2014-2015 Manchester Monarchs - 2015 Calder Cup Champions!

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

not shocked about Raine. its just a numbers game. He is a good kid. I think he will land on his feet somewhere.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

CT were you in the front row on the floor as well?

looks like I have new wallpaper material. the last one I only used for a few days with Loverde skating with the Cup for the first time.

 

[CTKingsFan]

CT were you in the front row on the floor as well?

looks like I have new wallpaper material. the last one I only used for a few days with Loverde skating with the Cup for the first time.

No. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go. These are just photos I've found on the internet.

 

[BringTheReign]

So, what's the lesson?

When the Ontario Monarchs/Reign move some day 10 or 14 years from now, you will sympathize with us (I'll be dead or in an old-age medical care facility). Nothing matters in the AHL. Or in any professional sport. The AHL is dictated to and enslaved by (except for the Hersey team, God bless them) their NHL affiliates.

That is the pathetic truth.

I would feel gutted if the Kings ever left Los Angeles, but the Ontario Reign (formerly the AHL Manchester Monarchs) won't be moving unless the Los Angeles Kings do. It was a business move that was inevitably going to sting but had to be done to make the management of the NHL team smoother, which is why the Monarchs exist in the first place.

Kings staff can now drive 45 minutes to watch our top prospects, can call them up or send them down at any time without a plane flight (saving thousands), and we don't have to carry extra players against the cap doing nothing but sitting in the press box in LA because they'll only be 30 miles away from Staples Center.

As far as attendance goes, Manchester and Ontario both average roughly 5500 fans per game, so even that doesn't play into the Monarchs favor considering many would consider an ECHL team in a non-traditional market drawing as much as the average AHL team a huge plus.

I know none of this means anything coming from someone who is a fan of the Kings over the Monarchs, but it is what it is. I am sorry that you will no longer be attending the games.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

Sorry, I looked up what you said to me on the Internet and found this:
"“Oy vey” is the ethnically Jewish way to react when you find out how much your son’s root canal will cost, or when you find out that there is a two-hour wait time for a table at the restaurant where you just arrived."

So I don't understand the comment/criticism you are giving me.

Just saying that the "Manchester" Monarchs aren't that anymore.

Oh Vey is a yiddish word term. Like shalom it has several meanings but a distinct overall theme. Oh vey means "give a rest", "not again", "oh ****", "oh ****", "what the ****","ouch", "good grief", or "oh who is me"

 

[Captain Mittens*]

I guess this is the thread to post this is in....

The AHL Ontario Reign gear is now available for purchase. The logo looks pretty damn sharp on this gear. I got a t-shirt and a hoodie. But no jerseys yet.


http://ontarioreignshop.com/

Caitlyn Jenner has to be eyeing this shirt

 

[KopitarFAN]

Oh Vey is a yiddish word term. Like shalom it has several meanings but a distinct overall theme. Oh vey means "give a rest", "not again", "oh ****", "oh ****", "what the ****","ouch", "good grief", or "oh who is me"

Lets not forget, "Oy Vey" became a thing around here thanks to Linden Vey.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Caitlyn Jenner has to be eyeing this shirt

How about Kendall?

 

[Captain Mittens*]

Lets not forget, "Oy Vey" became a thing around here thanks to Linden Vey.

 

[PJ Kings Hockey]

Manchester Monarchs - 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs Highlight Video

 

[CTKingsFan]

Manchester Monarchs - 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs Highlight Video

Awesome stuff!

Brian O'Neill with line at the end that will put a smile on Lombardi's face. It's a family!

 

[driller1]

Manchester Monarchs - 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs Highlight Video

Haha… The Utica visiting locker room is on par with some of the beer league locker rooms I'm accustomed to… No need to put plastic tarps up to protect the nice furniture!

Wish they won it at home...

 

[TonySCV]

Man... Hearing Ken Cail get emotional on this clip gets me choked up. What an unreal run. Glad he had a chance to call it!

 

[BigKing]

I haven't posted in the thread since they won but wanted to chime in.

Just a really fun team to watch. Probably caught about 7-8 of the games during the playoffs (thank goodness for the free Finals stream as I was getting close to being an idiot for not ordering the full playoff package as opposed to game-to-game) and watched much more of the Calder Cup Finals than I did the SCF and don't regret it one bit.

