Minor League Hockey Shake-up...coming

[Geoff]

I wasn't just referring to the arena. You have to factor in their fan base, even if it's not sizable. You also have to factor in scheduling around other AFA sports. I don't know about their basketball attendance but their football team averaged 26,026.33 last season. That's a big chunk of the local population and when the other academies come to town, you're looking at a crowd about 10k above average (last year's Army game was 37,716).

[BeerGuyJordan]

4 hours ago, Geoff said:

I wasn't just referring to the arena. You have to factor in their fan base, even if it's not sizable. You also have to factor in scheduling around other AFA sports. I don't know about their basketball attendance but their football team averaged 26,026.33 last season. That's a big chunk of the local population and when the other academies come to town, you're looking at a crowd about 10k above average (last year's Army game was 37,716).

You act like other sports being around is only occuring in Colorado Springs. Football schedules are out early enough to easily work around, and basketball for them is like their hockey program, not a big draw. By DI NCAA standards, USAFA's football attendance is on the low side, as well. The only three real considerations needed for scheduling are UCCS hockey (none of their other sports are a big draw, due to their size), AFA Football and (out of consideration, if they wanted to), AFA Hockey. 

 

The city has over, what, 400k pop? A team shooting for 5 to 7 k per game should have no problem with that, given competent marketing and management. Lots of AHL cities have bigger scheduling concerns and make it work. 

 

I'm not invalidating your concerns, I just don't see them as the big hurdle you do.

[Geoff]

5 hours ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

You act like other sports being around is only occuring in Colorado Springs. Football schedules are out early enough to easily work around, and basketball for them is like their hockey program, not a big draw. By DI NCAA standards, USAFA's football attendance is on the low side, as well. The only three real considerations needed for scheduling are UCCS hockey (none of their other sports are a big draw, due to their size), AFA Football and (out of consideration, if they wanted to), AFA Hockey. 

 

The city has over, what, 400k pop? A team shooting for 5 to 7 k per game should have no problem with that, given competent marketing and management. Lots of AHL cities have bigger scheduling concerns and make it work. 

 

I'm not invalidating your concerns, I just don't see them as the big hurdle you do.

 

I'm not acting like it only happens there. I'm stating a fact that they'd need to worry about it.

 

Also, UCCS doesn't have varsity hockey. Colorado College does though. UCCS has a club team that's ACHA D3 so that's not a worry at all.

 

A team in a population base that size should be able to do well but you're not factoring in not only having to compete for sports dollars from fans and corporate partners but competing with the loyalty towards the established team. CC averaged 6,530 last season. That's fourth in the nation for D-I hockey.

[rams80]

Related: Calgary sucks at running a minor league team, as already observed, but matters in Omaha weren't helped by them going up against the fairly popular Nebraska-Omaha D-I team and the local USHL team which also had an ok following.

[The_Admiral]

NCAA and AHL hockey tend not to coexist terribly well, given both occupy the same tier of 20-23-year-old B-level prospects trying to make the National, difference being the A has washed-up goons and college has, uh, guys who will go on to sell insurance back home, I guess. Probably why Lowell lost the AHL and Syracuse never got a program going. I have trouble believing Colorado Springs has an appetite for two brands of developmental hockey, or that any places in America do.

[RyanMcD29]

On 7/2/2016 at 2:34 PM, RyanMcD29 said:

Las Vegas' AHL affiliate would fit in perfectly in Watertown, New Yo.. [/beaten to death by baseball bats for bringing up the "Every minor league hockey team should be in Upstate NY" joke again]

Hey now, Binghamton's open now. Ottawa's moving the Baby Sens to Belleville

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/report-sens-to-move-ahl-affiliate-to-belleville/

[rvrdgsfn]

Looks like it's finally happening.

 

http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/canadiens-farm-team-moving-to-laval-1.2979563

 

The Montreal Canadiens are expected to confirm on Monday they will be moving their farm team to Laval.

The American League IceCaps will play one more season in St. John's, Newfoundland, after which Place Bell in Laval will be the new home for the farm team for the 2017-2018 season.

Place Bell is a 10,000 seat arena, with two smaller rinks, that is being built near the Montmorency metro station, and is projected to be complete next year.

[nickp91]

Having their farm team in Laval should increase the desire for prospects to succeed in becoming Habs and settling in Montreal, Being this close to the parent team, forming a better family feeling between all the Habs & their prospects

[The_Admiral]

No, taxes too high, beat writers too mean. Better off in Dallas or Nashville.

