BigEd76 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 So if I have this all figured out, here's who gets left out in this relocation mess: -- NY Islanders (won't have an ECHL affiliate) -- Oklahoma City (losing the Barons, won't get a replacement) -- Worcester (losing the Sharks, won't get a replacement) -- Colorado Eagles (will no longer be affiliated with Calgary) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illwauk Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I thought the Bruins were looking to move their ECHL club to Worchester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke_Groundrunner Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Ok, so here's what I've gathered from the AHL Western Conference shuffle news today, as well as news from the past several months.LA Kings - Manchester Monarchs will relocate to Ontario, CA while their ECHL affiliate will relocate to Manchester.The Manchester Monarchs and Ontario Reign are expected to keep their respective names after the move, so essentially the leagues are swapping franchises. Manchester Monarchs will join the ECHL, and Ontario Reign will join the AHL.Edmonton Oilers - OKC Barons will fold, new AHL franchise/affiliate to be placed in Bakersfield, CA.The Oilers now own the ECHL's Bakersfield Condors, that team will get promoted upto AHLSan Jose Sharks - Worcester Sharks will relocate to San Jose, CAThey couldn't find another building to put AHL affiliate in, so both teams will be playing out of the SAP Center.Anaheim Ducks - Norfolk Admirals will relocate to San Diego, CACalgary Flames - Adirondack Flames will relocate to Stockton, CAECHL's Stockton Thunder who are affiliated with the NY Islanders will move to Glens Falls, NY (Adirondack)Vancouver Canucks have 1 year left on their affiliation agreement with the city of Utica, which afterwards (for the 2016-17 season) will likely move their AHL team to the West coast as well.Winnipeg Jets are rumored to be moving their AHL affiliate to Thunder Bay in the near future, possibly in time for 2016-17 season.Former Central Hockey League franchises, the Arizona Sundogs and Denver Cutthroats, which are respectively owned by the Arizona Coyotes and the Colorado Avalanche, could either be future ECHL or even AHL expansion teams in time for 2015-16 season. Both former CHL teams are currently on hiatus, as they both decided to go dormant for the 2014-15 season after the CHL+ECHL merger, with expectations of resuming business in 2015-16.The AHL press conference to announcement the creation of a the AHL West will be tomorrow (Thursday Jan 29) at 12:30PM PST from the SAP Center in San Jose.related news article - http://mayorsmanor.com/2015/01/updated-ahl-west-official-announcement-set-for-thursday/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Speaking of replacing arenas that are worn out pieces of crap however... how's Calgary doing replacing the Saddledome? lol idk Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosrs1 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I thought the Bruins were looking to move their ECHL club to Worchester.That was the rumor. So Worcester might not get left out of this after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosrs1 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Ok, so here's what I've gathered from the AHL Western Conference shuffle news today, as well as news from the past several months.LA Kings - Manchester Monarchs will relocate to Ontario, CA while their ECHL affiliate will relocate to Manchester.The Manchester Monarchs and Ontario Reign are expected to keep their respective names after the move, so essentially the leagues are swapping franchises. Manchester Monarchs will join the ECHL, and Ontario Reign will join the AHL.Edmonton Oilers - OKC Barons will fold, new AHL franchise/affiliate to be placed in Bakersfield, CA.The Oilers now own the ECHL's Bakersfield Condors, that team will get promoted upto AHLSan Jose Sharks - Worcester Sharks will relocate to San Jose, CAThey couldn't find another building to put AHL affiliate in, so both teams will be playing out of the SAP Center.Anaheim Ducks - Norfolk Admirals will relocate to San Diego, CACalgary Flames - Adirondack Flames will relocate to Stockton, CAECHL's Stockton Thunder who are affiliated with the NY Islanders will move to Glens Falls, NY (Adirondack)Vancouver Canucks have 1 year left on their affiliation agreement with the city of Utica, which afterwards (for the 2016-17 season) will likely move their AHL team to the West coast as well.Winnipeg Jets are rumored to be moving their AHL affiliate to Thunder Bay in the near future, possibly in time for 2016-17 season.Former Central Hockey League franchises, the Arizona Sundogs and Denver Cutthroats, which are respectively owned by the Arizona Coyotes and the Colorado Avalanche, could either be future ECHL or even AHL expansion teams in time for 2015-16 season. Both former CHL teams are currently on hiatus, as they both decided to go dormant for the 2014-15 season after the CHL+ECHL merger, with expectations of resuming business in 2015-16.The AHL press conference to announcement the creation of a the AHL West will be tomorrow (Thursday Jan 29) at 12:30PM PST from the SAP Center in San Jose.related news article - http://mayorsmanor.com/2015/01/updated-ahl-west-official-announcement-set-for-thursday/You did miss one thing. The current ECHL franchise that's in Bakersfield will be moving to Norfolk and will become either the Norfolk or Hampton Roads Admirals. The current AHL Admirals will be moving to San Diego as you mentioned but will be taking up a new moniker (or old if they go with the prohibitive local favorite Gulls). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian in Boston Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I thought the Bruins were looking to move their ECHL club to Worchester.That was the rumor. So Worcester might not get left out of this after all.The Bruins don't own their current affiliate - the South Carolina Stingrays - in the ECHL. As such, if the Bruins want to set-up their ECHL farm-team in Worcester, they either have to convince the Stingrays' present owners to sell the team, or relocate the franchise under their continued ownership. Barring that, the Bruins would have to secure a new ECHL affiliation with a team that is willing to relocate to Central Massachusetts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smzimbabwe Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 The owner of the Alaska Aces says they're going to be just fine...http://www.adn.com/article/20150128/amid-expected-ahlechl-shake-aces-here-stay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosrs1 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 The owner of the Alaska Aces says they're going to be just fine...http://www.adn.com/article/20150128/amid-expected-ahlechl-shake-aces-here-stayFor now. Doesn't surprise me, I mean flying to the west coast or the mountain west is