Seattle has an NHL team

[Wings 2,124]

1 hour ago, goalieboy82 said:

or

 

Squidward's funnier

[speedy 153]

On 12/20/2018 at 7:01 PM, DG_Now said:

 

I live in Belltown and enjoy Ballard, Capitol Hill and Pioneer Square. I never go out in Queen Anne, though I enjoy a lot of what Seattle Center has to offer.

 

I was just there in October. The AirBnb was in Queen Anne but spent a lot of time in Belltown as well. Definitely from my limited experience I prefer Belltown - Queen Anne is great, though. It's rare to have a "neighborhood" arena like KeyArena is. Should be a really cool vibe when it's the renovation is completed.

[Brian in Boston 1,809]

NBC Palm Springs is reporting that rumors are heating up regarding construction of a 15,000-seat arena in the Coachella Valley city that would play host to concerts and serve as the home to an American Hockey League affiliate for Seattle's NHL expansion franchise.  

Hockey in Palm Springs? NHL Insiders Confirm Rumors

Talks of Hockey Arena Coming to the Desert 

Meanwhile, the man behind 'The Shield' - a proposed 12,000-seat facility in Palm Desert - is saying that his group intends to press forward with their own plans for a multipurpose indoor venue in the eastern Coachella Valley.

Progress is Being Made on 'The Shield'  

[IceCap 18,413]

The NHL is dumb but the AHL may be worse. 

[JackieMoon 322]

The whole hockey structure, minus juniors is starting to become a joke just like most other sports. 

[rams80 4,015]

Starting?

 

Oh my sweet summer child....

 

Also, between the odd pedophilia case and the exalting of the low-talented plugger as the ideal hockey player, the juniors belong as well.

[Brian in Boston 1,809]

It's official: NHL Seattle's American Hockey League affiliate will be based in Palm Springs, California.

Seattle NHL franchise to have AHL affiliate in Palm Springs

Partnership Brings Downtown Arena to Palm Springs

Yesterday, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and Oak View Group announced that they were entering into a partnership to build a privately-financed, state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue on 16 acres of tribal land in downtown Palm Springs. The 10,000-seat arena will have an adjoining facility that will serve as the training center for NHL Seattle's minor-league team. In addition to playing host to the AHL franchise, the arena will be able to house concerts and live entertainment events booked by strategic partner Live Nation. Conventions, exhibitions, and award shows are also being targeted for the space. 

NHL Seattle and Oak View Group have jointly submitted an application for an AHL expansion franchise. 

[Wings 2,124]

Palm Springs Snowbirds

[GDAWG 1,400]

This is cool:

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-seattle-diversity-and-inclusion-in-hiring/c-308122808

 

 

[Matthew24 134]

On 6/25/2019 at 5:15 PM, Ice_Cap said:

The NHL is dumb but the AHL may be worse. 

What about the ECHL? 

 

I always hated the minor league system in American sports btw. It really dumb. Only sports I can see getting away with it is Baseball. Wish relegation was a thing... 

 

Probably need to do a new topic on this but it a massive issue with sports in America. 

[Still MIGHTY 3,825]

AHL to Palm Springs is officially official: New Palm Springs AHL hockey franchise approved for downtown arena (Desert Sun)

 

I still think minor league anything in Palm Springs is supremely dumb, but good luck to you, I guess.

 

 

[bosrs1 1,234]

On 6/25/2019 at 3:15 PM, Ice_Cap said:

The NHL is dumb but the AHL may be worse. 

 

How so? The move west wasn’t a bad idea. San Diego is arguably the best city in the league, and Ontario has been a top 10 addition every year they’ve been in the league. 

 

That said Palm Springs may end up being a bust. Not enough there, there? Unless they really pick up the interest of snowbirds who winter in Palm Springs... which is very much a possibility.

[IceCap 18,413]

Just now, bosrs1 said:

How so?

A little late to the party. 

