Dear OHL, We’re Still Here For You

The crowd at a recent Blenheim Blades Junior C game – Photo by Heather Jones

We know things haven’t gone as planned this season in Flint, and we feel for you. We know we’re not perfect here in Chatham-Kent either.

Sure, we don’t have a suitable arena, and to be honest, we don’t really have a plan for one at the moment. And we know our political stubbornness to get that arena, and that plan, was a deciding factor for you. But we’re still here for you.

In fact, some might say we’ve given you the cold shoulder a few times. Really, we were just playing hard to get. We’re a tough community. A proud community, a safe community. We sometimes take a long time to do things, but we like the slower pace of life. Who wouldn’t when you’re surrounded by beautiful lakes, and miles of farmland.

We know you can’t be happy with the Flint Firebirds. After all, when an entire team of players walks out, NHL prospects flee, and you have to make multiple disciplinary visits, we can understand how you’d be upset. And like the good best friend we are, we’re going to tell you, it’s time to get out. Break ups aren’t easy, we know. And we’re not perfect, but we listen. We’re honest people. We’re hard working, and most of all, we love hockey.

Flint’s fall toward the bottom of the standings isn’t the players’ fault. And although their attendance lands near the bottom of the league, 3100 people per night isn’t bad. Our own Junior B Chatham Maroons average 800 people per game. Not bad. Just the other day in the Great Lakes Junior C playoffs, the Blenheim Blades brought in 975 fans, and the Dresden Kings had 685. Considering Blenheim and Dresden have populations of roughly 4,500 and 2,800 respectively, we’ll take that as solid attendance.

We’re sorry for how things turned out for you OHL, and we’re sorry for the Flint Firebirds. It’s never fun to watch a team we thought might become our own have struggles like the Firebirds have.

Just know, we’re still here for you old friend. Peacefully seated between London, Windsor, and Sarnia. Home of OHLers like Travis Konecny, Trent Fox, James McEwan, Joseph Raaymakers, Levi Tetrault, Brady Pataki, Brendan Harrogate, Brock Philips, Nolan Gardiner, and even a player, Brendan Johnston who backstopped Flint for a few games this season.

We’re not saying you should uproot Flint and drop them here to finish the season. We’re just saying, if you need to talk, if you need to go out for coffee, we’re still here for you. If you’d like a farm fresh meal from a community that literally feeds Canada and the world, there’s a spot at our table. Maybe after lunch we can tour the headquarters of Union Gas or Teksavvy. Maybe we can head over to see how ethanol is produced, or just head down to the rink to see a minor hockey game.

Maybe, you don’t want to talk at all, and we’re ok with that too. But OHL, we do want you to know, we’re still here for you.

Signed,

Chatham-Kent