OHL Notenook: Relocation a reality

With the Ontario Hockey League trade deadline having passed, it would be logical to think that news around the league would quiet down for a little bit, but not so in the OHL.

At a press conference on Wednesday morning, the Plymouth Whalers announced the team will be relocating to Flint, Mich. beginning next season where they will play out of Perani Arena.

Peter Karmanos has sold the team to IMS USA Inc., a Florida-based company that recently purchased Perani Arena. The sale ends a 25-year tenure for Karmanos as the Whalers owner.

“The best thing is the OHL team stays in Michigan,” Karmanos said in a press conference Wednesday morning.

The move is pending league approval and the league is expected to be voted on in early February. The announcement ends much speculation with regards to where the team will end up playing next season.

Karmanos, who also owns the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, owned the Windsor Spitfires but sold the team in 1990 when he was granted an expansion franchise that eventually became the Whalers.

In November, Compuware Sports Arena, which is the current home of the Whalers, was sold by Karmanos and will be the new home of the US National Team Development Program.

Chatham, Ont. had been named as a possible new home for the Whalers.

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WALKER STEPS DOWN

In a surprising move out of Guelph, Scott Walker resigned as head coach of the Storm on Tuesday.

The former NHL’er, who was an assistant coach with Canada’s National Junior Team at the recently completed World Junior Hockey Championships, cited family reasons for his resignation.

Bill Stewart will step in as interim head coach while Todd Harvey will continue in his role as assistant coach.

“I want to spend time with my family as life has been incredibly hectic since I retired as an NHL player several years ago,” Walker said in a release. “The team is in good hands with Bill and Todd doing the coaching and I am very confident that under their direction we can have an exceptionally successful season.”

Walker took over as coach of the Storm in Dec. 2010 and compiled a record of 163-94-8-13 record as head coach.

Walker is one of four principle owners of the hockey club and his ownership role will not change.