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Minor League Hockey Shake-up...coming


JackieMoon

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Sorry if there is already a thread for this, I couldn't find it. Looks like for 2015-16 the minor league hockey system is going to go with a huge overhaul. Looks like the Western Conference teams are going to get Western teams, so here is what I have gathered so far...

1. Arizona Coyotes have bought the Arizona Sundogs (once of the CHL). They will be the new AHL team for Arizona.

2. Colorado Avalanche have purchased the Denver Cutthroats (once of the CHL). They will be the new AHL Colorado affiliate.

3. Los Angles Kings will be moving their AHL affiliate to Ontario, CA (they already own the Reign, ECHL,). Reign will be moved up.

4. Winnipeg Jets are moving their AHL team to Thunder Bay.

5. Ducks apparently are buying an AHL team and moving it to San Diego. Probably a return of the Gulls, I suspect.

6. Edmonton Oilers have purchased the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL). They will be the new AHL affiliate.

So what this leaves is San Jose, who are rumored to be moving Worcester to California. Only fitting they team up with the Stockton Thunder. Calgary and Vancouver are rumored (once deals are closed) will be moving their teams West. Since, the ECHL West will be dismantled, this looks like the Alaska Aces will be closing up shop after this season. Utah Grizzlies future is unknown. Probably will be ceasing operations as well.

Now, it makes perfect sense why the Midwest teams of the ECHL have been moved into the Western Conference. News is at the end of this season the CHL will be folding and of what little teams are left will be absorbed into the ECHL. Brampton will probably fold where they are struggling to stay afloat now.

So, another question is what happens to the AHL teams/cities that lose their team? Portland, ME (Pirates) have a strong history in the AHL. Do they get a second chance are they folding too? Worcester Sharks are looking to fold. The Oklahoma City Barons are up for sale by Edmonton. Perhaps St. Louis buys them and moves their AHL team there? Another question is the Lake Erie Monsters? With Colorado buying the Denver Cutthroats where does that leave them? They would fit in nicely with the ECHL (Walleye, Cyclones).

Anybody know of anymore "news"?

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Any links to back up those rumors?

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/24/report-ahl-migration-west-could-begin-in-2015-16/

Some here. Found some yesterday too. Googled it, can't remember where. Reason why Denver Cutthroats and Arizona Sundogs ceased operations, because they were bought out.

It's only fitting that these teams get "farm" teams closer to home. Just wonder what kind of future is in store for some of these teams with a long AHL history. I could even see the Blue Jackets buying Lake Erie (would make sense).

I hope that the Grizzlies and Aces stick around. But, I just don't see how it would make sense for anyone to affiliate with Alaska if they want to keep teams close. Abbotsford would be a good fit for the Canucks. As for Calgary, who knows. Maybe they will buy the Grizzlies?

Think we are going to see a lot of greed in the Minor Leagues. A lot of fans are going to lose their teams.

Maybe the ECHL will expand to the Northeast and absorb some of these AHL teams that are going to get left behind?

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It's not "fitting" at all. The logistics for a smaller minor-league footprint make much more sense. Western teams mean more travel time, more travel expenses, and more difficult scouting. This is dumb and I hope it fails.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/24/report-ahl-migration-west-could-begin-in-2015-16/

Some here. Found some yesterday too. Googled it, can't remember where. Reason why Denver Cutthroats and Arizona Sundogs ceased operations, because they were bought out.

It's only fitting that these teams get "farm" teams closer to home. Just wonder what kind of future is in store for some of these teams with a long AHL history. I could even see the Blue Jackets buying Lake Erie (would make sense).

What the :censored: is a Howlings.net and who the :censored: is Dave Gerry Cantlon?

There hasn't been word one about the Avs or Coyotes buying AHL teams anywhere else. And Occam's razor indicates that the reason Arizona and Denver "suspended operations" was because the Central Hockey League is burning down at the moment and those teams were kind of sort of not making money. The Sundogs were hovering around 2500 and Denver had dropped down to 1787. Thats a 40% drop from year one, BTW, for a team THAT MADE THE :censored: ING LEAGUE FINALS LAST SEASON.

Related: Sticking AHL teams in those towns looks to be a bad idea even by the standards of the Coyotes.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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Well, as we all know nothing makes sense when it comes to hockey business.

