Wenatchee U18 Team Joins NPHL
May 12, 2014 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release
Gig Harbor, Was. - The Northern Pacific Hockey League (NPHL) announced today that the league has approved a new expansion franchise to Shoot the Puck, Inc., owned by David and Lisa White, who also own the Wenatchee Wild in the North American Hockey League and the Fresno Monsters in the Western States Hockey League. The team will play their home games at the Town Toyota Center in the community rink in Wenatchee, WA starting this fall for the 2014-2015 season.
"We're excited to add another team to our footprint. We've had yet another successful season this year and we look forward to continued growth in our market of quality USA Hockey Junior Programs," said Derek Donald, Commissioner of the NPHL.
David White expressed excitement for a Wenatchee program that will be a full member in the Northern Pacific Hockey League. "With the addition of the NPHL team and the Wenatchee Wild, we hope to continue to help youth hockey grow in the Wenatchee Valley."
Wenatchee Wild Head Coach and General Manager, Bliss Littler states: "Although a team name has not been selected, we expect to have one soon with the help of our fans. We also expect to name a Head coach in the next few weeks. The Wenatchee Wild will operate this team out of the Wild office and will be overseen by Littler. This will be a very high end program of 17-18 year olds that play a full schedule against older kids very similar to the model that the National Team Development Program has with its Under 18 and Under 17 teams playing in the United States Hockey League. We know there is a need as a high number of kids from Washington have left the state to play in AAA midget programs across the country. It is our intent to try and keep those kids in the state by adding a program that will fit the needs of the top players in this age group. We hope to place some of our Wenatchee Wild affiliates on this team and the ability to call them up when they're ready or when we have injuries on the Wild. It is our goal to move theses players up to the Wild or other NAHL, USHL, or WHL teams in the future. "
Any questions a parent or potential player may have please direct them to Bliss Littler at the Wild office 509-888-PUCK
Games for the 2014-2015 NPHL season are scheduled to start September 19th. The league is coming into its 15th season as a Tier 3 Junior Program under USA Hockey and currently has franchises in Bellingham, WA, Bremerton, WA, Eugene, OR, Kennewick, WA, and Vancouver, WA.
With the addition of Tacoma and Wenatchee the NPHL sits at seven teams with an eight team announcement coming within the next week.
North American Hockey League Stories from May 12, 2014
- Wenatchee U18 Team Joins NPHL - Wenatchee Wild
- Danny Fetzer Commits to Minnesota State University - Corpus Christi IceRays
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