The NHL's Ottawa Senators and owner Eugene Melnyk wanted to bring the team's New York-based AHL affiliate closer to the franchise in Ontario. So ahead of the 2017 AHL season, they did exactly that — and the Belleville Senators found their home.

"We wanted a good community...I wanted to be in Canada, that's for sure. And at the end of the day, you gotta look the mayor in the eyes and trust them," Melnyk told YourTv Belleville of the move.

The city of Belleville, Ontario, poured $20 million in renovations into CAA Arena (including a sleek, four-panel jumbotron with a 360-degree screen) and it has quickly become an exciting 4,400-person arena in which to view a hockey game. Now past their rookie season in Belleville, the Senators even have a number of "party boxes" for six to eight fans that can be purchased at reasonable prices.

While the Senators missed the playoffs in their first season in Belleville, they've been playing competitive hockey ever since, behind young wingers Jack Rodewald, Rudolfs Balcers, Adam Tambellini, and star center from the Czech Republic, Filip Chlapik. Coach Troy Mann's Belleville team has seen their share of players get called up to the NHL and former NHLers come back down to the AHL and play high-level hockey.

Belleville Senators Background

Two and a half hours away from Ottawa, the Belleville Senators are the breeding ground for future NHL players of the Ottawa Senators. The Belleville Senators began their history as the New Haven Nighthawks in 1972 before becoming the New Haven Senators in 1992, when Ottawa was given an expansion team in the NHL. They moved to Prince Edward Island in 1993, Binghamton in 2002, and have called Belleville home since 2017.