I've already professed my love for Mersch's game and he was still a beast in the Finals even if his goal scoring slowed down. Won't be able to make power moves with as much ease against NHL defensemen but he's got the skillset in front of the net to hang with anyone. What I really liked about him too is how he makes himself readily available in his own zone for a breakout pass from the D and then was very good at moving the puck quickly to Weal/O'Neill to get out of the zone with speed. Make no mistake though: this guy is going to make his money within a ten foot radius around the net.

Weal...it's been said. Not mentioned though is how he took a huge hit near the end of a period in Utica and it took him some time to get up from it. The player that hit him touched up to get onside, received a pass and entered the zone with time running out. Weal spotted this and skated right at the guy who was winding up for a slap shot. The Utica player shot it and Weal just blasted him as hard as Weal can blast a guy, which means he hit the guy a bit low and upended him right at/after the horn. Absolutely loved that moxie from him. His skill level is discussed but it is important that he is not a shrinking violet if he is going to play Sutter Hockey.

Dowd is very impressive and appears to have Bottom 6 talent. Fast, real nice release and shot plus he has good vision. Played both PP and PK and had a great set-up on LoVerde's GWG in Game 5.

Shore is quietly good and steady. Smart player. Should do well in a 3rd/4th line center role once he is accustomed to the NHL. Great, great face-off guy.

Kempe is *****-inducing. Kept getting better with each passing round. Kudos to Stothers for working him into games more and more. He would show flashes in his limited ice time in the earlier rounds and I wanted more ice-time for him, especially in Round 1 when guys like Horvat were really blowing it out there. Stothers did the right thing which is why he is Coach of the Year and I'm BigKing on HF. But yeah...Kempe. Guy is an NHL talent so now we wait and see if it is Toffoli like or Lewis like but, at the end of the day, it's hard to see this kid as a bust, non-NHL player.

As for the team moving, I am very excited that the team will be local to SoCal but feel very bad for those Manchester fans who are losing their AHL team: especially those long time season seat holders. Many of us have been reading these Manchester threads for years and years, relying on guys like TKFAN and GoneFullHextall amongst others to get updates, especially in the years before there was more dedicated coverage to be found online. It will be strange to not routinely be checking a Manchester Monarchs thread throughout the season. To those of you personally effected by this, apologies on behalf of those on here that seem to be downplaying it as it is a huge loss for those of you in the community. The one thing I can say is that you got to see a Calder Cup and I have faith that an AHL team will take the ice there sometime soon: you're definitely an AHL town and not an ECHL one. The Monarchs will live on for many more years through its alumni playing for the Kings and it will live on in the seats at Staples when I decide to wear my incoming Monarchs sweater with the Calder Cup patch to games. Your city/community has been great for the Kings and the development of its prospects that went on to put their respective names on the Stanley Cup. Moving to Ontario isn't going to take that away. Thanks to all of you back east who contributed to the various Manchester threads throughout the years and kept those of us here in SoCal and the rest of the world updated.

 

[cali101]

^ great post.

yeah wow... when i watched those playoff highlights i could not get over what a fabulous TEAM they were / are. just such a load of talent there, so exciting and fun to watch, all chipping in. what a run it was. and now i'm gonna have to wait for my popcorn fix. till next season.

 

[cali101]

looks like no one posted this article? ode to the monarchs from portland pirates announcer - really worth a read. an interesting take on how the monarchs turned things around in their series, and some nice shout outs to people in the monarchs organization

http://portlandpirates.com/view-booth-blog-ode-calder-cup-champion-manchester-monarchs/

 

[TKFAN]

I haven't posted in the thread since they won but wanted to chime in.

Just a really fun team to watch. Probably caught about 7-8 of the games during the playoffs (thank goodness for the free Finals stream as I was getting close to being an idiot for not ordering the full playoff package as opposed to game-to-game) and watched much more of the Calder Cup Finals than I did the SCF and don't regret it one bit.

I've already professed my love for Mersch's game and he was still a beast in the Finals even if his goal scoring slowed down. Won't be able to make power moves with as much ease against NHL defensemen but he's got the skillset in front of the net to hang with anyone. What I really liked about him too is how he makes himself readily available in his own zone for a breakout pass from the D and then was very good at moving the puck quickly to Weal/O'Neill to get out of the zone with speed. Make no mistake though: this guy is going to make his money within a ten foot radius around the net.

