With the 2006-07 season now ended for the Squamish Cougars, coaches, players and fans will be looking to whether the fledgling league will be there in the fall. According to World Hockey Association president and CEO Ricky Smith, they have nothing to worry about.
"They all said it couldn't be done and look we're still playing," said Smith, between periods of the final game between the Cougars and the New West Whalers, which ultimately saw Squamish knocked out of the playoffs.
Smith said her was impressed with the way the Cougars had been embraced by the fans and officials in Squamish and described the town as "a place that should have hometown hockey."
As for expansion, Smith expects to see 14 teams ready to go when the puck drops in September. At the second game between the Whalers and the Cougars, he announced that a team called "the Jets" would be established in Oliver, in the Okanagan. And he added he would like to see teams in Northern B.C. towns such as Kitimat and Houston, had held discussions about a franchise in St. Albert, Alberta, and had looked at other options in Washington State, Montana and Idaho.
Smith also hinted that the Sharks and Spurs may be moving from their respective communities, Armstrong and Osoyoos.
Apart from team numbers, league finances have attracted attention, with Smith saying he met several challenges in keeping the league operational during the 2006/07 season now ending.
"I bought a bus for $41,000 and two days later the motor blew costing me an additional $22,000." Smith answered during a discussion on finances.
"I spent over $90,000 for equipment for the league and half of it was unusable crap."
In response to allegations that some employees had not been paid he said, "All employees of the league have been paid to date." He said that some arena fees are not up to date but would be by the end of March.
During a filmed interview for Cougar Trails to run on YouTube, Smith had high praise for the people of Squamish and how they embraced their team.
"I can't say enough about Squamish, the efforts of the folks here, the Mayor, the staff of the Cougars, the coaches and the players. This is truly the Cinderella team of the WHA."
As for the rest of the WHA, Smith alluded to the fact that there will be some realignment in addition to expansion.
"Quite frankly, think about it, if you were one of the cities that didn't support your WHA team, it ain't gonna be there anymore," he said.
