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Abbotsford bankrupting itself to keep AHL Heat


Sodboy13

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I know all this. I just wanted to make a Homestar Runner reference and build on the "ALL OF THE UPSTATE NEW YORK CITIES" meme we have going. Was I so wrong?

Not quite. If you said that Syracuse was in Western NY, then there'd be a geography lesson needed.

It's funny that people don't think of the Empire State when it comes to hockey. Three NHL franchises. Six AHL teams. Six division I men's teams. Seven women's teams....

But no Syracuse.

BUT HEY NEVER MIND CONSIDERING HOCKEY, LET'S ADD BASEBALL BECAUSE WE'RE ACC NOW!!!1!

The latter is actually things Syracuse fans say even though if we were somehow to add a men's team, hockey is the biggest no-brainer ever. That and Syracuse fans don't realize Le Moyne dropped down to D-2 in baseball and BC is considering swapping baseball for lacrosse down the line because, you know, 90 inches of snow from December-March happens

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Twitter: @RyanMcD29 // College Crosse: Where I write, chat, and infograph lacrosse

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Quebec City Flames

with no regular tenant in the new arena, it might be a possibility (not really)

That would be the ultimate test of the Flames' ability to destroy hockey markets, wouldn't it?

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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Which means the Rivermen died for nothing.

:censored: Vancouver.

Blackhawks just announced a marketing partnership with the new Rivermen. You snooze, you lose, the Blues!

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

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http://mayorsmanor.com/2014/04/major-news-kings-preparing-to-move-top-prospects-to-socal/


In a story that MayorsManor has been chasing for the better part of two years, it appears the dominos are about to start falling in a move that should drastically change the landscape of developing pro hockey players for several NHL teams.

Through multiple league sources connected to the teams involved, we’ve confirmed that five to six NHL teams are prepared to move their top minor league prospects to a new AHL division based in Western U.S. markets.

The reason for this is actually quite simple; it just isn’t practical – or at least not ideal- to have the heart of an NHL franchise operating in one time zone, while their top development team is several time zones away.

At one point, as many as eight teams were involved in the discussions, including Anaheim, Los Angeles, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Phoenix, San Jose, and Vancouver.

Regular conference calls and meetings have been taking place regarding this idea for a few years now and after vetting several different proposals – including the possibility of those teams starting their own league – it is now believed the AHL is on board with the idea.

From what we’ve learned recently, the new division will begin play in October 2015, as part of the AHL’s 2015-16 season.

The Coyotes, Ducks, Kings, and Sharks, are on board. As for the other one or two teams still in the mix, it is believed one of the Western Canadian teams’ interest in the project may have cooled.

This is only speculation, but we would assume that team is the Vancouver Canucks. Their current AHL affiliate is located in Utica, N.Y. and Canucks Sports Entertainment owns the team. Although a move West would seem preferable, they just began play there this year, so perhaps there are some contractual agreements in place for the next few seasons. Edmonton purchased their ECHL affiliate in Bakersfield last year and Calgary owns their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat (who are said to be moving next season anyway). Thus, they would most likely be part of the initial group of teams in 2015-16.

Specific to the Kings, they would move their current AHL franchise from Manchester, N.H. to Ontario, replacing their ECHL affiliate currently located there (the Ontario Reign). Manchester has proven to be a valuable AHL market and the expectation is another team would move in there rather quickly.

Meanwhile the Ontario market has been outstanding and extremely receptive to hockey since the team began play in the 2008-09 season, when they had the second highest average attendance in the league. Since then, they’ve led the league four of the last five seasons. This year, with an average attendance of
8,158, they will record the highest ECHL attendance average since 1998-99. Even more incredible, this season they have the second highest average attendance in all of minor league hockey, second only to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

Thus, the Kings have to be confident this change will pay off by not only having their top prospects closer to home, but also at the box office.

When asked for official comment for this story, Kings Vice President, Communications and Broadcasting, Mike Altieri, would only say that “We remain interested in finding an opportunity to bring our affiliates closer to Los Angeles, but at this time nothing is imminent.”

As for where the Ducks, Sharks, and other teams may play – and again, this is only speculation – Salt Lake City has had IHL and AHL teams in the past, San Diego has a long history with minor league hockey, and Portland has proven to be a phenomenal market for junior hockey. On the flip side, Sacramento isn’t very likely and San Francisco couldn’t even support an ECHL team this season.

The Sharks own their AHL affiliate, currently playing in Worcester, Mass., while the Ducks do not own either their AHL (Norfolk Admirals in Virginia) or ECHL affiliates.

For those hoping the Long Beach Arena could play a part in this, while nobody has indicated it’s off the table, you would have to believe a fourth hockey team in the Southern California market may just be too many.

When this move happens, look for the Kings to possibly sign an affiliate agreement with another ECHL team. However, given how few players they’ve actually sent to Ontario over the last five seasons that may just be handled on an as-needed basis when the situation arises.

