Clinton Comets EHL
Registered User
- Feb 18, 2014
- 1,387
- 326
I'll started with this. As for Vancouver possibly going to Abbotsford I think it's a very realistic thing. First the big issue with attendance was a Calgary thing not an AHL thing. People have speculated that Vancouver would sellout the arena their if they moved which seems very unrealistic, but even if they averaged 50% of their tickets sold it would still be equal or higher than they draw in Utica. The big one is call ups. For Vancouver to call someone up from Utica the player has to drive 6 hours to Toronto just to catch a flight to Vancouver. With all that said and done same day call ups are virtually impossible, hell your lucky their ready for the next day. Travel isn't the issue it was with 5 teams in California and Winnipeg back it makes it a lot easier. The one big issue I see is a lease agreement.
Travel never has been an issue with Utica, Syracuse or Hamilton. Unless Vancouver buys the arena in Abbottsford, there is little chance they go there.
And, while Abbottsford makes sense for the Canucks as far as brand building and being close, it is an absolute outpost from the rest of the league, even California.
Frankly, except for St John's (and Manitoba Moose 1), the reception of the AHL in Canada IS an AHL thing. It generally isn't accepted well.