Manchester Monarchs officially abdicate

[AustinFromBoston]

Team just announced that this was their final season. 

Not sure how many people follow Minor League Hockey, and I didn't notice a topic for it so.....

[GDAWG]

8 hours ago, AustinFomBoston said:

Team just announced that this was their final season. 

Not sure how many people follow Minor League Hockey, and I didn't notice a topic for it so.....

 

There is a thread for Minor League Hockey:

 

 

[The_Admiral]

Hm, Manchester always seemed to do well enough in the American league, guess you can't start selling an inferior product with the old name slapped on it. But look, this league wasn't gonna survive without [checks notes] Stockton and Bakersfield

[neo_prankster]

1 minute ago, the admiral said:

Hm, Manchester always seemed to do well enough in the American league, guess you can't start selling an inferior product with the old name slapped on it. But look, this league wasn't gonna survive without [checks notes] Stockton and Bakersfield

 

Pretty sad to see Manchester fold. I thought they had decent support.

[The_Admiral]

There's an article in the Union-Leader that more or less says attendance went headlong off a cliff when the Monarchs dropped to the Etchel, also damaging whatever peripheral business existed around the arena on game nights. 

[LMU]

Hopefully the Kings relocate their ECHL affiliate further west. Fresno’s still vacant after the Falcons folded. I could dream of the Ice Dogs coming back but there’s no guarantee that Long Beach Arena will be there if the Angels stadium goes through.

[BeerGuyJordan]

23 hours ago, LMU said:

Hopefully the Kings relocate their ECHL affiliate further west. Fresno’s still vacant after the Falcons folded. I could dream of the Ice Dogs coming back but there’s no guarantee that Long Beach Arena will be there if the Angels stadium goes through.

I don't think Fresno would be sustainable for the ECHL, even if they did get a sheet back. If Fresno happens, my money is on Seattle's AHL team, or the 'Cuda finally moving out of their parent's basement.

[LMU]

6 minutes ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

I don't think Fresno would be sustainable for the ECHL, even if they did get a sheet back. If Fresno happens, my money is on Seattle's AHL team, or the 'Cuda finally moving out of their parent's basement.

I’m hearing that Boise/Idaho would be the most likely for Seattle.

[Wings]

It would be cool to see the 'Cuda move up to San Francisco and become the Seals but I don't believe the Chase Center is configured for hockey. 

[LMU]

3 minutes ago, Wings said:

It would be cool to see the 'Cuda move up to San Francisco and become the Seals but I don't believe the Chase Center is configured for hockey. 

As long as they can fit a rink in it’d work at the AHL level. Heck, they can probably get a good deal if they went up to Oakland and became the sole anchor tenant.

[BeerGuyJordan]

14 minutes ago, LMU said:

I’m hearing that Boise/Idaho would be the most likely for Seattle.

Crazier things have happened, but the relatively small arena, distance from Seattle, airport size, and distance from the rest of the conference would all hurt the case, I imagine.Tucson and Colorado have the benefit of being within a couple of hours drive from the parent club and a major airport. The only thing they really have going for them is that they have ice capabilities, ready to go. If there's any way they can get Portland, or somewhere that'd put them in the California fray (even Reno, to that end), I think it'd be less of a risk.

[LMU]

3 minutes ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

Crazier things have happened, but the relatively small arena, distance from Seattle, airport size, and distance from the rest of the conference would all hurt the case, I imagine.Tucson and Colorado have the benefit of being within a couple of hours drive from the parent club and a major airport. The only thing they really have going for them is that they have ice capabilities, ready to go. If there's any way they can get Portland, or somewhere that'd put them in the California fray (even Reno, to that end), I think it'd be less of a risk.

Spokane’s also an option.

[BeerGuyJordan]

6 minutes ago, LMU said:

Spokane’s also an option.

I completely forgot that they have a sheet, and that's actually a good-sized arena. It'd displace the Chiefs, but that's not a hard sell for the City.

