To this point in time, it's possible to argue that Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia hold a vast majority of the Canadian hockey spotlight.
Newfoundland? Before 2025, merely an afterthought.
Sure, the province's hockey alumni includes Montreal Canadiens centre Alex Newhook, who also won a Stanley Cup in 2022 with the Colorado Avalanche. Let's also throw New Jersey Devils forward Dawson Mercer into this conversation as well.
But in comparison to the other three provinces I mentioned, Newfoundland's hockey scene previously couldn't compare to the culture amassed in provinces like Ontario.
Now, Newfoundland might be able to wag a finger at such provinces.
In December 2024, a group led by executive Glenn Stanford bought what used to be the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, announcing a relocation of the team to St John's - Newfoundland's capital - in the process. A month later, the team would be inheriting the name Newfoundland Regiment, which paid tribute to the Canadian Army's Royal Newfoundland Regiment.
The Regiment would end up playing their first game at the start of the 2025-26 QMJHL season, defeating the Moncton Wildcats 7-5 at the Mary Brown's Centre in St John's.
From there, the Regiment would put together a strong start to the season; as of this writing, the Newfoundland Regiment sit in third in the QMJHL's Eastern Conference with 50 points in the standings. They've scored the third-most goals in the conference to this point, while also winning eight of their last ten games.
People may say that it's just the Regiment's first season in the QMJHL and that hockey clubs in Newfoundland haven't exactly had the most storied of histories. Several AHL and ECHL stints all ended in failure, while the island's first attempt at a QMJHL team was relocated to Montreal.
But the Regiment's first season in the league does also provide some optimism. Performance aside, the numbers suggest that the Regiment are averaging almost 5,000 fans per home game, which puts them in third in the league in that regard. Even with that number in mind, the team's pursuit of a top seed in the Eastern Conference and a deep playoff run should only send more Newfoundlanders to the 7,000 seat Mary Brown's Centre.
Considering Newfoundland's roller-coaster history with regard to hockey, it will be interesting to see how the Newfoundland Regiment finish their successful 2025-26 campaign. For now, this season should be seen as the team's foundation for a strong future in Newfoundland.