OHL Notebook: New owner in Sudbury

Barring something dramatic, the Sudbury Wolves franchise will have a new owner in place ahead of the 2016-17 Ontario Hockey League season.

In an announcement on Friday, the team will be sold to Sudbury-area businessman Dario Zulich.

The sale marks the end of a 30-year run as owners of the franchise for the Burgess and Edwards families. The length made the families the longest-serving owners in the league prior to the sale.

Zulich issued a statement on Friday saying “I am very pleased to have entered into an agreement with the Burgess and Edwards families on the purchase of the Sudbury Wolves, an organization that is such an important part of our community.”

The statement went on to say “out of respect for the approval process of an ownership transfer within the Ontario Hockey League, which includes a confidentiality clause, I will not comment further on this matter until the league’s Board of Governors takes action on this in mid-August.” 

While the sale has been agreed to, the transfer of ownership is pending league approval and will be voted on at the OHL’s Board of Governors meeting set for Aug. 117-18.

A release issued by the OHL said neither the league nor the Wolves would comment on the sale until after the Board of Governors meeting in August.

Reports have the sale worth in the neighbourhood of $11 million.

Zulich is part of a group that plans to build a new two-pad rink in Sudbury.

According to Sudbury.com, the group presented a business plan that would see the facility built as a P3 project worth roughly $70 million. The setup would mean the city would provide “the security and borrowing power behind the project rather than the capital investment.”

The group would operate the facility for 30 years before turning it over to the city.

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HOCKEY CANADA DEVELOPMENT CAMP CONTINUES

Hockey Canada’s summer development camp for players at the Under-17 level continued on Friday as scrimmages got underway in Calgary.

Soo Greyhounds prospect Barrett Hayton had a goal for Team White in a 4-2 loss to Team Red.

A total of 111 players, split up into six teams, were invited to the six-day event, which opened on Wednesday.

Practices continue on Saturday with a pair of scrimmages scheduled as well.

Canada’s three teams as the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Sault Ste. Marie will primarily be comprised of players participating in this camp. The tournament round robin opens on Oct. 30 at the Essar Centre and John Rhodes Community Centre.