The emergence of hockey in London was significantly influenced by Canada and the USA. In these countries, the development of this sport began a long time ago and reached a high level at a rapid pace. Later, hockey began to gain popularity in other parts of the world. Even though London’s climate differs a lot from the American one, many people got interested in hockey. They also began to create facilities for comfortable training. Thus, more and more teams appeared in the city. Some of them achieved success and represented the country at the world level. One of them is the London Knights. What was its path to success? Learn more at ilondon.
The creation of the team
The idea behind creating the team was to popularise sport not only in London but throughout Great Britain. This goal was set by the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which contributed to the formation of the team in 1998. Moreover, the appearance of the London Knights was supposed to help increase the profitability of the London Arena. The name of the team is also interesting. One of the Ontario Hockey League teams has the same name. Some people even try to find commonalities, but it’s all in vain. These two teams are united only by the same name. Despite a rather active and promising start, the London Knights took the last step in the British Ice Hockey Superleague in their first season. However, the team managed to become the champion in the 1999-2000 season, beating the Newcastle Jesters in the final. In general, the London Knights played in the British Ice Hockey Superleague from 1998 to 2003.
Further sports activities
Overall, the London Knights performed quite well in many of their games. The club’s players are real professionals. It is also interesting that during the entire history of the team’s existence, its composition consisted mainly of Canadians, although sports activities were conducted in London. British players were in the minority, but it didn’t affect the results. In January 2001, the London Knights became the first British team to reach the final of the Continental Cup, where they narrowly missed out on winning the title at the first attempt. During the three seasons of the Bensons & Hedges Cup, the team managed to reach the semi-finals twice and compete for the championship in the final once. The London Knights have also competed in the Challenge Cup, reaching three semi-finals in five seasons.
Some of the team’s most famous coaches were Chris McSorley, Jim Fuyarchuk, Bob Leslie and Jim Britton. They had a rather positive impact on the sports and psychological training of the players. Chris McSorley’s brother, who at that time played for the Boston Bruins, almost signed a contract with the London Knights. It is interesting that despite the good professional training of the team, their attendance figures during many games were quite low. The players never gathered more than 3,000 spectators. At first glance, it might seem like a good result, but the London Knights’ games lost compared to other sporting events. In addition, London is a huge tourist city, so Anschutz Entertainment Group hoped to get a better result. The company also spent a lot of money on marketing. The sale of the London Arena was a devastating blow for the London Knights. In 2003, the players were left without a training place. They were hoping to move to the O2 Arena and it was supposed to happen in 2005. However, the hockey players got another punch when the British Ice Hockey Superleague was cancelled. Therefore, the team announced the termination of its activities.