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Hockey, At Last

at the Quad City Storm free agent camp, at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline.
WVIK News
at the Quad City Storm free agent camp, at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline.

After missing a year because of the pandemic, hockey has finally returned to the Quad Cities. This week, the Quad City Storm is holding its first ever free agent camp.

Team President Brian Rothenberger says after tryouts Tuesday and Wednesday, training camp will officially begin on Saturday.

"It's a chance for some individuals who are kind of on the cusp of making teams to come out and try and earn a spot. We have players from all over the United States - Minnesota, the northeast, and as far west I believe as Colorado."

With less than two weeks to go before the Southern Professional Hockey League opens its new season, there are more "unknowns" than usual thanks to the pandemic.

"We have some travel restrictions at the border - it's very difficult for European players. So not only does it affect our rosters, it affects teams above us who often have those European players, more Canadian players, so they're then pulling from our pool of players."

Rothenberger says the Storm can have 23 players when the season begins, but within two weeks will be allowed to have only 20.

The 56-game season opens on Friday October 15th when the Storm will host Evansville.

A native of Detroit, Herb Trix began his radio career as a country-western disc jockey in Roswell, New Mexico (“KRSY, your superkicker in the Pecos Valley”), in 1978. After a stint at an oldies station in Topeka, Kansas (imagine getting paid to play “Louie Louie” and “Great Balls of Fire”), he wormed his way into news, first in Topeka, and then in Freeport Illinois.