Barring a last minute change, the AHL and the teams involved are most likely going to announce their official plans later this summer. If the AHL ultimately doesn’t end up approving the plan, indications are the group of teams are prepared to go at it alone, as they feel this is a vital move and something that needs to take place.

the worst helmets design to me is the Jacksonville jaguars hamlets from 1995 to 2012 because you can't see the logo vary wall

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I'm really not sure why the "time zone" thing is such a big deal. Seems to me that changing the complete geographical location to (what would be most likely) a worse market is defenitely not worth relocating just to be closer time zone wise.

Why is this time zone need such a problem? I've never heard of any problems from AHL callup not being at full strength or not being able to make a specific game because of time zone differences.

If that's the reason for the relocation, that seems a bit silly.

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It's the National Time Zone League now, haven't you noticed?

I mean, yeah, it's a bitch to fly guys back and forth cross-country (I know Sharks fans get super-bitchy about how much first-class chartered air travel their poor boys have to do), but gee, have fun running low-cost minor-league hockey in the American Southwest during the winter, there's no way this can possibly go wrong in any way.

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

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So who is going to be the dumbass NHL team that sticks theirs into the Cow Palace? Any bets?

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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Self-evident.

"But that was the ECHL that miserably failed. Fans will love an AHL team, especially if they get free tickets for being part of the greatest rec league in America!"

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

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As was alluded to...the reason it's not gonna happen is because these Northeast fans (Manchester, Worcester, etc.) would RIOT if their team was yoinked from them like that...about seven years back, I remember there being a group that wanted to put the Predators' AHL affiliate in Memphis...you know that never got off the ground (mainly because my Admirals have a loyal following here, in fact I'd say better than the Bucks).

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As was alluded to...the reason it's not gonna happen is because these Northeast fans (Manchester, Worcester, etc.) would RIOT if their team was yoinked from them like that...about seven years back, I remember there being a group that wanted to put the Predators' AHL affiliate in Memphis...you know that never got off the ground (mainly because my Admirals have a loyal following here, in fact I'd say better than the Bucks).

If I was in charge, the legal change of posession of an object or entity wouldn't be complete until the receiving party says "yoink". In addition, posession in general becomes legal if the taker says "yoink". So if you get your wallet stolen out of your back pocket, there's nothing you can do about it as long as the pickpocket said the magic word.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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As was alluded to...the reason it's not gonna happen is because these Northeast fans (Manchester, Worcester, etc.) would RIOT if their team was yoinked from them like that...about seven years back, I remember there being a group that wanted to put the Predators' AHL affiliate in Memphis...you know that never got off the ground (mainly because my Admirals have a loyal following here, in fact I'd say better than the Bucks).

If I was in charge, the legal change of posession of an object or entity wouldn't be complete until the receiving party says "yoink". In addition, posession in general becomes legal if the taker says "yoink". So if you get your wallet stolen out of your back pocket, there's nothing you can do about it as long as the pickpocket said the magic word.

Truer words have never been spoken.

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That's a nice thought about New England rioting, but I don't think the Worcester Sharks draw more than 3,000 a game. Thing of it is, it doesn't really matter that they don't draw exceptionally well, because they barely have to go far for their road games and can thus keep expenses low and practice time high, something The NHL's Best Fans don't seem to grasp in their zeal to put another team in the butt:censored:ing Cow Palace.

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

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As was alluded to...the reason it's not gonna happen is because these Northeast fans (Manchester, Worcester, etc.) would RIOT if their team was yoinked from them like that...about seven years back, I remember there being a group that wanted to put the Predators' AHL affiliate in Memphis...you know that never got off the ground (mainly because my Admirals have a loyal following here, in fact I'd say better than the Bucks).

Maybe, but they have much less of a following now than before they became the Preds' top affiliate. Ideally, I'd want the Ads to affiliate with a team that's not so concerned about developing prospects that they have to worry about development over actually winning titles. Aside from that, I'd want them to affiliate with a team from a bordering state.

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Minnesota would have been ideal considering the Wild claim all of Wisconsin, right down to Kenosha, as their territory. The Wisconsin-Minnesota relationship never seemed as adversarial as Wisconsin-Chicagoland (RIP tuition reciprocity).

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

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As was alluded to...the reason it's not gonna happen is because these Northeast fans (Manchester, Worcester, etc.) would RIOT if their team was yoinked from them like that...about seven years back, I remember there being a group that wanted to put the Predators' AHL affiliate in Memphis...you know that never got off the ground (mainly because my Admirals have a loyal following here, in fact I'd say better than the Bucks).

Maybe, but they have much less of a following now than before they became the Preds' top affiliate. Ideally, I'd want the Ads to affiliate with a team that's not so concerned about developing prospects that they have to worry about development over actually winning titles. Aside from that, I'd want them to affiliate with a team from a bordering state.

Umm... Isn't that the point of the minor leagues? Isn't that the point of having an affiliate?

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