Last Place... Alphabetically

I was looking for some information this week when I came across the logo to the left that stopped me in my tracks. If you know what "Zydeco" is, you're a far more cultured person than I because I had no idea what this was or why this logo was slapped across a picture of a hockey game. What did occur to me, though, is that if this was a hockey team name, it would be the last name in the team directory alphabetically thanks to its unique nomenclature. So who are the Baton Rouge Zydeco and how did they get their name? Let's dig into that story today.

We'll start with the word because knowing its origins will help to explain how it got attached to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, zydeco is a "[f]orm of dance music from southwestern Louisiana, US, with roots in French, African American, and Afro-Caribbean styles". It was made popular by Creoles, and the music often has the sounds of accordions, washboards, and fiddles traditionally. Its popularity grew thanks to artists such as "Clifton Chenier, Queen Ida, Buckwheat Zydeco, and Boozoo Chavis".

Explore Louisiana goes a little deeper by explaining that zydeco is "the crossroads of Creole, Cajun, gospel and the blues, yet has since evolved to include influences from several other genres" and it can be heard in venues "in just about every town in southwest Louisiana as well as the big cities of Baton Rouge, Shreveport and New Orleans."

Clearly, the music has a significant presence in Louisiana, so how did Baton Rouge get the music's name across the front of a hockey jersey?

At one time, the Baton Rouge Kingfish called the Louisiana city home as they played in the ECHL from 1996-2003 at the Riverside Centroplex. They would miss the playoffs in four of the seven seasons they played in Baton Rouge, but the team saw players like Alex Burrows, Johan Hedberg, and Shane Hnidy make their way to NHL jobs after starting in Baton Rouge. Their demise seemed to be predictable as attendance dropped in every season for all seven seasons, and the franchise was eventually suspended, sold, and relocated to Victoria, BC for the 2004-05 season. Despite having several rivals, professional hockey in Louisiana wasn't sustainable at the turn of the millennium.

With no hockey for two decades, the Riverside Centroplex underwent a few renovations before Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers purchased a ten-year naming rights deal for the complex in 2016. The newly-named Raising Cane's River Center featured an exhibition hall, a multipurpose ballroom, a performing arts theatre that houses the Opera Louisiane, the Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre, and the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, and an arena that seats 8900 fans for sporting events. All it needed was a permanent tenant.

That announcement came on April 11, 2023 following three exhibition games featuring Federal Prospects Hockey League teams that saw 20,580 people come through the doors. On March 1, it was reported that a group known as Baton Rouge Pro Hockey was exploring the possibility of bringing professional hockey back to Baton Rouge, and that's precisely what happened one month later on a Tuesday.

"The new team will bring new entertainment options, create jobs and stimulate economic growth. We can expect to see increased tourism as fans from all over the region come to watch games and explore all Baton Rouge has to offer," Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome said during the announcement. "The benefits of having a hockey team in Baton Rouge go beyond the economic impact. It will also help foster community pride and unity."

It seems Baton Rouge was confused by the name choice. Herman Fuselier, host of KRVS radio show Zydeco Stomp, told Jan Risher of The Advocate, "When people think of zydeco, they never think of Baton Rouge. Why not call it the Baton Rouge Blues? Baton Rouge has such a rich history of blues."

It didn't stop there. Scott Hodgin, owner of Baton Rouge-based creative studio Tilt, told Risher, "They should have called it the Red Sticks," while Tim Jensen, owner of Tim's Garage clothing boutique, told Risher, "It's a little disappointing to hear people bummed out about the new team name. These projects mean a lot. There's a lot riding on it. I was bummed they didn't call it the Red Sticks."

Despite the less-than-enthusiastic response from citizens to the team name, Zydeco owner Barry Soskin told Risher, "There's a whole story in the logo. I love the story it tells. Maybe of all the logos, I like that logo more than any of my teams. It's different and unique. I certainly hope Baton Rouge will be able to wrap their arms around the team. Someone said, 'Let's go, Zydeco!' It's our first catchphrase."

Stated in the WABF article, the new team would join the Federal Prospects Hockey League and start in the 2023-24 hockey season, so they had some work to do between April and September. On May 27, the team announced three finalists for its new team name - Zydeco, Red Sticks, and Rougarou - but the team opted for Zydeco with Soskin announcing the new name on July 13 to honour "the rich history and traditions that have shaped Louisiana's community" and to reflect "the unique culture and spirit of Baton Rouge".

It was announced that the team's first game would be played on October 26 against the Columbus River Dragons. That means they needed to build a team and hire staff. Things didn't get off to a great start when the team named Matt Hamilton as their first head coach only for him have visa issues, forcing the Zydeco to replace him.

Hamilton would be replaced by co-coaches Paul MacLean (not the NHL guy) and Matthew Fornari two weeks before the team's first game, and MacLean would be fired one month later when player-coach MJ Graham took over the coaching duties. Four months later, Graham was out as well, replaced by Everett Thompson, as the Zydeco went through five coaches in their inaugural season!

Player/coach MJ Graham led the team in their first season with 36 assists and 48 points while Noah Robinson led the team with 22 goals. If you're looking for a little history, Brandon Beard, an Orlando-born player who logged just three games with the Zydeco, scored the first goal in franchise history! Beard scored unassisted at 3:54 of the second period to make it 4-1 in an eventual 6-3 loss to the Columbus River Dragons. And just for fun, the first penalty in team history was a fighting major given to Adamo Asselin at 14:22 of the first period!

Goaltending and defence seemed to be an issue in the Zydeco first season as no goaltender who played more than ten games had a GAA under 3.40 and a save percentage higher than .916, but it should be noted that the three goalies who logged the most minutes in the blue paint were a combined 12-27-2. Expansion hockey never claimed to be pretty as the Zydeco were outscored 154-248 that season.

The team under MacLean-Fornari was 2-10-0 before MacLean was dismissed, and things didn't get all that better under Graham's direction as he went 5-13-4 as the head coach. Everett Thompson finished the season off with a 9-13-0 record, but the late season push actually saw the Zydeco finish in fifth-place out of six teams, one point better than the Blue Ridge Bobcats! How about that?

Perhaps the biggest success that the Zydeco can claim they were a success at the box office as they saw "a staggering total season attendance of 110,816" fans come through the turnstiles for their 28 home games, setting a new FPHL record in the process! They also proved Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome's prediction correct as "an economic impact analysis performed by Visit Baton Rouge" determined that "the Baton Rouge Zydeco brought an astounding $8.1 million to the city during their inaugural season". Those are astounding totals in a non-traditional hockey market!

Last season, the Zydeco finished in fifth-place once again, but went 31-19-6 to finish one point back of the Blue Ridge Bobcats. They would fall 5-2 in a playoff qualification game to those Bobcats, but the Zydeco saw real improvement across the board with virtually an entirely new roster in 2024-25. Elijah Wilson led the team with 29 goals and 56 points, Scott Shorrock was the team's playmaker with 31 assists, and the tandem of Bailey Stevens and Breanden Colgen delivered credible goaltending, combining for a 27-15-6 record.

I'll fully admit that I don't follow the FPHL mainly because it's off my radar, but when you stumble across a team called the Zydeco there needs to be some investigation. Yes, they've been fifth-place twice and they certainly are last when it comes to the alphabetical sorting of team names, but it's pretty cool to see the Baton Rouge Zydeco lead the FPHL in attendance in their short existence!

As long as fans keep coming to games, it seems the sounds of Zydeco hockey will fill the evening air just like the sounds of zydeco music from venues as hockey finds a foothold in Baton Rouge, Louisiana!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!