how long until the echl will have 31 teams and where you put the teams?

[MiamiHockey]

It would not shock me if the Sens are interested in co owning or 100% a team and having it based out of Eastern Ontario maybe Kingston.

I haven't too many posts with less logic than this ...

You're saying they'd have their AHL franchise in a city of 50,000 with an arena capacity of 4,400 that's a 3-hour drive to Ottawa ...

and then put an ECHL franchise in a city of 120,000 with an arena capacity of 6,700 that's only a 2-hour drive to Ottawa.

Alrighty then.

If you really think Ottawa wants an ECHL franchise in Eastern Ontario, Cornwall is the place it can go. Cornwall is a decent size (50,000), has a good rink (Ed Lumley) with good capacity (5,000), is close to Ottawa, and has no OHL franchise to remove.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Portland ECHL 2018/19:

Seems like everyone is always talking about Portland and Reno joing the ECHL. Has anything new surfaced about teams in these cities for 2018-19 yet? In my opinion i would love to see Portland make a comeback. The league needs some more north east teams.

nothing has surfaced yet but then again we're a year or so out as for any updates from either the Trustee Board that operates and oversees Cross Arena, Spectra and the other group previously mentioned in a separate thread, have to be vetted first and I would suspect nothing further until an agreement is reached as to who actually will own the franchise in Portland, and then identifying any existing market, if not expansion... LIKELY FOLLOWS the trajectory of what Worcester did with the Railers HC, and then you'll see more updates like how that thread got rolling.

 

[Cacciaguida]

It would not shock me if the Sens are interested in co owning or 100% a team and having it based out of Eastern Ontario maybe Kingston.

If it were me I'd put it in Cornwall. They've got an arena and Melnyk has shown with Belleville that's he's willing to throw some money into a minor league arena if he thinks it will pay off. Just don't name the ****ing team the Senators. Nationals from the FHL is actually a pretty good name. Too bad it's the FHL and nobody takes it seriously.

Nobody had Jacksonville on their radar prior to the team announcing, so who knows?

I must be the lone person who did.

Won't happen. They don't even have a full slate of stable franchises now. There's not even 31 stable minor league franchises combined between the two leagues. For the fake business paradigm you can see why they would want 31 but for the fans it'd actually be better if the affiliation game would decrease. As it goes now the teams aren't built to try and win. They are built for "development" of almost which there's none and its a lot more of an illusion.

most leagues never have 100% stable franchises, expecting such from minor leagues is just a laughable.

as for development, I'd expect to see the NHL throwing more undrafted signed players onto the rosters until the draft/contract limit expands. Also to use the league to see which ex players make good coaches.

I wouldn't be surprized if the NHL even starts looking at the SPHL for expansion.

these are my cities I have pegged irregardless to owner or arena situations.

Houston, New Orleans, Portland ME, St. Johns, Lowell, Albany, Kentucky, Baltimore Clippers!!!, Thunder Bay, Chilliwack/Abbotsford, Oklahoma City, Fresno, Oakland, Sacramento, hell I'd even like to see San Francisco again.

 

[210]

I wouldn't be surprized if the NHL even starts looking at the SPHL for expansion.

Requires a change in the NHL CBA for them to be able to assign players to any league lower than the ECHL, and I can't see that happening.

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

Seems like everyone is always talking about Portland and Reno joing the ECHL. Has anything new surfaced about teams in these cities for 2018-19 yet? In my opinion i would love to see Portland make a comeback. The league needs some more north east teams.

Hasn't Reno been paying a franchise fee for like a decade?

 

[210]

Hasn't Reno been paying a franchise fee for like a decade?

They stopped a couple seasons ago.

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

If it were me I'd put it in Cornwall. They've got an arena and Melnyk has shown with Belleville that's he's willing to throw some money into a minor league arena if he thinks it will pay off. Just don't name the f***ing team the Senators. Nationals from the FHL is actually a pretty good name. Too bad it's the FHL and nobody takes it seriously.