[rams80]

7 hours ago, nickp91 said:

Having their farm team in Laval should increase the desire for prospects to succeed in becoming Habs and settling in Montreal, Being this close to the parent team, forming a better family feeling between all the Habs & their prospects

 

And daily French classes can then be administered.

 

Seriously, though, isn't Laval where hockey teams go to die?

 

Also LOL BELLEVILLE.  That's also throwing good money after bad...if you cared about making money anyway.

[Cosmic]

1 hour ago, the admiral said:

No, taxes too high, beat writers too mean. Better off in Dallas or Nashville.

Is this the start of the two year countdown of Tavares-to-Toronto Watch?

[The_Admiral]

8 hours ago, rams80 said:

Seriously, though, isn't Laval where hockey teams go to die?

 

No, I think that's Verdun, where the Montreal Juniors failed and a bunch of teams before that. Laval appeared to have a team for about 30 years until they moved to Bathurst, but nothing since.

 

I don't think Hamilton in the OHL and Belleville in the AHL makes a great deal of sense. Even when the AHL was more amenable to Canadian franchises, I don't think they ever had much of a presence in small-town Ontario -- offhand I can think of Cornwall for a few years, but that's about it. The A tended to be big in the Maritimes -- Halifax, Fredricton, Saint John, St. John's (you know, someone really ought to have thought this through) -- because there was no junior presence there. Of course, I don't think the AHL in Stockton and Bakersfield makes a great deal of sense either, but westward the course of hockey empire takes its way, I guess.

[BeerGuyJordan]

http://theahl.com/mobile/?bblh=mSafari&t=mobile_news_article&s=&p=202959

 

The AHL put out their post GBM release. Nothing crazy on the alignment changes, but it is worth noting that the AHL now has a 16-14 imbalance, as well, only with the West being more padded.

 

The biggest change is the fighting count for suspensions. Yet another nail in the coffin for enforcers. I think it's a solid move. With true enforcer-role players being uncommon in the NHL, these days, I see it having a much bigger impact on AHL, where goons are more common.

 

In short: Fights before, or immediately following the first face-off are an automatic game misconduct.

 

In their tenth fight, a player gets a game suspension. Another game for fights 11-13. Beginning with the 14th fight, 2 game suspensions will be handed out.

 

If the opposing player is ruled as the instigator, the fight doesn't count towards your total.

[BeerGuyJordan]

I forgot to mention that all teams will wear their dark jerseys on the road only until the holiday break. After that, dark will be worn at home.

[AnPheitseog]

http://www.rds.ca/hockey/lah/le-club-ecole-du-canadien-qui-s-installera-a-laval-en-2017-portera-le-nom-de-rocket-1.3529040

 

Rocket de Laval will be the name of laval's team come 2017 2018

[JackieMoon]

The IceMen are on voluntary suspension from the ECHL, while they work out their arena issue...

 

Something tells me this is the last of the IceMen. Considering the voluntary suspensions went well for Columbia and Las Vegas.

[BeerGuyJordan]

4 hours ago, sohiosportsfreak said:

The IceMen are on voluntary suspension from the ECHL, while they work out their arena issue...

 

Something tells me this is the last of the IceMen. Considering the voluntary suspensions went well for Columbia and Las Vegas.

This has been worked out for some time. They originally announced a plan to move to nearby Owensboro, upon completion of the new arena, there, at the start of the 2017-2018 season. Right after the announcement,  the SPHL approached the arena management about an expansion team in Evansville.

 

The short version is that the arena decided to terminate the lease early, so that the new SPHL Evansville Thunderbolts could thake the ice for this upcoming season.

 

This isn't a Las Vegas situation, since arena issues are all worked out. It is worth noting that, since the Evansville/Owensboro area might not be able to support two teams, either the ECHL or SPHL will possibly relocate their team after a few seasons of competing for the fanbase.

[rams80]

http://arenadigest.com/2016/07/28/plans-scrapped-for-owensboro-arena/

 

Yeah, going with the Icemen being dead thanks to their own self-inflicted injuries and stupid gamesmanship.

[The_Admiral]

4 hours ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

the Evansville/Owensboro area might not be able to support two teams

 

tell me moar

[BeerGuyJordan]

5 hours ago, rams80 said:

http://arenadigest.com/2016/07/28/plans-scrapped-for-owensboro-arena/

 

Yeah, going with the Icemen being dead thanks to their own self-inflicted injuries and stupid gamesmanship.

Thanks for the link, I'd been following the story, but ECHL team news can be tricky to gollow. I can't say I'm even slightly surprised Owensboro backed out, since that's a lot of money to spend on a team that might pull stakes in a few years.

 

On a related note, there's this nice ECHL prospective market that just opened up in Portland, Maine.