Hockey Returning to Prescott Valley

Photo: 2 Adam Smyth was an enforcer on the ice which made him popular with the fans during the 2010-2013 seasons

The years without ice hockey in Prescott Valley are soon to be over. Thanks to the USHL, six new teams are being brought on to join the league bringing elite junior hockey to our area. 

These will be all new teams located in the west with two in Arizona and the remaining four in California.

Prescott Valley was awarded a team as was Phoenix. The others further west are San Diego, Orange County, Simi Valley, and one somewhere in Northern California. The owner for our new team is Justin Reynolds and the owner of Phoenix is Ben Robert.

Incoming owners are expected to meet in July to determine what is needed to get the puck moving for a 2027-28 season. There are still many things to work out such as venues, leases and branding of the teams. The announcement led to efforts of key people such as NHL Hall of Famers Luc Robataille, Joe Sakic, and Teemu Selanne, and are designed to create more opportunities for hockey players in the western part of the United States.

Photo: Scott Reid was the goalie during the 2011-12 season

Whether the name will be the Sundogs remains to be seen. The team played in the CHL (Central Hockey League) at the Prescott Valley Events Center (now Findlay Toyota) from 2006-2014 and compiled a 232-236 record, making the playoffs 4 times with a championship coming in the 2007-08 season. The Events Center has also been home to two defunct arena football teams, the Adrenaline and the Outlaws, and the Suns, an NBA G-league team.  Currently the Northern Arizona Wranglers call it home.

The USHL currently has 16 teams in 8 midwestern states and has been around since 1947. The Eastern Conference consists of Cedar Rapids, Chicago, Dubuque, Green Bay, Madison, Muskegon, US National, and Youngstown. The west has Des Moines, Fargo, Lincoln, Omaha, Sioux City, Sioux Falls, Tri-City, and Waterloo. 

Madison was the last team to join the league in 2014. Most recently, twenty-one players on the US Olympic gold medal hockey team played in the USHL. The league has been very instrumental in producing players that have gone onto to play in the NCAA and the NHL.