The United States Hockey League announced that the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets have ceased operations for the 2008-09 season.
The league's Board of Governors approved shutdown for the Columbus, Ohio, team and also voted to transfer the returning veteran players on Ohio's protected list to the expansion Fargo Force.
As a result, today's expansion draft has been canceled. It is expected that 10-12 players will be part of the transfer.
The Junior Blue Jackets spent two seasons in Columbus, compiling a record of 39-68-13. They finished fifth in the East Division each year. Before its two-year stint in Ohio, the franchise skated as the Thunder Bay Flyers from 1984-2000.
"Many people ... worked tirelessly to find a location where this franchise could be a success," USHL president Gino Gasparini said in a release. "But with the timing and the lack of an adequate facility in potential new centers, it was decided that it was in everyone's best interests that franchise cease operations."
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With the Fargo expansion team and the departure of Ohio, the USHL will remain a 12-team league for the 2008-09 season.
