know the guys and few of them get called up to Winnipeg people will follow the Jets more closely," Conception Bay South mayor Woody French said. "When the Toronto Maple Leafs had their farm team here [1991-2005] there were plenty of Leafs fans.

"I know one thing, the entire area is excited to have [pro] hockey back. The ticket sales went very well. They're sold out. There won't be many empty seats in the Mile One Centre this year."

The St. John's IceCaps open their home schedule at 7,000-seat Mile One on Oct. 14 against the Hamilton Bulldogs. One neat story to follow with the IceCaps will be how well Corner Brook's 30-year-old product Jason King performs. The former Vancouver Canucks draft pick, who played a combined 59 games with the Canucks and Anaheim Ducks, signed on to play for the IceCaps after three seasons in Germany.

CBCsports.ca did a very, very scientific poll before the NHL alumni defeated a local team 8-7 in an exhibition game at the Robert French Memorial Stadium as part of the Kraft Hockeyville weekend on Saturday evening, to see if the locals will change their allegiances to the Jets this season because of the IceCaps. The Jets play the Ottawa Senators in a pre-season game at Mile One Centre on Monday (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 4 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. NT).

With the exception of his worship, most will follow the IceCaps, but will stick with the NHL team they have been rooting for.

Mayor's buddy

The mayor's buddy, Harold Porter, used to cheer for the Canadiens because Michael Ryder played there, switched to the Bruins when he signed on to play there. Now Porter is toying with cheering for Ryder's new team, the Dallas Stars, but remarked that "when we get more familiar with the players on the IceCaps, I might follow [the Jets], too."

"I'll stick with my Habbies," Fred Berkshire said. "I've stuck with them through the good times and the bad. I'm not about to change. I'll follow some individuals like Ryder, but it's Montreal for me."

Berkshire's friend, Randall Brown, may cheer for the Jets. But he cheers for a lot of teams.

"I use to be split with both Montreal and Toronto," he said. "Most people cheer for Montreal or Toronto around here. But for some reason when Ottawa joined the league, I started cheering for them. I like an underdog. But I also like the Chicago Blackhawks, too."

So maybe there is room in Brown's life for a little Jets. We'll see.

Jude O'Reilly and his 11-year-old son Evan plan to follow how the Jets will do this season because the presence of the IceCaps. But they still will root for their beloved Canadiens.
Evan use to cheer for the Canadiens because Ryder played for them. But one summer Ryder snubbed the youngster when he asked the NHLer from Bonavista for an autograph.

"He was so mad that he went home and threw all his Ryder stuff out," recalled Jude, who was wearing a Canadiens sweater. "I don't think he was happy when [Ryder] won the Stanley Cup [last spring]."

Evan, who was wearing a Sidney Crosby sweater, confirmed that he wasn't pleased.
Fourteen-year-old Curtis Andrews sure was happy last spring. He has cheered for the Bruins all his young life because that was the team his mom supported.

He and his friend Liam Knox, also 14, will follow the IceCaps, but they will keep their rooting interests with the teams they have cheered for throughout their young lives.

"My parents are from Calgary and cheer for the Flames," Knox said. "I was born in Calgary, but I have cheered for Montreal since I was in Grade 5 and I'm not changing."

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