13,000 watch AHL Game in Columbus last night

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eye

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Earlier this year over 17,000 watched the Baby Leafs replacement players in the Air Canada Centre and last night over 13,000 watched the Crunch play in the Nationwide Arena in Columbus. Edmonton fans have been very supportive of the Roadrunners with many crowds over 10,000.

The NHL may not sellout with replacement players out of the gate but as new players become familiar names and high picks develop into the next generation of stars the NHL can and IMO will regain most of the fans that used to support the old NHL. I have now watched a dozen AHL games this year and the entertainment value by large has been better than what I watched in the NHL the last 5 years. NHL players in the AHL are only blending in. Very few if any have stood out in the games I have watched which proves that AHL players are better than many fans think or many NHL players are not the superior talents that many believe.

Put replacement players into NHL uniforms next year at AHL ticket pricing to start off and watch how hockey grows and how current NHL players return to the game at a small % of what they could have salvaged now.
 

GKJ

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AHL Players are not replacement players. No one is going to watch replacement players at AHL prices. All replacement players will be ones that know they're never going to make it to the NHL. Maybe at $5 dollars a ticket. Wrong answer.

Try again and this time use rational and objective reasoning. Thank you.
 

Lorenzo1000

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I have watched a few AHL games this year as well and I believe the rule changes are helping. Particularily effective are the tag up offside rule, no touch icing, and the limited area that the golie can play the puck. These should all be implemented in the NHL when they start playing again.
 

cbjfan

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Most of the 13,000 at Nationwide Arena last night were probably utilizing free tickets that were given out to all season ticket holders, who each received 4 free tickets.

I did not use my 4 free tickets. Somehow, seeing Mark Hartigan, Greg Mauldin and Karl Goehring is not quite as exciting as seeing Nash, Zherdev and Denis.

I'll wait for the NHL to come back.
 

Slats432

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Must you start a new "Pro owner" rant thread every single day? If you must, start an "Official Eye Supports the Owners and the Players are Dogs" thread, and just post there once a day...or at your leisure.
 

shadoz19

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eye said:
Earlier this year over 17,000 watched the Baby Leafs replacement players in the Air Canada Centre and last night over 13,000 watched the Crunch play in the Nationwide Arena in Columbus. Edmonton fans have been very supportive of the Roadrunners with many crowds over 10,000.

The NHL may not sellout with replacement players out of the gate but as new players become familiar names and high picks develop into the next generation of stars the NHL can and IMO will regain most of the fans that used to support the old NHL. I have now watched a dozen AHL games this year and the entertainment value by large has been better than what I watched in the NHL the last 5 years. NHL players in the AHL are only blending in. Very few if any have stood out in the games I have watched which proves that AHL players are better than many fans think or many NHL players are not the superior talents that many believe.

Put replacement players into NHL uniforms next year at AHL ticket pricing to start off and watch how hockey grows and how current NHL players return to the game at a small % of what they could have salvaged now.

Most Americans will not pay NHL prices to watch AHL players. That won't change. Your kidding yourself if you think that will bring the NHL back. Maybe eventually but it will take years. Years before the owners could ever get revenues back to where they want. Its already gonna take years to undo the damage, but it will take even longer if they just use replacement players or AHLers.
 

The Maltais Falcon

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go kim johnsson said:
All replacement players will be ones that know they're never going to make it to the NHL.
This is an important point. I assume that in this game last night there were quite a few bonafide NHL prospects with NHL contracts. They'd presumably sit out of a replacement league. The big question, though, is for how long? Assuming it gets to the point of a replacement league, I think once a few legitimate NHL players cross the line the floodgates will open.
 

shadoz19

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slats432 said:
Must you start a new "Pro owner" rant thread every single day? If you must, start an "Official Eye Supports the Owners and the Players are Dogs" thread, and just post there once a day...or at your leisure.

Good idea. :)
 

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With replacement players you'll see many of the more talented AHL guys and AHL guys who have been overlooked for various reasons (usually size) be able to fit into a replacement league. But it won't float, if all you see are replacement players. If you see 50% of the union cross the line in the first little bit (not out of the question IMO given they won't find the same money anywhere else), the bulk can be filled with these other overlooked pros throughout the world and rapid/forced development of the young players. Quite honestly I think you would only see a couple of year lag in the talent level and play in the NHL if much of the union would cross the picket lines. Without a good chunk of "true" NHL players I doubt you see anyone shell out much more than AHL prices for the product.
 

Jaded-Fan

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slats432 said:
Must you start a new "Pro owner" rant thread every single day? If you must, start an "Official Eye Supports the Owners and the Players are Dogs" thread, and just post there once a day...or at your leisure.


Where do I sign up for such a thread . . . though why limit it to eye?
 

SuperUnknown

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go kim johnsson said:
AHL Players are not replacement players. No one is going to watch replacement players at AHL prices. All replacement players will be ones that know they're never going to make it to the NHL. Maybe at $5 dollars a ticket. Wrong answer.

Try again and this time use rational and objective reasoning. Thank you.

I'd wager that 50% of the replacement players will be NHLers, 20% young players/prospects and the rest fillers. Shouldn't be that bad...
 

tantalum

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slats432 said:
Must you start a new "Pro owner" rant thread every single day? If you must, start an "Official Eye Supports the Owners and the Players are Dogs" thread, and just post there once a day...or at your leisure.

Sure start a pro-owners board and start a pro-NHLPA board and we can all stay on our boards and have no discussion.

The post is a valid topic starter IMO.
 

Double-Shift Lasse

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cbjfan said:
Most of the 13,000 at Nationwide Arena last night were probably utilizing free tickets that were given out to all season ticket holders, who each received 4 free tickets.