[Red Comet]

31 minutes ago, LMU said:

Spokane’s also an option.

 

They would be competing with Gonzaga, though. And Zaga would win pretty handily unless their basketball program got the death penalty.

 

I don't know if Spokane is big enough for a major college basketball program and an AHL team along with minor league baseball.

[BeerGuyJordan]

35 minutes ago, Red Comet said:

 

They would be competing with Gonzaga, though. And Zaga would win pretty handily unless their basketball program got the death penalty.

 

I don't know if Spokane is big enough for a major college basketball program and an AHL team along with minor league baseball.

They already have a Junior hockey team, which boasts a higher average attendance than a significant number of current AHL teams. They have enough of a hockey culture that I think it could be suitable.

[rams80]

But would the Major Junior Team just up and go?  Especially when they have in-state rivals.

 

I mean, in Canada (pro) minor league vs major junior historically has the major junior winning.

[The_Admiral]

I assume the Chiefs would be evicted if the NHL and AHL wanted them gone badly enough. Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and now Cranbrook are open for a Dub team without a home. But the Chiefs have done well where they are, they have Kennewick down the road and Seattle and Portland to the west, there's no great reason to disturb them for an unproven commodity. 

 

I'd look to Salt Lake City as a market with history at the AAA level, close enough to Seattle to be semi-practical, and without the little-brother syndrome that would make Portland an unwise choice.

[BeerGuyJordan]

On ‎5‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 6:36 PM, the admiral said:

I assume the Chiefs would be evicted if the NHL and AHL wanted them gone badly enough. Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and now Cranbrook are open for a Dub team without a home. But the Chiefs have done well where they are, they have Kennewick down the road and Seattle and Portland to the west, there's no great reason to disturb them for an unproven commodity. 

 

I'd look to Salt Lake City as a market with history at the AAA level, close enough to Seattle to be semi-practical, and without the little-brother syndrome that would make Portland an unwise choice.

If this was Canada, I'd agree. It's still the US, so I could see it going either way. Having them be the pipeline team for the TV market's Major one is the only way they get to the table, for sure.

SLC makes sense on paper, but the Grizzlies management isn't interested in leaving the ECHL. At least they weren't about two of three years ago. The ticket prices keep them an easy sell for the larger LDS families. 

[DustDevil61]

17 hours ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

If this was Canada, I'd agree. It's still the US, so I could see it going either way. Having them be the pipeline team for the TV market's Major one is the only way they get to the table, for sure.

SLC makes sense on paper, but the Grizzlies management isn't interested in leaving the ECHL. At least they weren't about two of three years ago. The ticket prices keep them an easy sell for the larger LDS families. 

 

As someone living in Salt Lake, I haven’t heard anything from the Grizzlies concerning moving up to the AHL since they made that statement 2-3 years ago, but there’s also no telling what could happen with Seattle opening up shop. Also, West Valley City—the Salt Lake suburb where the Grizzlies play—owns part of the current ECHL franchise and their home arena, the 10,500-ish seat Maverik Center.

 

I know that the ECHL Grizzlies have had a greater degree of success in the last 3-4 or so years, making the playoffs pretty consistently (I think). IIRC attendance has risen to around 6-7k from 4-5k after the first decade in the ECHL (about 2005-14).

 

In short, I think the Grizzlies staying in the ECHL is more “big fish, small pond” than anything else, but if Seattle goes with Idaho as their AHL affiliate, Utah may find themselves in a similar situation as in 2004, having no real regional rivals (which, may I add, is the primary reason why they dropped down to the ECHL in the first place).

[Dilbert]

I have heard rumors of the Idaho Steelheads moving up to the AHL to be Seattles affiliate. It makes sense. Idaho, Rapid City, and Utah are the only teams out west now. The Tacoma Dome is undergoing renovations. If any of the western ECHL clubs dont jump I can see Seattle putting their team there. I honestly cant see any of the WHL clubs being displaced by an AHL club.