I must be the lone person who did.




most leagues never have 100% stable franchises, expecting such from minor leagues is just a laughable.

as for development, I'd expect to see the NHL throwing more undrafted signed players onto the rosters until the draft/contract limit expands. Also to use the league to see which ex players make good coaches.

I wouldn't be surprized if the NHL even starts looking at the SPHL for expansion.

these are my cities I have pegged irregardless to owner or arena situations.

Houston, New Orleans, Portland ME, St. Johns, Lowell, Albany, Kentucky, Baltimore Clippers!!!, Thunder Bay, Chilliwack/Abbotsford, Oklahoma City, Fresno, Oakland, Sacramento, hell I'd even like to see San Francisco again.

The sad part is no organization outside of an NFL team needs 50 contracted players.

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

Won't be anytime soon but...

It sounds like Reno and Portland will be joining the ECHL for 18-19 and the current rumor is that the Colorado Eagles will be making the jump to the AHL for 18-19 at the earliest.

I don't see Adirondack working out with their current ownership status, given that Elmira was "community owned" and that didn't work out.

It could work but the Elmira owner basically completely bailed. He was supposed to own it but a "board" would run things and deal with the operations. Then the government became the principled owner. The team could have still gone on but the building owner didn't want the debt.

 

[Nightsquad]

Won't be anytime soon but...

It sounds like Reno and Portland will be joining the ECHL for 18-19 and the current rumor is that the Colorado Eagles will be making the jump to the AHL for 18-19 at the earliest.

I don't see Adirondack working out with their current ownership status, given that Elmira was "community owned" and that didn't work out.

Adirondack already appears uncertain unfortunately. Adirondack isn't event purchased from Calgary yet to my belief. Calgary gave the local ownership group (a small group of local business owners, not a collection of community funded fans) first priority in the off season to buy the franchise. They were attempting to raise money to go towards operating costs but at this time doesn't appear to be a strong campaign. Calgary was paying all of the bills, is this small group of local business leaders able to invest in the rest? That's the million dollar question, literally... If they fail to raise the funds does Calgary have the sole discretion to sell to someone else, possibly another market??

https://www.gofundme.com/keep-hockey-here

 

[210]

The ECHL wouldn't approve the transfer of the team to new owners unless it was actually sold...and, as I can show proof by supplying a link, the ECHL did approve the transfer.

http://www.echl.com/echl-approves-transfer-of-controlling-interest-in-adirondack-thunder

 

[Nightsquad]

The ECHL wouldn't approve the transfer of the team to new owners unless it was actually sold...and, as I can show proof by supplying a link, the ECHL did approve the transfer.

http://www.echl.com/echl-approves-transfer-of-controlling-interest-in-adirondack-thunder

Links prove nothing, not saying it isn't already a done deal or that they do not have to funds in place to purchase. What I pointed out is that already a cloud is cast on the confidence of the group's ability to purchase, operate, and the collective community's interest in the whole effort. What is not discussed in press links, comments from sources which not disclosed, and other back channel sources is often the real substance.

http://poststar.com/sports/hockey/t...cle_c5557445-11ce-5369-a063-fab067c49409.html

 

[210]

Links prove nothing, not saying it isn't already a done deal or that they do not have to funds in place to purchase. What I pointed out is that already a cloud is cast on the confidence of the group's ability to purchase, operate, and the collective community's interest in the whole effort. What is not discussed in press links, comments from sources which not disclosed, and other back channel sources is often the real substance.

http://poststar.com/sports/hockey/t...cle_c5557445-11ce-5369-a063-fab067c49409.html

You understand I posted a link to the ECHL website, right? And you understand that the link I posted shows the transfer of the franchise was voted on by the ECHL's Board of Governors and approved, right? So, yeah, the link proves exactly what I claimed.

 

[Cacciaguida]

The sad part is no organization outside of an NFL team needs 50 contracted players.

I don't see why not when most of them are prospects

 

[Nightsquad]

You understand I posted a link to the ECHL website, right? And you understand that the link I posted shows the transfer of the franchise was voted on by the ECHL's Board of Governors and approved, right? So, yeah, the link proves exactly what I claimed.

