By Steve Smede
All right, IF hockey fans, are you looking to feed your winter sports fix with some on-ice action at the Hero Arena in the Mountain America Center? The Idaho Falls Spud Kings have already hit the road for their first 20-plus games, and are now set for their first-ever home game in MAC’s Hero Arena on Dec. 2.
According to Spud Kings President Kevin Greene–also the GM of Idaho Falls Chukars baseball–the regional hockey fan base has been pining for its own team ever since the proposition for an event facility first cropped up nearly 20 years ago.
“Now it’s all coming together,” he said. “Whether it was going to be a sports center, event center or multipurpose, the key would be to have an anchor tenant. Well, hockey is huge here, so we knew we wanted to get involved.”
One of the biggest questions for Greene and his management group was whether to go for a pro hockey team or a junior league. One key factor would be operating expense, which would be much less for the latter. Operationally a Junior A team costs about 1/3rd of what a fully salaried pro team would cost to run on an annual basis.
Although “going pro” down the road is something that the Spud Kings management will consider, the perfect answer for now comes in the form of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). As of last season, there are 170 teams and roughly 4,400 players under the USPHL umbrella with players ranging in ages from 16 to 20. The highest levels serve as a staging ground for players aspiring to NCAA Division 1 hockey, or even professional careers in the National Hockey League.
The six-team Mountain Division includes three teams from Utah (Provo, Ogden, Salt Lake) and two from Colorado (Greeley and Pueblo). For the 2023-24 season, all six including Idaho Falls will move into the USPHL’s National Collegiate Development Conference (Tier 2 NCDC).
By the way, don’t let the “junior” in junior league hockey fool you. Junior A hockey is the highest level of amateur hockey on the continent, drawing highly talented athletes from all over the map who are gunning for collegiate and professional careers at the highest levels.
Just look at the Spud Kings roster for proof in the pudding. The list of recruits reads like a lineup from an international assembly of athletes at the Olympic Games. We have a goalie from England (Jay Ayling, #33), a winger from Finland (Henrik Snellman, #11), a center from Russia (Sergey Yakunin, #27) and a defenseman from Austria (Matteo Mitrovik, #26).
And as a testament to the strength of Idaho Falls’ existing youth programs, there are also a few home-grown team members to keep your eyes on. Center Kristian Neddo (#6), Forward Colton Peters (#22) and Defenseman Clayton Rohner (#21) all hail from Idaho Falls.
For staff, Marty Quarters brings his three decades of experience as Interim Head Coach for the team’s first season. His accomplishments include multiple NHL draft picks and working with teams across a multitude of leagues and levels. Assistant Coach Justin Biehl brings another 20 years of experience coaching and instruction in junior leagues.
According to Greene, all the pieces are in place, and reception thus far has been phenomenal in terms of ticket sales.
“I knew community interest would be high,” he said. “We have already capped season seats at 2,000 and already there’s a waiting list.” Additionally, sales of box seat vouchers had reached 3,000 as of mid- November.