Hoping for a return of the Flint Generals name? OHL commissioner says it's not happening

By

• Aaron McMann | amcmann@mlive.com

FLINT, MI -- Another revival of the Flint Generals name for a hockey team is not in the cards when the Plymouth Whalers move to Perani Arena.

Ontario Hockey League Commissioner David Branch said the Generals nickname would not be approved by league officials for use with the pending franchise in Flint.

"That would not be possible," Branch said. "We've got a team, the Oshawa Generals, and we would never want two teams to have the same nickname."

Related: Poll -- What would you name Flint's hockey team?

Even so, a search of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory affairs website shows IMS Hockey Corp., formed Dec. 17 by IMS USA Inc. technical director Rolf Nilsen, registered the assumed names "Flint Generals" and "Flint Generals Hockey" on Jan. 9.

Both filings, made four days before it was announced IMS was purchasing the Whalers from Peter Karmanos, are pending with the state. Costa Papista, president of IMS USA and the one leading the charge in moving the Whalers to Flint, declined comment last week when asked about the filing.

Should the OHL Board of Governors approve the transfer of ownership of the Whalers, and they're expected to on Feb. 2, Papista has said a contest with input from the public will be held to name the team.

The Oshawa Generals, the primary roadblock for bringing the Generals name back to Flint, are considered one of the longest-tenured teams in the OHL. The organization began play in the 1930s and has spanned more than seven decades of Canadian junior hockey.

Duncan Stauth, vice president of business operations for the Oshawa Generals, declined comment Tuesday and said the team will wait to provide input at the Feb. 2 Board of Governors meeting in Toronto.

The Generals nickname has been synonymous with Flint hockey for decades, too, going back to the launch of the Flint Generals of International Hockey League fame in 1969.

The team later moved to Saginaw in 1985 and retained the name before the franchise returned to Flint in 1985. It folded in 2010 and Perani Group LLC was the last to claim ownership of the "Flint Generals" name, according to public records.

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Aaron McMann covers sports for The Flint Journal. Contact him: amcmann@mlive.com; on Twitter @AaronMcMann.