Taking hockey to a 'Cosmic' level

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Over Fourth of July Weekend in Downtown Buffalo, the Bisons got to host Cosmic Baseball for a pair of games during its "Cosmic Takeover Tour" at Sahlen Field. Cosmic Baseball provides an electrifying, glow-in-the-dark twist to the game of baseball for fans of all ages, with players playing under black lights with neon uniforms, UV-reactive baseballs, and fireworks at the end of each game.

For one local businessman, he has partnered with the founders of Cosmic Baseball to bring to life a "Cosmic" experience for the game of hockey.

John Cimperman of Barnstorm Sports and Entertainment admits he's been trying to figure out for years why the game of hockey hasn't had some version of Cosmic Baseball, Banana Ball, or even the Harlem Globetrotters. However, it was a Cosmic Baseball experience in Jacksonville, Fla. recently that got the ball rolling for Cimperman.

"I asked Chris Martin, who's the owner of Cosmic Baseball, 'Have you ever thought about applying this technology and this energy to hockey?' And he said, 'We have thought about it, but we don't know much about hockey.' So I said, 'You know something, I know a little bit about marketing hockey. So why don't we join forces to bring hockey's first entertainment, improvisational property to market?'" said Cimperman, who will serve as vice president of hockey for Cosmic Hockey.

Given the success of Cosmic Baseball, Cimperman feels it's a tap-in for Cosmic Hockey to take off, especially in markets like Buffalo.

"For any of the 32,000 fans that were at Sahlen Field, July 3 and 4, I think they know firsthand what a great experience Cosmic Sports brings. So I'm super excited to help Cosmic Sports launch, what I think is, the most exciting sport, that being hockey," Cimperman told WBEN.

"The Buffalo two-game set at Sahlen Field was probably the best show Cosmic Baseball's put on. Part of that was a bigger building - 16,000 seats - and a big part of it was the energy that Buffalo fans bring. I'm biased here, but I think hockey will be even better."

Cimperman believes hockey fans will have their minds blown when they see the product that's in store for Cosmic Hockey.

"We already have the speed and the skill of the game, then when you combine that with modified rules that we'll be injecting into the game, and then these UV reactive uniforms, equipment, pucks, I think the word 'immersive' is often overused, but this is going to be immersive," he said.

Buffalo will play a significant role in helping Cosmic Hockey drop the puck. Cimperman - who also founded 42 North Brewing in East Aurora and other local ventures - has recruited Morey Gare - Danny Gare's brother - to take the lead on player recruitment and help build the teams. There will also likely be a number of players that suit up for Cosmic Hockey with local ties to Western New York.

"Buffalo is a hockey town, and I think it just makes sense that some Buffalo DNA be in this property," Cimperman added.

The city will also be hosting tryouts for Cosmic Hockey at Harborcenter on Saturday from 12 p.m.-to-2 p.m.

"We had over 300 applications for interested players to try out. We narrowed that down to 80 players, based upon skill level," Cimperman noted. "Every player is NCAA level and above. We also have a few former NHL players that are joining us for tryouts. And what we're looking for is skill and speed, plus - and this is a big plus - personality. How can they get involved with the crowd and the fans? That's an important part of it."

Fans are welcome and encouraged to come out and not just check out the tryouts, but also to cheer on the players.

"We're also going to do some modified rules during the tryouts that we're going to test, and it's a lot of fun. We did host a tryout last weekend in Boston, we had a blast, the players had a blast. So feel free to pop on down to Harborcenter this Saturday," Cimperman said.

Once tryouts are completed and the players are selected to be part of the original Cosmic Hockey depth chart, training camp will take place in short order, and then the Cosmic festivities will begin thereafter.

"We are going to be hosting spring training - training camp, if you will - for hockey in Lake Placid the last two weeks of October. So we're going to bring our two teams to Lake Placid and train and practice," Cimperman said. "And then I'm happy to announce the first Cosmic Hockey game will be Friday, Dec. 18, in the most famous rink in North America - Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid. So it all starts in the middle of December, and then every weekend starting in January, we're going to be hitting arenas across the country, probably playing 7-to-8 weekend dates total."

One goal for Cimperman at the start of this venture for Cosmic Hockey will be not to get too far over their skis.

"We are targeting East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and American Hockey League (AHL) arenas to start, all between 8,000 and 12,000 seats. That's what we want to do between December and March. Then we're going to take a breath, we're going to figure out what we've invented, and then start a full season tour looking at November '27 through March of '28."

Cimperman also teases there could be a couple of games soon to be announced and played within an hour of Buffalo.

The eventual goal, though, is to garner enough attention and popularity to play in front of crowds in some of the best hockey markets.

"A lot of people were joking with me after Cosmic Baseball at Sahlen Field. They said, 'You know something? You could have sold 20,000 seats tonight for Cosmic Hockey at KeyBank [Center].' I said, 'We probably could have, but we're committed to start in smaller buildings, obviously prove the concept, build excitement.' And then a market like Buffalo and a building like KeyBank [Center] would absolutely be a big part of our future plans," Cimperman said.

Fans can check out more information and sign up for the Cosmic Hockey newsletter at CosmicHockey.com.