America’s heartland is getting another minor league hockey team. Topeka, Kansas was previously announced to get an expansion Federal Prospects Hockey League franchise. On Monday the team name was announced as the Topeka Scarecrows, representative of the state’s farming culture and minor league hockey heritage.
The Scarecrows name came from a fan vote that included four other names such as Wizards, Tornados, Roadrunners and Capitals. Topeka is the capital of Kansas, hence the name and no relation to the Washington Capitals NHL team. Kansas is also the famous setting for “The Wizard of Oz” with scarecrows, tornados and wizards all being references to the states most famous story.
Topeka once had a minor league hockey team named the Scarecrows which means this current FPHL team will be the second incarnation. The original Scarecrows played in the CHL for three seasons from 1998-2000 and later the USHL for two seasons before moving to St. Louis. The team actually had a legal battle with the CHL in their third season after the league folded the team but the team got a court injunction to finish out their season.
The FPHL had hosted four neutral site games in Topeka last season to judge interest in the expansion market. All games featured two current FPHL teams, with one of the two donning the name of a former Topeka minor league hockey team. Topeka Roadrunners and Topeka Scarecrows were the temporary monikers used by the Danville Dashers, Baton Rouge Zydeco and Port Huron Prowlers for the four games.
The team also announced its first head coach in Robbie Nichols, who would be one of only two head coaches in the league who was drafted by an NHL team. Nichols was a 1984 Philadelphia Flyers draft pick who later signed with the Detroit Red Wings and had an extensive minor league career. Coaching stops for him include in the IHL, UHL and ECHL.
The Topeka Scarecrows will begin play during the FPHL’s 2025-2026 season. Topeka has no other professional sports teams but has a collegiate level summer league baseball team, the Topeka Warhawks. The state of Kansas has one other hockey team, the Wichita Thunder, who play in the ECHL as an affiliate of the San Jose Sharks. They were previously apart of the Central Hockey League and have been based in Wichita since 1992. The home arena for the Scarecrows will be Stormont Vail Events Center.