Potential OHL Expansion Locations

[buzzworthy]

Hammer, Erie ain't going anywhere. Do your research before you make a statement like that.

 

[AttackSound]

Hammer, Erie ain't going anywhere. Do your research before you make a statement like that.

Agreed with the recent renavations of the EIA and recent success I'd think that the league and the Otters are quite comfortable with them being in the league.

Not to also mention that the natural rivalry between the Otters, Ice Dogs and Bulldogs all do to fairly close geographic location with the Otters being 3 hours from Hamilton and 2 hours from St Catherine's which make up for good for attendance for all 3 clubs

 

[OSA]

If anything, it’s more likely that there will be another OHL in the general vaccinity to Erie (Buffalo, Ohio) in the future than it it would be for Erie to relocate

 

[Hammer9001]

Hammer, Erie ain't going anywhere. Do your research before you make a statement like that.

Fair enough, was unaware of the reno and the deal. I was clearly mistaken.

Agreed with the recent renavations of the EIA and recent success I'd think that the league and the Otters are quite comfortable with them being in the league.

Not to also mention that the natural rivalry between the Otters, Ice Dogs and Bulldogs all do to fairly close geographic location with the Otters being 3 hours from Hamilton and 2 hours from St Catherine's which make up for good for attendance for all 3 clubs

True, but both Hamilton and Niagara are in the Eastern Conference, meaning both of them each only get one home and away against Erie. Unless a division shuffle happens, Erie's closet rival is Guelph.

 

[three dog night]

Fair enough, was unaware of the reno and the deal. I was clearly mistaken.



True, but both Hamilton and Niagara are in the Eastern Conference, meaning both of them each only get one home and away against Erie. Unless a division shuffle happens, Erie's closet rival is Guelph.

Niagara plays Erie six times.

 

[Hammer9001]

Agreed with the recent renavations of the EIA and recent success I'd think that the league and the Otters are quite comfortable with them being in the league.

Not to also mention that the natural rivalry between the Otters, Ice Dogs and Bulldogs all do to fairly close geographic location with the Otters being 3 hours from Hamilton and 2 hours from St Catherine's which make up for good for attendance for all 3 clubs

Niagara plays Erie six times.

Really? I thought the league mandated inter-conference play to 2 games. I know we only ever get teams from the other conference twice (including nearby Kitchener, Guelph, London, Erie and Owen Sound etc) in favor of a swath of games against Ottawa and Kingston (who we share divisions with) and only 4 vs Niagara (probably our closest rival) and Mississauga who are in the Central.

 

[Ward Cornell]

Really? I thought the league mandated inter-conference play to 2 games. I know we only ever get teams from the other conference twice (including nearby Kitchener, Guelph, London, Erie and Owen Sound etc) in favor of a swath of games against Ottawa and Kingston (who we share divisions with) and only 4 vs Niagara (probably our closest rival) and Mississauga who are in the Central.

Owen Sound plays Barrie more than 2x year also.

 

[Otto]

Sault Ste. Marie plays Sudbury 6 times and North Bay 4 times

 

[three dog night]

We also played Hamilton six times but just two,against Oshawa wish is a shame.

 

[Tarantula]

Yeah, sched ain't balanced, alot of this was brought up on some team threads as they argued strength of schedule, seems to be a way to reduce some of the travel costs.

Sudbury I believe is the closest team to the Soo ( possible Flint or Sag is within 3 hrs to Soo?) and yet in completely different conf.

Re-alignment threads have been posted before, no real easy way to slice and dice them.

 

[Hammer9001]

We also played Hamilton six times but just two,against Oshawa wish is a shame.

You are right on that one as well, I remember now, because they made a bigger deal about that K-9 Cup (which I still feel should be a golden bone) because there were more games then last year, which only had 4.

 

[Hammer9001]

Yeah, sched ain't balanced, alot of this was brought up on some team threads as they argued strength of schedule, seems to be a way to reduce some of the travel costs.

Sudbury I believe is the closest team to the Soo ( possible Flint or Sag is within 3 hrs to Soo?) and yet in completely different conf.

Re-alignment threads have been posted before, no real easy way to slice and dice them.

Yeah, I get you want to accommodate the Soo, Sudbury, North Bay, Flint, Saginaw, Kingston, Erie and Ottawa as much as possible, as they really get the short end of the travel stick. Maybe I'm thinking that the league mandates so many division games only, and all the outside division games are a mish-mash to accommodate travel.

That's probably why Hamilton only has two games vs Erie and seemingly so many vs Ottawa and Kingston.

 

[Tarantula]

Yeah, I get you want to accommodate the Soo, Sudbury, North Bay, Flint, Saginaw, Kingston, Erie and Ottawa as much as possible, as they really get the short end of the travel stick. Maybe I'm thinking that the league mandates so many division games only, and all the outside division games are a mish-mash to accommodate travel.

That's probably why Hamilton only has two games vs Erie and seemingly so many vs Ottawa and Kingston.

Yeah, I believe that is pretty much how it works. It isn't just the time of travel but the costs as well. More miles, more gas etc. Every cent of expense comes right off the bottom line, all adds up.

 

[Savard18]

Yeah, I get you want to accommodate the Soo, Sudbury, North Bay, Flint, Saginaw, Kingston, Erie and Ottawa as much as possible, as they really get the short end of the travel stick. Maybe I'm thinking that the league mandates so many division games only, and all the outside division games are a mish-mash to accommodate travel.

That's probably why Hamilton only has two games vs Erie and seemingly so many vs Ottawa and Kingston.

