We’ve known it was coming, but the move is finally official. After the 2016-17 season the “B” in “BSens” won’t stand for Binghamton anymore, it will stand for Belleville.
It’s an eight year deal with the City of Belleville, which is renovating the Yardmen Arena to meet the needs of AHL level hockey. The team will fill the gap left by the OHL’s Belleville Bulls, after leaving in 2015. As part of the move, Eugene Melnyk is buying the AHL franchise from it’s current local Binghamton ownership. This has been a trend that has been growing lately, with a little over half of the league owning their AHL affiliates.