 

Anyway I'm not arguing against your beloved California minor league teams. I'm saying expanding the AHL expanding as much as it did geographically is a bad thing. Travel costs become a very real concern for minor league hockey, which is why the AHL stayed as a Northeast and Midwest bus league as long as it did. 

 

Hockey's not exactly a top flight sport in the US and so minor league hockey is already looking at a steep financial hill to climb.

Ideally the NHL would have turned their minor league system into a sort of mirror of the Canadian junior system, with smaller regional leagues all existing alongside each other. I'm not sold on the idea that expanding the AHL as far as it has will be healthy in the long run. 

[bosrs1 1,234]

1 minute ago, Ice_Cap said:

A little late to the party. 

 

Anyway I'm not arguing against your beloved California minor league teams. I'm saying expanding the AHL expanding as much as it did geographically is a bad thing. Travel costs become a very real concern for minor league hockey, which is why the AHL stayed as a Northeast and Midwest bus league as long as it did. 

 

Hockey's not exactly a top flight sport in the US and so minor league hockey is already looking at a steep financial hill to climb.

Ideally the NHL would have turned their minor league system into a sort of mirror of the Canadian junior system, with smaller regional leagues all existing alongside each other. I'm not sold on the idea that expanding the AHL as far as it has will be healthy in the long run. 

 

I mean the AHL largely operates even now as a bunch of regional leagues that only meet in the playoffs. 

[GDAWG 1,400]

The other rumored option for Seattle's affiliate was Idaho and they already had the Steelheads as an affiliate for the Dallas Stars.  Palm Springs was the only option.

[IceCap 18,413]

19 minutes ago, bosrs1 said:

 

I mean the AHL largely operates even now as a bunch of regional leagues that only meet in the playoffs. 

Which is by design. A number of teams would be in financial peril if they had to operate as a truly national circuit. 

Which tells me they should have just made an entirely new western league from scratch if the Cali teams really wanted West Coast affiliates. 

[Wings 2,124]

Too bad they couldn't put a team in the TacomaDome. I don't believe it has a hockey tenant at the moment. 

 

NM

 

Tacoma would be too far to bus for the other California teams and vice versa. 

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Wings

[BeerGuyJordan 1,259]

4 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

Which is by design. A number of teams would be in financial peril if they had to operate as a truly national circuit. 

Which tells me they should have just made an entirely new western league from scratch if the Cali teams really wanted West Coast affiliates. 

The NHL doesn't own the AHL, so it doesn't have the kind of leeway the MLB does in ability to restructure. The headache and cost of standing up a new league, headquarters office, website, championship trophy, etc. isn't advantageous compared to basically doing it within one league, as they currently do. They (the AHL, with consideration to the NHL) made the smarter (and cheaper) decision, based on the exact reasons you cited earlier. They get all the benefit of the more fractured system, without the headaches and costs several leagues would bring. Canadian juniors may be the tidier system (and more to the point familiar, I think), at first glance. When you break it down to the nuts and bolts, the AHL is a better AAA model for a single major league. It would be a different discussion if the NHL had full control, but they don't.

[IceCap 18,413]

1 minute ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

When you break it down to the nuts and bolts, the AHL is a better AAA model for a single major league.

Disagree.

[BeerGuyJordan 1,259]

On 9/30/2019 at 5:49 PM, Ice_Cap said:

Disagree.

Like I said: ideally, something like the MiLB, where there is a single management under the NHL, could exist. Without the NHL having any control, the AHL is preferable to a Canadian juniors-esque model. Less overhead, you can keep travel costs down by compartmentalizing regions, a single rule set, no hassle of changing leagues with prospect trades, etc.

There's a reason that the minors are moving towards this model, and not the other way. There's also a reason why NHL teams routinely move prospects to the AHL with no immediate intent of calling them up, instead of letting them cap out in Junior A. It's a better model for the NHL. I'm seeing hardly any evidence to the contrary.