The Lambton Shores Predators have a new name, and a new home.
Starting next season, the Predators will play in Komoka where they will be called the Kings.
The Predators were cleared to pursue the move by the Ontario Hockey Association last month. The Lambeth Lancers and Mount Brydges Bulldogs from the Provincial Junior Hockey League were also in talks at one point with Middlesex Centre regarding the move.
Middlesex Centre Council signed off on the move Wednesday June 21.
Owner Roop Chanderdat tells AM980 Komoka is a great place to play.
“It’s definitely a hotbed for hockey and you know what, we’ve got the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs, which is a AAA team that plays out of the Komoka rink there so that would seem like a natural fit,” he said.
The Komoka Kings join a crowded field in the hockey industry in the London region. Aside from the London Knights in the OHL, the region is home to the London Nationals, St. Thomas Stars and Strathroy Rockets.
The new Komoka team will play in the Middlesex Centre Community Wellness & Recreation Centre, which is also home to the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs. The facility, which opened six years ago, has two NHL-sized ice surfaces so it will be able to accommodate both teams.
Chanderdat has owned the team since 2006. The Predators played in the Shores Recreation Centre in Forest for the past nine years following their move from Petrolia in 2008.
Chanderdat says he decided to move the team after it became difficult to attract players to Forest.
“In that location it was tough to get hockey players to come there and to find hockey players who wanted to make that drive and come to Forest,” he said.
The nickname ‘Kings’ was inspired by a spring hockey team his son played on.
A coaching staff for the new team hasn’t been announced, Chanderdat says further developments will be made in 2-3 weeks.
Comments