The Erin Outlaws will be the team to bring hockey back to the town in a few short weeks, when the puck drops in October on their Ontario Elite Hockey League season. The Orangeville Blitz left Erin after one season in the Western Ontario Super Hockey League this March.
Ann Shanahan, co-president of the new organization, says the new expansion team is ready for the return of hockey in the "strong hockey community" of Erin.
The process, she says, for the Outlaws to come to be, was rapid.
"We approached the town to make sure there was ice time, chatted with a few businesses, would they be supportive for sponsorships, reached out to the league," Shanahan explained.
"The league gave us 72 hours to put together a business plan, which we did, and submitted it to them, and then their executives voted on it and they voted us into the league," she added.
Shanahan added she hopes Saturday nights will be quite the time for fans at Outlaws games.
"It's going to be fantastic. We're really going to take it to the next level. We want to make it more than just hockey. We're going to involve service clubs for 50/50 raffles," Shanahan said.
"We're going to bring in the two minor hockey leagues, we're going to allow things more like vendors, we're going to have a full bar. It's going to be a real party every Saturday night," she added.
The ice should be in by early-to-mid September, with a target of Sep. 11. While tryouts are still to occur, Shanahan says the team has seen a lot of interest from potential players. In fact, she estimates 20-plus players have already been in contact looking to try out.
Shanahan hopes to see a fun environment throughout the league she says is solely for small towns, and encourages fans of teams like Minto and Shelbourne to travel to games in nearby communities.
The puck officially drops for the Outlaws on Oct. 14.