Timberwolves go back into hibernation

There have been a lot of rumblings over the last month as to the future of the Williams Lake Timberwolves after their first season back in the league. I can tell you today I've heard from league sources that the Williams Lake franchise has been suspended for the 2010-2011 BCHL season.

What that means for the long term future of that team in Williams Lake I can't say. However, given that this is a second suspension in less than a decade, I would say that things don't look good for them ever getting back in the league. That's just speculation on my part.

Details of the suspension have not yet been released. I don't yet know how their current players will be handled. When the team was last suspended after the 2006-07 season the league held a dispersal draft for the remaining talent on the roster. However, it is not set in stone that they'll go this way again.

My sympathies certainly go out to hockey fans in Williams Lake. There were a lot of passionate people putting their hard work into making a go of it with the Timberwolves. Unfortunately it didn't work out. Why it didn't work out is something we'll have to take a closer look at in the days and weeks to come. You would hope any new ownership group coming into the league would have strong enough footing to last longer than one season... so what happened?

I guess we'll found out soon enough. I expect official comment from the league soon. That's when we can start truly doing a "post mortem" on the latest version of the Wolves.

EDIT: It's official with a media release from the league, but very few details have come out as of yet.