Cobras are gone

The Colborne Cobras are no more.

The Junior C team was sold to Dennis Lagrois by Randy Walling and moved to Port Hope on June 3. Sale of the team was condition of Ontario Hockey Association approval.

Director of Hockey Operations and General Manager, Paul Henry, says there were several reasons for moving the team west from Colborne. Mr. Lagrois owns the Ontario Truck Training school Academy which runs out of Oshawa and Peterborough. Having a team closer to his business is better for establishing sponsorships.

The departure of the Port Hope Predators to Trenton left a hole and a group of people with strong hockey ties and links to Port Hope. All of the Predators front-end staff will be on board with the new Panthers Junior C Club, as will most of the back-end staff. Twelve people applied to coach the team. Former Cobra coach, Jim Watson, got the nod. He is the only staffer who has any association with the Cobras.

The team will not be affiliated with any Junior A club. Mr. Henry does expect that some of the players on his team will be affiliated with some of the area junior teams and be called up for some games.

Mr. Henry was with the Predators for seven years. He knows what support he can expect. At the club's unveiling press conference last Thursday most of the Port Hope Council was there, along with senior municipal staff and representatives from minor hockey.

Next season there will be seven players on the team who live in Port Hope. And more will be coming as some of the 450 kids in the minor hockey program get older. The team will have an easier time than Colborne drawing players from Clarington and the Oshawa area.

The Director of Operations insists the move is not a knock on Colborne. It's a business move to a community with an excellent facility. In fact, he's trying to find a way to reward long-time Cobra fans by offering them a deal to encourage them to support the new team.

Mr. Henry says there is hope for another junior team in Colborne. He thinks in three-five years there may be a new Junior D league in the area. Kids in the Colborne and Brighton area could form the nucleus for a local team in that loop.