equally as costly for them so if they're eating that cost now that's not going to change. What might change is who is willing to fly up to play them and eat the cost on their end unless the Aces subsidize all their incoming competitors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldogbarks55 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Yeah, the talk all has been that the AHL West would basically function as its own league until the playoffs, as the ECHL West does now. So in a 5-team league, that means playing each opponent 18 times in a season, and always one team unable to play, which probably leads to a lot of scheduling of games on less desirable nights. It also probably bones alignments in the Midwest and Texas, though to what extent, I'm not certain. There's still a lot to shake out here.One unrelated thing that has to happen - I mean has to - is that Peoria either goes back up to the ECHL or drops to juniors like Bloomington did. The SPHL is running a 9-team league with 8 southern teams and Peoria. Take the hint, Rivs.It would be weird having a 5-team pseudo-league; is there any chance there are some games played against central teams (Iowa, Texas, Milwaukee, etc.)--or less likely--are there going to be more than 5 teams on the West Coast?What should happen is for Vancouver to move their AHL franchise out of Utica, NY and out to the west. This would create a six-team Western Division for the AHL. Making a schedule would be a piece of cake. Surprised all of the cheap suits in Springfield and NHL HQ didn't think of it. Utica would be more suited to the ECHL and would have closer in-state rivals like Elmira and it looks like Glens Falls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosrs1 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Well here's the official announcement. Everything shook out as predicted.http://theahl.com/ahl-approves-formation-of-pacific-division-p196033LA is swapping ECHL and NHL affiliates. The Ontario Reign are now in the AHL and Manchester Monarchs are ECHL.Oilers moving AHL Barons from OKC to Bakersfield, and the Bakersfield ECHL club is likely going to NorfolkAnaheim is buying the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL and moving them to San DiegoCalgary is moving their AHL from Glen Falls, NY to Stockton, CASan Jose is moving Worcester Sharks to their home arena in San Jose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcameronh Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Too bad for the Flames team. I liked seeing the old flaming "A" logo again on a jersey.It would be nice to see a more balanced AHL with teams closer to there affiliates. For future moves, the Coyotes should move the Portland Pirates from Maine to Oregon, the Canucks can move the Comets to Seattle and the Jets could move the Ice Caps to Minnesota or North Dakota . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSU151 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Will the San Diego team be the Admirals as well? San Diego has a bunch of Navy folks. If that happens, and Norfolk receives a team to be called Admirals...that's 3 minor league hockey teams with Admirals as a name.Hoping for San Diego Gulls.And does San Jose really need an NHL team and AHL team? Quote Smart is believing half of what you hear. Genius is knowing which half. Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 And does San Jose really need an NHL team and AHL team?No, but the poor widdle Sharkie-warkies were having a wah-wah because it took too long to fly some guy named "Melker" from Boston to San Francisco. 2 Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosrs1 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Will the San Diego team be the Admirals as well? San Diego has a bunch of Navy folks. If that happens, and Norfolk receives a team to be called Admirals...that's 3 minor league hockey teams with Admirals as a name.Hoping for San Diego Gulls.And does San Jose really need an NHL team and AHL team? It can be guarenteed it won't be the Admirals. The AHL Admirals now former owner is retaining the rights to the name and going to use it for the new ECHL team. So there will be either a Norfolk or Hampton Roads Admirals next season in the ECHL. The Ducks will have to find a new (or old) name in San Diego. Hopefully they go with the San Diego Gulls. It's by far the most popular choice on the poll the UT San Diego is currently running with a clear supermajority.As for the Sharks... this seems like it's going to be a short term thing until there is an acceptable AHL venue to move into. Oakland once the Warriors move out, SF along side the Warriors or the new Sac arena along side the Kings would all work when they're completed in a few years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSU151 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I'm also guessing that the center ice logo at SAP Center will still be the NHL Sharks. Would they switch out the logo for the AHL team? Or is the AHL team going to be shark-based too? Quote Smart is believing half of what you hear. Genius is knowing which half. Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Presumably shark-based, but whatever they use, they're not going to put down a new sheet of ice every single time there's a game. They'll just have Sharks logos (and advertising) on the ice. Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosrs1 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I'm also guessing that the center ice logo at SAP Center will still be the NHL Sharks. Would they switch out the logo for the AHL team? Or is the AHL team going to be shark-based too?It'll be Shark based. If I were a betting man I'd put money on the little Sharks being renamed to some variant on Sharks. Be it the Spanish word for Shark or some derivative or kind of Shark in English.Basically the exact opposite of what I hope happens in San Diego. While I'd prefer Gulls, as long as it's not Ducklings, Mallards, Mighty Ducks or something like that I'll be happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportstar1212 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Presumably shark-based, but whatever they use, they're not going to put down a new sheet of ice every single time there's a game. They'll just have Sharks logos (and advertising) on the ice.Yep. They keep the Flames logo on the ice at the Saddledome for Hitmen games, and the Oilers logo for Oil Kings games. I fail to see why it would be any different in San Jose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwabel Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I'm also guessing that the center ice logo at SAP Center will still be the NHL Sharks. Would they switch out the logo for the AHL team? Or is the AHL team going to be shark-based too?The Hitmen play at the Saddledome on a C at centre ice and the sun still rises/sets.It's OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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