Does it? I don't see where the purchase was completed. All it says to me is the transfer from Calgary to the local group was approved. In other words it says the transfer was allowed to occur. The group invested $200,000 of their own funds, they were looking to raise another $800,000. My understanding was there were some fund raising the group had to complete in order to execute the final purchase, and be able to operate the team next season. If Calgary stays on board as an affiliation then maybe they have and agreement or extension in place or perhaps the final transfer has been satisfied. I take nothing for granted, nothing at face value, and even contracts or agreements have been broken.

 

[210]

Does it? I don't see where the purchase was completed. All it says to me is the transfer from Calgary to the local group was approved. In other words it says the transfer was allowed to occur. The group invested $200,000 of their own funds, they were looking to raise another $800,000. My understanding was there were some fund raising the group had to complete in order to execute the final purchase, and be able to operate the team next season. If Calgary stays on board as an affiliation then maybe they have and agreement or extension in place or perhaps the final transfer has been satisfied. I take nothing for granted, nothing at face value, and even contracts or agreements have been broken.

Yes, it does.

 

[Nightsquad]

Yes, it does.

It doesn't, you took this at face value. That is the problem, the ECHL puts out a vague release of info. Nowhere did it say the local group at this juncture had ownership of the franchise from the Calgary Flames organization.

""The coalition launched the "Keep Hockey Here" fundraising campaign on February 28, the date it agreed to purchase the Adirondack Thunder from the Calgary Sports & Entertainment. The campaign is designed to solicit the additional funds necessary for a successful team ownership and the coalition has set a $1 million campaign goal, including contributions from coalition members. The sale of the Thunder will be officially approved on June 30, 2017 with campaign completion targeted by that date. Fans can make an online donation to help “Keep Hockey Here” by visiting https://www.gofundme.com/keep-hockey-here.""

http://echlthunder.com/news/?article_id=827

Notice the language, February 28, the date it agreed to purchase

Notice the language, Sale of the Thunder will be officially approved on June 30, 2017.

Now with all that out in the air I hope they can complete the purchase. For Manchester's and Worcester's sake and stability I hope things work out okay for Adirondack. I am sure it will as the local group seems very committed to its success.

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

I don't see why not when most of them are prospects

Because in baseball you can have a 25 man roster(kind of misleading though because I don't think that many can dress for a game)basketball you have like 13 guys but they'll all likely never play. In hockey you can dress like 20, right(league vary)you can dress 2 teams worth but at the same point you've already got your 20+ on your big team already. I guess the only argument is for the future but at the same time from an owner perspective I wouldn't spend more money than I had to. It is wasteful spending mostly.

 

[210]

It doesn't, you took this at face value. That is the problem, the ECHL puts out a vague release of info. Nowhere did it say the local group at this juncture had ownership of the franchise from the Calgary Flames organization.

""The coalition launched the "Keep Hockey Here" fundraising campaign on February 28, the date it agreed to purchase the Adirondack Thunder from the Calgary Sports & Entertainment. The campaign is designed to solicit the additional funds necessary for a successful team ownership and the coalition has set a $1 million campaign goal, including contributions from coalition members. The sale of the Thunder will be officially approved on June 30, 2017 with campaign completion targeted by that date. Fans can make an online donation to help “Keep Hockey Here†by visiting https://www.gofundme.com/keep-hockey-here.""

http://echlthunder.com/news/?article_id=827

Notice the language, February 28, the date it agreed to purchase

Notice the language, Sale of the Thunder will be officially approved on June 30, 2017.

Now with all that out in the air I hope they can complete the purchase. For Manchester's and Worcester's sake and stability I hope things work out okay for Adirondack. I am sure it will as the local group seems very committed to its success.

FYI, you just took those links and stories at face value, the exact thing you said you don't do.

