Apparently I was asleep at the wheel in November because I missed an important announcement in one competition. Normally I try to keep up with most leagues in North America for their top stories, but this one seems to have skipped my desk, despite the map being changed for one league. Saying that, it looks like there will be hockey at “The Ralph” next season, but this story has nothing to do with Grand Forks or the University of North Dakota. Instead, we have to look an hour east of Grand Forks at the other Ralph Englestad Arena, where one league will expand!According to one Announcement of November 12will expand the Federal Prospects Hockey League to Thief River Falls, Minnesota for the 2026-2027 season, playing out of the city’s Ralph Engelstad Arena. Better known as “The Mini Ralph,” the arena seats 2,800 people for hockey, is owned by the city of Thief River Falls and is currently home to the boys and girls teams of the Thief River Falls Prowlers high schools, and those teams will now have roommates!
The hardest part isn’t selling the game, as Minnesota loves hockey. The harder part is that Thief River Falls has about 8,800 permanent residents who live in town, so the math of filling the mini Ralph says 25-30% of the town needs to show up for home games. Again, it shouldn’t be a hard sell, but that’s a large percentage of the city’s population supporting a team 56 games per season.
Where I question this expansion the most is Thief River Falls’ proximity to any of the other FPHL cities. The arrow on the map on the right indicates where Thief River Falls is located by latitude, with the second “E” in “Sentinels” indicating the approximate location of the town. As you can see, there will be a lot of long bus rides for this Thief River Falls team next fall, with their biggest rivals being in Topeka, Kansas or Columbus, Indiana. Based on the travel costs, this could be an expensive endeavor for the owners of this Thief River Falls team. Do they have a bus with bunk beds on it?The reason I’m posting this today – almost two months after the announcement – is the FPHL announced there would be a two-game regular season series between the Indiana Sentinels and the Topeka Scarecrows will be played at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls on Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28! They’re calling this a “neutral site” game, but I suspect this gives ownership and the league an overview of how this league will be received by the residents of Thief River Falls. Will fans show up for these games?
I hope they do indeed show up, and that there will be management present at these games, as the Thief River Falls team hired its general manager on Thursday when they appointed Shawn Jones as the first general manager in franchise history! Jones comes to Thief River Falls with managerial experience at the ECHL and now-defunct WPHL levels, coaching experience in the USHL and playing experience at the NCAA level at the University of Alaksa-Fairbanks. We’ll see how he fares as a general manager at the developmental level in Minnesota.
Along with the Motor City Rockers playing out of Fraser, Michigan, who will resume their franchise membership after a season of darkness, the FPHL appears to be heading west in their growth. A second team in Michigan and a new team in Minnesota push the league to sixteen teams for 2026-2027, and I doubt this will be the last announcement in the coming years as the FPHL begins making new bets in cities with interested owners. After all, there is one neutral site game in Morris Township, New Jersey in March, so we’ll see what develops there now that the FPHL is well established in the Northeast.
Regardless of what happens in New Jersey, it looks like the FPHL has a home in Minnesota with their new Thief River Falls entry. Now it’s up to the fans, ownership and GM Shawn Jones to make this expansion franchise a model for other franchises to follow!
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
#Hockey #Ralph