North American League (hockey)
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1995 |
| Ceased | 1996 |
| No. of teams | 5 |
| Country | United States (3 teams) Canada (1 team) Mexico (1 team) |
| Last champion(s) | none |
The North American League (also known as the North American Professional Hockey League) was a short-lived minor hockey league that apparently played only two (possibly four) games in the winter of 1995-96.
Formation[edit]
The league was the brainchild of Garrett Krause, president of Ice Age Entertainment and player/owner for two semi-pro hockey teams, the Los Angeles Bandits and the Las Vegas Aces. The Bandits and Aces played in the Pacific Southwest Hockey League, which also featured franchises in Fresno, California, Bakersfield, California and Fairbanks, Alaska. When the PSHL folded, Krause started the NAL with his two clubs plus three others: the Vancouver Venom, the Eugene Snowcats and the Mexico City Torerros, the first-ever Mexican team to play in a pro hockey league. The Las Vegas team was renamed the Ice Dice.
However, it seems that there were really only two teams formed for the start of the season, Eugene and Mexico City. Only two games can be verified as having been played, both in Eugene, and both won by the Snowcats, 9-6 and 8-4. The Mexico City team had no actual Mexicans on its roster; the team was entirely made up by North Americans and one Russian, Igor Majesky, who scored the first goal in Torreros history. The goalie was James Jensen and some of the forwards included Dusty McLellan and Peter Cox.
But by far the best-known player in the NAL was Mexico City defenseman Link Gaetz, a legendary tough guy who was selected 40th overall by the Minnesota North Stars in 1988. "The Missing Link" played 65 games for Minnesota and San Jose from 1988-92, piling up a whopping 412 penalty minutes. (Gaetz would play for over two decades, mostly in the low minors and in senior hockey, accumulating nearly 4,000 penalty minutes in 638 games.)[1]
Dissolution[edit]
Another two-game series was scheduled in Mexico City between the same two teams; one source says the Mexico games were never played, as the teams supposedly had problems with customs. Krause himself, however, insists that games were played in Mexico City in front of sold-out crowds; however, drug cartels (escorted by federales) absconded with the gate receipts.[2] Either way, the league folded shortly thereafter.
The NAL’s sudden rise and fall has led to accusations that the entire league was an investment scam. However, this does not seem likely because some games were actually played. Krause insisted the league was not a scam, “just a bit too early” and cited a lack of ice rinks that could fit the crowds the league was attracting. Another possibility was that Ice Age Entertainment was trying to obtain franchises in the newly formed West Coast Hockey League, and having pre-existing teams could give Krause more leverage (such as lower franchise fees).
In any event, the league goes down as probably the shortest-lived hockey league ever to actually make it to the ice.
External links[edit]
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