New Belleville Senators met with enthusiasm

By Cody Starr

BELLEVILLE – Residents of Belleville are still buzzing over the announcement of the Belleville Senators coming to the Yardmen Arena.

The farm team of the National Hockey League’s Ottawa Senators will move into the arena for the 2017-18 season, filling the gap left when the Belleville Bulls were sold and moved to Hamilton, Ont. The announcement was made Monday.

Many people whom QNet News spoke to were thrilled by the news and looking forward to the city’s new team.

“It’s going to be great. I’m excited,” said Belleville native Justin Gagnon, who was catching a bus home from work at the downtown bus station Monday afternoon. He said that as soon as he got home, he was going to put down the $100 deposit for season’s tickets.

Brenda May said she had just heard the news on the radio, and was surprised. May said she will attend Senators games and would try to convince her daughter to go as well, even though her daughter is not a hockey fan.

On the campus of Loyalist College, many students were happy to hear the news that high-level hockey is returning to Belleville.

“I think it’s great news for the city,” said Brock Tufts, a first-year radio broadcast student. “I think it’s going to help everything around the city. I think with the casino going up and now getting a pro hockey team in town (it) boosts business for everybody. It’s just great for the municipality in general.”

Ilias Stanois, a second-year Television and New Media Production student, said: “It’s pretty impressive, actually.

Shannon May said, “My cousin is a big Senators fan so he’s super excited and has already planned all these trips for us to go.”

Jacob Lyon isn’t exactly a Senators fan but said he is still excited about the news: “I’m a Montreal fan. But hockey in general is good, so I’ll probably go and support the team. I’ll still go and cheer them on even though they aren’t my farm team. It’ll be a good time to go with friends and watch some good hockey.”