Flint might be one of the farthest West teams but they don't really have it that bad as far as travel goes. The Soo is a trip but they play 11 road games against Saginaw, Sarnia and Windsor which are all within about an hour, not including border crossings. Sure, the Eastern swings are tough but they probably have it the easiest out of the teams you listed.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

I understand Timmins is a three-hour drive away from Sudbury/North Bay and six-hour drive from SSM, but would Timmins be a good place for an OHL team?

Although, Chatham-Kent would be another good spot to place an OHL expansion team, same with Belleville one day getting another team. I think Ottawa should put their AHL team in St. John's or Thunder Bay. Speaking of Thunder Bay, I would be crazy to say them for OHL, unless they were willing to fly teams in and out at their expense; but they are well suited for AHL one day.

Would like to see Cornwall get another team. I love seeing more junior teams because it gives potentially great hockey players all a good opportunity.

 

[Otto]

I understand Timmins is a three-hour drive away from Sudbury/North Bay and six-hour drive from SSM, but would Timmins be a good place for an OHL team?

Although, Chatham-Kent would be another good spot to place an OHL expansion team, same with Belleville one day getting another team. I think Ottawa should put their AHL team in St. John's or Thunder Bay. Speaking of Thunder Bay, I would be crazy to say them for OHL, unless they were willing to fly teams in and out at their expense; but they are well suited for AHL one day.

Would like to see Cornwall get another team. I love seeing more junior teams because it gives potentially great hockey players all a good opportunity.

Why would Ottawa move their farm team?

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Why would Ottawa move their farm team?

Not saying they would, I just dislike the fact they put a team in Belleville instead of St. John's. I liked them with the OHL too.

 

[Hammer9001]

Why would Ottawa move their farm team?

I'm to understand, before the Belleville Sens committed to a ten year lease, part of the concern was "How long before this team becomes the Kanata Senators if Ottawa does end up building a new arena?" I'm skeptical that they'd renovate the Canadian Tire Centre to reduce it's capacity, instead of knocking it down, but it was a thought. Not sure how real that thought was. Regardless, from my understanding part of the reason the team chose Belleville is that they are trying to build their regional brand. The Sens really want to put a stop to more Leafs fans showing up when the Sens play then Sens fans. I know after being the affiliate of the Habs for more then a few years in Hamilton, I was more inclined to follow them and the players that passed through as a result.

 

[Otto]

Kanata I can understand, but Thunder Bay and St. John's? Not very likely

 

[buzzworthy]

Erie is opening the pre-season on August 31st in Buffalo for the 2nd straight year. They are the "home team" and it makes me wonder why they have been playing in Buffalo instead of Erie. I believe that they are trying to draw some folks from the Buffalo area, but it may be to see what interest there is in OHL hockey. During the regular season, we encounter many fans from the Pittsburgh and Buffalo areas at the games. NHL tickets are just too expensive for most people. Even though Niagara is closer, it is much easier to drive to Erie. A lot of folks don't have passports, and don't want to spend the money for them.

 

[Otto]

Erie is opening the pre-season on August 31st in Buffalo for the 2nd straight year. They are the "home team" and it makes me wonder why they have been playing in Buffalo instead of Erie. I believe that they are trying to draw some folks from the Buffalo area, but it may be to see what interest there is in OHL hockey. During the regular season, we encounter many fans from the Pittsburgh and Buffalo areas at the games. NHL tickets are just too expensive for most people. Even though Niagara is closer, it is much easier to drive to Erie. A lot of folks don't have passports, and don't want to spend the money for them.

Has Erie ever played a pre-season game at home? They've played the Knights in Woodstock and St. Thomas and been listed as the home team

 

[AttackSound]

Has Erie ever played a pre-season game at home? They've played the Knights in Woodstock and St. Thomas and been listed as the home team

To my knowledge it's the same reason why Missy never plays there pre-season home games at Paramount Centre "formerly known as "Hershey Centre"

Being that scheduling conflicts and other roadblocks are in the Otters way I've never seen the Otters list EIA as a preseason location for a game.

The Otters play into the same situation that the Steelheads do. With a market in a country where people gravitate toward other sports it's very hard to attract people to watch a sport that is either unfamiliar to them or has a limited interest on their cities residence.

Most teams who play neutral site preseason games are typically ones that used facilities that are multipurpose ones and have a hard time scheduling in matches in the middle of other sport seasons e.g. lacrosse or basketball.

 

[buzzworthy]

They have played a few games at home pre-season, but not too many. They are poorly attended, but then probably a lot of teams don't have big crowds for them. EIA is a multi use arena, with concerts, a semi-pro BB team, wrestling, etc.

 

[Otto]

They have played a few games at home pre-season, but not too many. They are poorly attended, but then probably a lot of teams don't have big crowds for them. EIA is a multi use arena, with concerts, a semi-pro BB team, wrestling, etc.

Attendance I can buy as a reason... I'm sure at some pre-season games teams lose money.... but all arenas are multi-purpose and some get just as many if not more events than the EIA, so I don't buy that as an excuse. Just looking at the arena website the only events they have listed is Dierks Bentley on June 29th... after that it's free until the Otters home opener

 

[ohloutsider]

Attendance I can buy as a reason... I'm sure some pre-season games teams lose money.... but all arenas are multi-purpose and some get just as many if not more events than the EIA, so I don't buy that as an excuse. Just looking at the arena website the only events they have listed is Dierks Bentley on June 29th... after that it's free until the Otters home opener

Teams use the pre-season games to attract fan in close by centers - play the pre-season games in towns close by so fans may see the level of play for the first time and get the "bug" - maybe take in a game later on in the year. Teams have to sell their product in area's where there is competition for the entertainment dollar.