With both the Saddle Lake Warriors and the St. Paul Canadiens Junior B teams suiting up for another season of ice time, so too have the professionals hit the ice in the National Hockey League (NHL). And this season promises to be just a bit better than any of the last 15 because one great team has returned to one mediocre city.
The Winnipeg Jets, with a great new logo depicting a fighter jet and the maple leaf, will face off in the former home of the Manitoba Moose and will have no problem filling the arena with thousands of loyal fans who have dreamed for this day since the team uprooted to Phoenix.
I lived through part of the long NHL-drought in Winnipeg for a few years. Before that, I saw one game where the Jets were taken to task by the then black and gold jersied Canucks from the nosebleed section of the now demolished Winnipeg arena. After the team became the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996, some of the city’s vibrancy went south. For prairie cities, having the NHL team is big.
Now the new team, acquired this spring from Atlanta, will play in the downtown arena, smaller than the typical NHL arena but unlike some teams will be filled to capacity with the many fans who suffered through years of NHL-less-ness. The return of the Jets is a success story of epic proportions for Winnipeg, its loyal fan base and the country.
The team owner and management did not have to return to the name the Jets, but doing so was a great choice that pleased many in Manitoba. Home to an Air Force base and aircraft industry, it’s not only a name that makes sense and satisfies the fans. The Jets’ name and the team’s new logo speaks to the importance of the Air Force in Canada. Canada would not exist if it were not for the brave pilots patrolling the skies and flying overseas missions with our allies. The new logo, with a depiction of a Jet proudly displayed, recognizes the vital role of the Air Force in protecting our freedom.
While prairie city hockey rivalries tend to be strong, there probably isn’t a Canadian out there who wouldn’t welcome the new team back into the fold.
