Clouston sad to see Ice move

By Ryan McCracken on January 31, 2019.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

The Medicine Hat Tigers will heat up an old rivalry when the Swift Current Broncos make the jump to the Central Division next season due to the relocation of the Kootenay Ice.

The WHL announced Tuesday that the Ice will be moving to Winnipeg later this year, ending a 21-year legacy in the Western Hockey League. While the switch means less travel time and new reasons to get excited, Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston says he’s still sad to see the Ice leave Cranbrook after competing against them for more than two decades.

“It’s basically my entire time in the league,” said Clouston. “Man, they had some unbelievable teams back in the day when Ryan McGill was coaching, and my brother (Cory Clouston). They’ve had some good stretches. Championship calibre teams, competitive teams for lots of years.”

The biggest benefit to come out of the relocation announcement for Medicine Hat is the fact that their six annual trips to Cranbrook — a 10-plus hour round trip — will be replaced with a far shorter drive down Highway 1 to Swift Current’s Innovation Credit Union i-plex.

“I think that’s a positive,” said Clouston, adding he’s looking forward to a new rivalry. “I think Swift Current is a real good rival and we’ll end up with more games against them.”

Clouston added he considers himself to be “a bit of a traditionalist” when it comes to the WHL and as a result it upsets him to see small markets like Cranbrook struggling to stay afloat. While the Ice have had difficulties filling the 4,264 seats at Western Financial Place in recent years, that wasn’t always the case. The Ice have been home to three WHL championship rosters and a Memorial Cup title over the past 21 years, but a declining record and a four-season playoff drought stymied attendance.

“There were years where their attendance was way up and it was a great setting and the community was really involved,” said Clouston. “I like some of the smaller buildings … It’s unfortunate, in my mind, to see some of the smaller-market teams faced with this type of a challenge.”

The Winnipeg Sun reported that the Ice is expected to play in the 1,400-seat Wayne Fleming Arena at the University of Manitoba upon relocation, while a new building will be constructed in the coming years. It will be the first time a major-junior team has existed in Winnipeg since the Warriors left for Moose Jaw in 1984.

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