 

[ADK34]

why are u arguing Nightsquad do you want to buy the Thunder and operate it on your own, that's the point you're telling everyone here, are u a secret millionaire that no one knows about, because if u are why don't you buy the Coyotes, TOO while you're at it and see if u alone can build an arena for them

Maybe buy the whole ECHL and AHL while hes at it

 

[Nightsquad]

why are u arguing Nightsquad do you want to buy the Thunder and operate it on your own, that's the point you're telling everyone here, are u a secret millionaire that no one knows about, because if u are why don't you buy the Coyotes, TOO while you're at it and see if u alone can build an arena for them

Garden variety millionaires cant afford to purchase NHL teams and build NHL arenas unless part of a group. As far as Adirondack not many are investing anything up that way. Upstate NY is kind of a dead market to invest anything in. Most of Upstate NY is leaving town and cities in Upstate NY for [MOD] the mid Atlantic, south, and west. [MOD] Most minor league teams have to get the nod "or political approval" from local political parties.

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

Garden variety millionaires cant afford to purchase NHL teams and build NHL arenas unless part of a group. As far as Adirondack not many are investing anything up that way. Upstate NY is kind of a dead market to invest anything in. Most of Upstate NY is leaving town and cities in Upstate NY for [MOD] the mid Atlantic, south, and west. [MOD] Most minor league teams have to get the nod "or political approval" from local political parties.

As an upstater I can attest to this. Thank god in a month I can say that will no longer be the case. This state is the exact definition of what happens when you offer no incentive to live there. Its cold, [MOD] Its kind of ironic. Back in the 90's when the Bills were a thing upstate NY was thriving. At about the same time both collapsed. Its weird how things like that actually turn out.

 

[ADK34]

It doesn't, you took this at face value. That is the problem, the ECHL puts out a vague release of info. Nowhere did it say the local group at this juncture had ownership of the franchise from the Calgary Flames organization.

""The coalition launched the "Keep Hockey Here" fundraising campaign on February 28, the date it agreed to purchase the Adirondack Thunder from the Calgary Sports & Entertainment. The campaign is designed to solicit the additional funds necessary for a successful team ownership and the coalition has set a $1 million campaign goal, including contributions from coalition members. The sale of the Thunder will be officially approved on June 30, 2017 with campaign completion targeted by that date. Fans can make an online donation to help “Keep Hockey Here†by visiting https://www.gofundme.com/keep-hockey-here.""

http://echlthunder.com/news/?article_id=827

Notice the language, February 28, the date it agreed to purchase

Notice the language, Sale of the Thunder will be officially approved on June 30, 2017.

Now with all that out in the air I hope they can complete the purchase. For Manchester's and Worcester's sake and stability I hope things work out okay for Adirondack. I am sure it will as the local group seems very committed to its success.

The sale of the Thunder happened. It will be made official on June 30th. The $1M they need to raise is basically money for the new owners to work with and operate.

 

[210]

The sale of the Thunder happened. It will be made official on June 30th. The $1M they need to raise is basically money for the new owners to work with and operate.

And that June 30th date wasn't chosen at random. The new hockey year starts on July 1st.

 

[Nightsquad]

The sale of the Thunder happened. It will be made official on June 30th. The $1M they need to raise is basically money for the new owners to work with and operate.

I think we already mentioned that but okay. I hope they can stabilize things up there, to date it is safe to say support has been a major disappointment. Year two should have seen an uptick in attendance, especially with the All Star game failing to sell out completely in such a "hockey town". Be nice to see Adirondack and Manchester hold out and stabilize. Manchester's attendance for the playoffs is off by thousands compared to when the AHL was there. Worcester needs those two markets big time. Should they fall Worcester might not last, forget about Portland getting off the ground.

 

[ADK34]

I think we already mentioned that but okay. I hope they can stabilize things up there, to date it is safe to say support has been a major disappointment. Year two should have seen an uptick in attendance, especially with the All Star game failing to sell out completely in such a "hockey town". Be nice to see Adirondack and Manchester hold out and stabilize. Manchester's attendance for the playoffs is off by thousands compared to when the AHL was there. Worcester needs those two markets big time. Should they fall Worcester might not last, forget about Portland getting off the ground.

Are you an Adirondack Hockey Expert? Do you just hate Adirondack for some reason? Do you even live up here in GF? Adirondack will be fine, nuff said...