As well as for what passes for sports journalism, critical thinking, and blogs. Random bloggers with anonymous "sources" get way too much credit nowadays.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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FWIW the Jets aren't moving the farm to Thunder Bay until the red tape clears around that arena project. They have two more years on the rock, but after that, there's an excellent chance the Moose may return until something more permanent makes its presence known

Welcome to DrunjFlix

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FWIW the Jets aren't moving the farm to Thunder Bay until the red tape clears around that arena project. They have two more years on the rock, but after that, there's an excellent chance the Moose may return until something more permanent makes its presence known

That would be weird if they came back to Winnipeg. The Moose had strong support by AHL standards, but a lot of that was attributable to the fact that it was the top game in town at the time. The 6,500-ish crowds that they used to get would probably end up half as large, at best, if the Moose came back to Winnipeg. Obviously a strike/lockout situation would be totally different, but that isn't in the offing at all.

I guess it only makes sense in the context of Winnipeg being an interim parking lot for the team for one or two seasons tops while the new TB rink gets built.

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I'm going to bump this up with some new news.

I spoke today to the head coach/GM of an SPHL team, and he said that they are bracing for a merger between the Central League and the East Coast League. The new league, still known as the ECHL, will be comprised of 30 teams, and is supposed to begin play this season.

The hockey hierarchy would look like this:

NHL

AHL

ECHL

SPHL

FHL, LNAH

EDIT: And for the people wondering where the OP got his info/theories, look no further.

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2014/8/7/5976075/ahl-west-echl-chl-realignment-minor-league-hockey

On September 20, 2012 at 0:50 AM, 'CS85 said:

It's like watching the hellish undead creakily shuffling their way out of the flames of a liposuction clinic dumpster fire.

On February 19, 2012 at 9:30 AM, 'pianoknight said:

Story B: Red Wings go undefeated and score 100 goals in every game. They also beat a team comprised of Godzilla, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, 2 Power Rangers and Betty White. Oh, and they played in the middle of Iraq on a military base. In the sand. With no ice. Santa gave them special sand-skates that allowed them to play in shorts and t-shirts in 115 degree weather. Jesus, Zeus and Buddha watched from the sidelines and ate cotton candy.

POTD 5/24/12, POTD 2/26/17

 

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I'm going to bump this up with some new news.

I spoke today to the head coach/GM of an SPHL team, and he said that they are bracing for a merger between the Central League and the East Coast League. The new league, still known as the ECHL, will be comprised of 30 teams, and is supposed to begin play this season.

The hockey hierarchy would look like this:

NHL

AHL

ECHL

SPHL

FHL, LNAH

EDIT: And for the people wondering where the OP got his info/theories, look no further.

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2014/8/7/5976075/ahl-west-echl-chl-realignment-minor-league-hockey

Wait, so if they're going to merge this year what does that mean for the team alignments for this season in ECHL?

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Reading that article, I do wonder why the Jets and/or Wild haven't pursued a AA relationship with Rapid City.

Unless RC prefers to be independent/poorly run. There has to be a reason they affiliated with Colorado for two seasons and now piggyback onto the Reign with Los Angeles.

Welcome to DrunjFlix

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I'm sure ease of getting players to and from Rapid City is an issue, since it would be a mess of regional flights and airports before getting a Northwestern flight out of MSP to Winnipeg.

That's the tricky part for Canadian teams with farm teams in the US. Fargo might be close, but it would be easier and faster to rent him a car and let him drive rather than try to fly him from Hector Airport to MSP to ORD to YWG.

Welcome to DrunjFlix

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We're two weeks away from seasons starting. A merger/CeHL absorption is logisitcally impossible for the 2014-15 season.

On 1/25/2013 at 1:53 PM, 'Atom said:

For all the bird de lis haters I think the bird de lis isnt supposed to be a pelican and a fleur de lis I think its just a fleur de lis with a pelicans head. Thats what it looks like to me. Also the flair around the tip of the beak is just flair that fleur de lis have sometimes source I am from NOLA.

PotD: 10/19/07, 08/25/08, 07/22/10, 08/13/10, 04/15/11, 05/19/11, 01/02/12, and 01/05/12.

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