The fans of the Sarnia Sting and other fans of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), found out Wednesday morning that former NHL defenceman, Derian Hatcher, and current forward of the Ottawa Senators, David Legwand, have finally gained ownership of the Sarnia Sting franchise in a joint ownership.
It's official – Hatcher & Legwand assume ownership of the Sarnia Sting. Read more:… http://t.co/rNqhQ7Cby4
— Sarnia Sting (@StingHockey) March 4, 2015
It was first announced on February 22nd, 2015, by Rob Ciccarelli that he and Larry, the Ciccarelli brothers, had entered themselves in a purchase agreement with Hatcher and Legwand. It wasn’t until today that the OHL Board of Governors approved of the transfer of ownership.
Derian Hatcher had this to say – “David and I are excited to officially take over the ownership of the Sarnia Sting. We would like to thank Rob and Larry Ciccarelli for allowing us this opportunity and feel they should be commended for bringing OHL hockey to this market 20 years ago. We are very excited about the future of this organization and we’re looking forward to providing a first-class product for the people of Sarnia-Lambton. We are looking forward to working with the current staff that is in place to carry on the ultimate goal of bringing a championship to this city.”
Besides ownership, the other connection between both Hatcher and Legwand is that they’re both from the state of Michigan. Derian being from Sterling Heights and David from Detroit. Though both Hatcher and Legwand never played together in the OHL or NHL. Hatcher retired after the 2007-08 season while Legwand was in his 9th season with the team that first drafted him, the Nashville Predators.
The 2014-15 season marks the 20th anniversary when the former owners, the Ciccarelli brothers, purchased the Newmarket Royals and moved them to Sarnia to become the Sarnia Sting.
In it’s 20 year history, the lone title for the Sting was awarded in 2003-04, the Bumbacco Trophy, which is awarded to the team who win’s the West Division in the regular season of the OHL. The closest the Sting have gotten to it’s first J. Ross Robertson Cup, also known as the OHL championship, was in 1996-97 when the Sting were eliminated four games to three at the hands of the Kitchener Rangers.
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