I did not use my 4 free tickets. Somehow, seeing Mark Hartigan, Greg Mauldin and Karl Goehring is not quite as exciting as seeing Nash, Zherdev and Denis.

I'll wait for the NHL to come back.


I used my freebies, but cbjfan is right, I'll bet there were few paid attendees. And while the turnout was impressive, numbers-wise, you'd see fewer and fewer show up the longer the "Blue Jackets" didn't put Nash, etc., on the ice. Last night hardly validates the potential for replacement players. What is does validate is that there are a lot of folks who miss hockey.
 

jacketracket*

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Replacement players?

This was an AHL game between the Syracuse Crunch and the Cleveland Lumberjacks.

I was a little disappointed to hear the attendance figure at 13,000 --- I expected more, with the give-away to season-ticket holders. Due to a last-minute schedule change, I couldn't attend, but I found willing takers for my 4 tix.
 

Sotnos

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I'm changing the misleading thread title. As someone said, AHL players are NOT replacement players (at least not currently).

13,000 showed up for the Falcons game in Tampa, but of course a lot of the tickets were freebies, so you really can't draw any conclusions except that lots of hockey-starved people will show up for a free game, kind of a no-brainer.
 

tantalum

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Double-Shift Lassés said:
I used my freebies, but cbjfan is right, I'll bet there were few paid attendees. And while the turnout was impressive, numbers-wise, you'd see fewer and fewer show up the longer the "Blue Jackets" didn't put Nash, etc., on the ice. Last night hardly validates the potential for replacement players. What is does validate is that there are a lot of folks who miss hockey.

Perhaps but I see the first guys to cross any sort of picket line are the young guys with only a year or two of salary under their belt. I think a league using replacement players would see the 3rd/4th liner, 4-7 D-men and under 25 set leave the union quite quickly.
 

Double-Shift Lasse

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AM said:
Sure seem not to be moderate.

Its a valid point, and an accurate one. Replacement players would get good NHL teams on the ice in less then a month.

Remember, the coaching and training staff arnt replacements. You guys obviously have no idea how professional staff makes for better play.

No amount of NHL-caliber coaching is going to turn Jeff Panzer (last night's lone goal scorer) into Nicolai Zherdev. The idea of replacement players is a fine one for folks who'd really like to stick it to the union, but in the real world, I just don't see it having the effect they hope it would.
 

sabrefan27

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mr gib said:
- those ahl games are really bad - no offense - just a bunch of guys learning defensive systems afraid to make mistakes -
NHL teams averaged 2.56 goals per game last season, while the AHL teams average 2.66 goals per game. How is it less offensive? We've seen 2 games of 60+ shots and an 8-7 game the other night.
 

mr gib

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there was a series of games last and this week between manitoba, edmonton, and saint john's - most of the goals were scored from scrambles and shots from weird angles - very little action from transitional turnovers and head man rushes - everyone was back clogging the middle and covering their checks - it would seem any offensive risking taking at the expense of defence will get you a seat on the bench - please don't quote stats - watch the games - there have been some canuck games on from two years ago - we haven't seen nhl hockey for so long one can forget how fast and physical it really is - also us vancouverites are spoiled - we have a great offensive team - thanks brian burke - i will agree that some games the goals come but not the ones i watched - the swedish league stinks too -
 

eye

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Double-Shift Lassés said:
No amount of NHL-caliber coaching is going to turn Jeff Panzer (last night's lone goal scorer) into Nicolai Zherdev. The idea of replacement players is a fine one for folks who'd really like to stick it to the union, but in the real world, I just don't see it having the effect they hope it would.

Jeff Panzer is about 5'8" but has more talent and skills than many NHL players. He just lacks in the height column which has become so important to the defensive minded NHL. I'd take Panzer over half the Blue Jackets roster but that's me. I prefer skill over size.
 

sabrefan27

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mr gib said:
there was a series of games last and this week between manitoba, edmonton, and saint john's - most of the goals were scored from scrambles and shots from weird angles - very little action from transitional turnovers and head man rushes - everyone was back clogging the middle and covering their checks - it would seem any offensive risking taking at the expense of defence will get you a seat on the bench - please don't quote stats - watch the games - there have been some canuck games on from two years ago - we haven't seen nhl hockey for so long one can forget how fast and physical it really is - also us vancouverites are spoiled - we have a great offensive team - thanks brian burke - i will agree that some games the goals come but not the ones i watched - the swedish league stinks too -
Watch the games? I have season tickets. With the new rule changes, the AHL is more offensive than the NHL in general. The quality of play isn't quite there, but that's obvious. But it's close.
 

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knock off the personal stuff and follow the rules.

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This means everybody and is not open to debate.
 

mr gib

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sabrefan27 said:
Watch the games? I have season tickets. With the new rule changes, the AHL is more offensive than the NHL in general. The quality of play isn't quite there, but that's obvious. But it's close.
thats cool - i'll give you that - cheers
 

Double-Shift Lasse

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eye said:
Jeff Panzer is about 5'8" but has more talent and skills than many NHL players. He just lacks in the height column which has become so important to the defensive minded NHL. I'd take Panzer over half the Blue Jackets roster but that's me. I prefer skill over size.

Don't get me wrong. I like Panzer. He may be better than some players with the CBJ, I don't know. This thread isn't about skills vs. size and I didn't bring it up in my post. My point is, he'd be one of the best players on a "replacement" CBJ. This team, no matter how well-coached, would not be as good as a team with Zherdev, Nash, etc., and therefore I don't think you can expect fans to support it like they did, even with lower ticket prices. The Columbus Clippers are the New York Yankees AAA affiliate. You think if they sent that entire roster to NY and called it the Yankees, that people would support it as they do Jeter/Sheffield cast?
 
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