Dreger Report: The Winnipeg Ice have been sold and will move to Washington State

Not totally unexpected but Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting that the Winnipeg Ice have been sold. He further indicated that they were sold to David White and will move to Wenatchee, Washington.

After four seasons no more WHL hockey in Winnipeg. This is the second time a WHL franchise has failed in the city. The Winnipeg Warriors also lasted four seasons from 1980-1984.

When the Ice were purchased from the ownership group in BC one of the conditions was a new rink but that never got off the ground in Winnipeg and the team played out of the University of Manitoba (which was originally 1400 capacity but which the Ice increased to approximately 1600). They did play two games at Canada Life during the WHL Final against Seattle which some folks thought may have meant closer ties between 50 Below (company which owned the Ice) and True North (owners of the Jets/Moose). They had the lowest WHL attendance this season at 1649.

Folks in Winnipeg were treated to a hell of a hockey team during the four seasons in this province. The Ice were the top team in the WHL this season. They finished second in the Eastern Conference twice and finished first twice as well.

From Peyton Krebs, to Carson Lambos to Matthew Savoie and Connor Geekie the team had a number of first round prospects and this year Zach Benson is projected to be a top 10 pick at the upcoming draft in Nashville.