It looks like the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador is going to get another shot at having a high-level hockey team.
The Telegram reported Monday that the province has changed a labour law that is key to a St. John's ownership group's bid to relocate the New Brunswick-based Acadie-Bathurst Titan to the only Canadian province without a major-junior team.
The Telegram says the provincial government published a report last month that now defines a QMJHL player as a "prescribed profession." This classifies QMJHL players as being similar to student-athletes under labour laws.
“In order for Newfoundland and Labrador to even be considered for major junior, that language had to change,” a source told the Telegram. “If it didn’t change, they weren’t coming here.”
The Telegram says the QMJHL board of governors could green-light the transaction as soon as this week.
The relative remote location of St. John's has made it challenging for hockey teams to stay afloat in Newfoundland. The city has had AHL, QMJHL and ECHL teams. The ECHL's Newfoundland Growlers, a Toronto Maple Leafs affiliate, were the most recent team to give it a go. They folded earlier this year.
The Bathurst-N.B.-based Titan play in one of the smallest markets in the CHL and have faced attendance challenges over the years.
The Titan, who moved to northern New Brunswick from Laval, Que., in 1998, won the Memorial Cup in 2018 after capturing the QMJHL title. The Titan also were QMJHL champs in 1999.
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