Sudbury OHL team hires hockey historian to "celebrate moments"

The Sudbury Wolves hopes to dust off some old memories from days gone by.

The OHL franchise has hired its first ever hockey historian,Mike Commito.

As theteam's historian, he will conduct interviews with former players, former staff members, long-time fans and even long-time billet families. Old newspaper articlesand microfilm will also provide primary sources for further historical information and stories about the team.

Commitois not new to sports history, having written articles forSportsnet, VICESports, The Athletic, and The Hockey News. He's also written a book calledHOCKEY 365Daily Stories from the Ice,due to be published this fall.

The role of team historian for the Wolves is a part time position. Commitoworks full-time in research and development at Cambrian College, and is also a history professor at Laurentian University.

First ever historian for the Wolves

The Wolves vice president of marketing and development, Andrew Dale, calls the team historian a valuable storyteller, andaddsthe position is not only important for the team, but also for the community.

"To bring forth those memorable moments, those reallyimportant things that have built the character and foundation of the team over the past 46 seasons," he said

Dale says the teamreally wanted to have a historian in place as the Wolves prepare to celebrate their 50thanniversary in the OHL in 2022.

"As big as [anniversaries]are for the organization, when it involves a community hockey team that's made up of fans from all throughout the region, we think it's a bit more than just a company celebrating an existence in business," Dale said.

"It's really around celebrating moments in time."

Highlighting fan memories

Commitohas already started compiled historical details about the Sudbury Wolves.

When the NHLholds its annual entry draft later in June, Commitosays the Wolves plan to roll out an online story about theirfirst ever NHL draft pick, Morris Titanic, who played in the team'sinauguralseason in 1972/73.

Fans of the Sudbury Wolves are also especially welcome to share their own personal stories and memories of the team.

"For me, the more people I can talk to the better it'll be.Because not only do I want to highlight those stories, we also want to highlight thefans, people who have been long-time season ticket holders."

Commitowants to commemorate the Wolves' 50 year milestone in the OHL with a book or some sort of compilation of rich history.

"Not a lot of hockey teams, or sports teams for that matter, have historians so it's great that the Wolves are looking into this opportunity, and exploring it as a way to connect with the fans," Commitosaid.

"[To] kind of bridge the gap between eras as we move forward into this brighter future with the product on the ice."