Reports broke this morning that True North is considering a move of their AHL team to Thunder Bay, Ontario from St. John’s, Newfoundland. St. John’s is a 4 hour and 31 minute flight from Winnipeg whereas Thunder Bay is a 1 hour and 15 minutes flight.
Leigh Dunick, editor of the Thunder Bay Chronicle took to twitter to address the speculation following a press conference in Thunder Bay today.
@bWov1 From True North: TNS&E and the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club are excited about the prospect of operating our AHL franchise in Thuder Bay.
— Leith Dunick (@LeithDunick) January 21, 2014
Thunder Bay Chronicle Article: Partner Found.
From the article a quote from Mark Chipman:
“True North Sports and Entertainment and the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club are excited about the prospect of operating our American Hockey League franchise in Thunder Bay. We are well aware of the community’s rich hockey tradition and are confident that Thunder Bay would be a great location to develop our future prospects.”
Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press added this:
Jets chairman Mark Chipman to address media in Anaheim on possibility of moving AHL franchise to Thunder Bay. Sounds like story has legs #bn
— gary lawless (@garylawless) January 21, 2014
We will have the audio if there is any available on site.