Weal...it's been said. Not mentioned though is how he took a huge hit near the end of a period in Utica and it took him some time to get up from it. The player that hit him touched up to get onside, received a pass and entered the zone with time running out. Weal spotted this and skated right at the guy who was winding up for a slap shot. The Utica player shot it and Weal just blasted him as hard as Weal can blast a guy, which means he hit the guy a bit low and upended him right at/after the horn. Absolutely loved that moxie from him. His skill level is discussed but it is important that he is not a shrinking violet if he is going to play Sutter Hockey.

Dowd is very impressive and appears to have Bottom 6 talent. Fast, real nice release and shot plus he has good vision. Played both PP and PK and had a great set-up on LoVerde's GWG in Game 5.

Shore is quietly good and steady. Smart player. Should do well in a 3rd/4th line center role once he is accustomed to the NHL. Great, great face-off guy.

Kempe is *****-inducing. Kept getting better with each passing round. Kudos to Stothers for working him into games more and more. He would show flashes in his limited ice time in the earlier rounds and I wanted more ice-time for him, especially in Round 1 when guys like Horvat were really blowing it out there. Stothers did the right thing which is why he is Coach of the Year and I'm BigKing on HF. But yeah...Kempe. Guy is an NHL talent so now we wait and see if it is Toffoli like or Lewis like but, at the end of the day, it's hard to see this kid as a bust, non-NHL player.

As for the team moving, I am very excited that the team will be local to SoCal but feel very bad for those Manchester fans who are losing their AHL team: especially those long time season seat holders. Many of us have been reading these Manchester threads for years and years, relying on guys like TKFAN and GoneFullHextall amongst others to get updates, especially in the years before there was more dedicated coverage to be found online. It will be strange to not routinely be checking a Manchester Monarchs thread throughout the season. To those of you personally effected by this, apologies on behalf of those on here that seem to be downplaying it as it is a huge loss for those of you in the community. The one thing I can say is that you got to see a Calder Cup and I have faith that an AHL team will take the ice there sometime soon: you're definitely an AHL town and not an ECHL one. The Monarchs will live on for many more years through its alumni playing for the Kings and it will live on in the seats at Staples when I decide to wear my incoming Monarchs sweater with the Calder Cup patch to games. Your city/community has been great for the Kings and the development of its prospects that went on to put their respective names on the Stanley Cup. Moving to Ontario isn't going to take that away. Thanks to all of you back east who contributed to the various Manchester threads throughout the years and kept those of us here in SoCal and the rest of the world updated.

Thank you for your comments about the Monarchs fans, you truly "get" where we are coming from.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

looks like no one posted this article? ode to the monarchs from portland pirates announcer - really worth a read. an interesting take on how the monarchs turned things around in their series, and some nice shout outs to people in the monarchs organization

http://portlandpirates.com/view-booth-blog-ode-calder-cup-champion-manchester-monarchs/

You posted it. You are somebody

 

[PJ Kings Hockey]

looks like no one posted this article? ode to the monarchs from portland pirates announcer - really worth a read. an interesting take on how the monarchs turned things around in their series, and some nice shout outs to people in the monarchs organization

http://portlandpirates.com/view-booth-blog-ode-calder-cup-champion-manchester-monarchs/

Another reason why Jeff Mannix is my favorite opposing team announcer. Just as Ken Cail cares deeply for the Monarchs, Mannix does for the Pirates. He has great delivery during his broadcasts. Now he's written a kind, thoughtful article to congratulate and recognize individuals who make the Monarchs run smoothly behind-the-scenes. Thank you, Jeff Mannix.

 

[cali101]

You posted it. You are somebody

why thank you.

 

[CNS]

looks like no one posted this article? ode to the monarchs from portland pirates announcer - really worth a read. an interesting take on how the monarchs turned things around in their series, and some nice shout outs to people in the monarchs organization

http://portlandpirates.com/view-booth-blog-ode-calder-cup-champion-manchester-monarchs/

Jeff is a good dude. Real good dude.

 

[PJ Kings Hockey]

 

[PJ Kings Hockey]

Hey CNS, is there an online link to the story?

CNS, this is belated, but I wanted to thank you for the great job you did covering the Monarchs. You went the extra mile. Really going to miss having you on the beat. Strong writing, insights, interviews, passion for the game. Hard to beat. (No pressure for the new guy or anything.) Keep us updated on future work.

 

[CNS]

You can go to THN.com and buy the magazine online. I've been waiting to find it on newsstands before I tweeted about it again, and I don't think it's out on stands yet.

But thank you. Really appreciate it.