CLAYTON — Another organized ice hockey league is skating into the north country.
The American Premier Hockey League announced that it has added the Thousand Islands Raiders as an expansion team. The Raiders will play their home games at the Cerow Recreation Park Arena in Clayton starting this October, the league said.
The APHL, which started in 2023, bills itself as a Senior A semi-professional hockey league. Senior hockey leagues traditionally feature players with junior, college or pro experience who are looking to continue to play competitively or weren’t drafted and looking to draw pro scouts. The APHL is not-for-profit and senior players usually aren’t paid a salary. There is usually no age limit for senior league players.
“The addition of the Raiders is a huge win for the league,” said APHL Director of Hockey Operations Nick Graham in the league’s release. “Clayton has all the ingredients for a successful hockey market — passionate fans, strong community support, and a facility like Cerow Recreation Park that’s ready to host fast-placed, hard-hitting hockey. We’re excited to see what this team brings to the ice.”
Thousand Islands is the fourth team in the East Division for the present nine-team league, which just announced another expansion squad in the Wooster Bulls last weekend. The Motor City Muskies are another expansion squad.
The league has gotten off to a hectic start since starting as a number of teams have moved in and out of the league in the past two years and have included cities as large as Detroit, Pittsburgh and Buffalo. The league began as the Union Hockey League in 2023 before rebranding as the APHL in March 2024.
The nine teams listed for 2025-26 are league champions, the Buffalo Tempest, and the Thousand Islands Raiders, Iron City Forge, Wooster Bulls, Motor City Muskies, Northern Michigan Warhounds, Summity City Distillers, Toledo Mobsters and West Michigan Sentinels. Teams are located in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan.
“This is more than just another team — this is a strategic step forward for the league,” said APHL President Joshua Way about the Raiders’ addition. “We’re not just expanding — we’re elevating the level of ply, regional reach and community impact. The Raiders are going to be a force.”
Last season, APHL teams played between 20 and 25 games, finishing the regular season with six teams prior to Buffalo’s win over Summit City for the Governor’s Cup.
Senior hockey, which is still a staple in Canada and features a handful of mostly newer leagues in the U.S., is often considered a bridge between amateur and pro hockey and a step below leagues like the Federal Prospects Hockey League, which includes the Watertown Wolves. The Thousand Islands Raiders aren’t necessarily competition for the Wolves. In fact, this past weekend, the Wooster (Ohio) Bulls and FPHL’s Carolina Thunderbirds announced an affiliate partnership that would allow the Thunderbirds to add players from the Bulls in the event of injuries or other transactions.
The Thousand Island Raiders have started a Facebook page and announced a free agent camp scheduled for Aug. 2 at Cicero Twin Rinks in Cicero.
The APHL started a new website on May 31 at aphl.hockey. The APHL’s release on the Raiders said schedule and ticket information will be announced in the coming months.
The Thousand Islands region has hosted competitive post-scholastic hockey in the past as the Watertown Wolves were formerly the Thousand Islands Privateers and played at Bonnie Castle Arena in Alexandria Bay from 2010-12 before moving to Watertown.