New hockey team will need patience

Remember the International Basketball League? It was supposed to thrive here. That’s what the commissioner told me over lunch at Cadillac Jack’s in Huber Heights back in 2005.

Overhead would be minimal, he said, and fans would flock to games due to the frenetic style of play and the presence of former local college stars.

The Dayton Jets, it turned out, lasted one season at Hara Arena. After playing for the league championship, they announced they were taking a year off, then never came back.

As I spoke this week with Chicago-area businessman Barry Soskin, co-owner of the new Federal Hockey League team planning to skate at Hara, all I could think about were those ill-fated Jets and the two Dayton hockey franchises that have folded since 2009.

Soskin thinks this can be a hockey town again because he owned the Toledo Storm when their ECHL rivalry with the Dayton Bombers was hot. Eerily, he said some of the same things about low overhead I heard from the IBL guy.

What’s more, the FHL is Class A hockey, a rung lower than what fans have been watching. It’s not clear how obvious the talent difference will be, but common sense says it should be reflected in ticket prices.

What the new franchise can’t afford is arrogance. The owners would be wrong to enter into this venture expecting support simply on the basis of this likely being Dayton’s last shot at a hockey team. Marketing savvy will be required, as will a good bit of patience.

Soskin said he’s close to bringing a local investor on board, which is no guarantee of success (see the Dayton Gems) but certainly couldn’t hurt.

Urban Meyer’s teams are known for their passing offenses, but they are hardly one-dimensional. The new Ohio State football coach’s six Florida squads, for example, rushed for 15,109 yards, leading the Southeastern Conference over that span. 1. Florida 2. Auburn 3. Arkansas 4. LSU 5. Alabama