St. John's Joining the ECHL (Confirmed)

[jammers5]

I don't think it will be Maple leafs for two reasons.

1. zero ECHL teams have names that match their NHL affiliate.

2. What happens years down the road if they change affiliation with Toronto Maple Leafs? I'm guessing they would be forced to change their name.

I was thinking the same thing regarding the maple leafs name. if i were a bettin man i would say its gonne be shamrocks...but ive been known to wrong and lose a lot of bets!

J5

 

[Nightsquad]

I for one am looking very forward to the ECHL coming to St. John's. We are a hockey town and we loved our AHL Leafs and IceCaps. ...with exception to the last season of our Winnipeg affiliation and the lame duck Montreal affiliation. The team as already announced ticket prices will be "no where near" the avg ticket price charged for the IceCaps, which was $30.

I am hoping the quality of hockey is better than the QMJHL team we had here. I was a Season ticket holder the 1st season and never renewed.The overall experience was no where near the AHL. I love live hockey, but the Fog Devils just didn't cut it.

As for the name of the team I am glad they are shelving the "IceCaps" .....the name was terrible. I am hoping they revive "St. John's Maple Leafs" as they had a long and proud history here. Not sure if they will but its #1 on my list. I don't mind rhe name shamrocks but i despise green as the dominant color. ( not to say they wont go with a dominate white and black trimmed with green and gold - that would be cool!)

Anyhow, I am looking forward to opening night. Nothing beats a night at the rink cheering for your team. I joined this forum this evening and look forward to discussing hockey from time to time.

Cheers!

J5

Welcome aboard to the boards, and welcome as a new ECHL fan/city. I think you will be happy with the play of the ECHL, its not a significant drop off in play from the AHL. The noticeable differences would be that its a little more run and gun of a game. Individual offensive skills will be quite noticeable, yet the undeveloped defensive skill sets will be obvious. The overall speed is much like the AHL, they hit harder and may get in to a few more fights then what your used to seeing in the AHL, what might be frustrating at times is that you will very likely see a few more odd man rushes, broken plays, and a few missed passes but all that can be expected. The advantage of the ECHL is while they are a part of the developmental system they are more focused on keeping fans in their respective markets happy. NHL owned AHL teams are not always concerned about keeping their fans happy, or looking to keep fans happily entertained when they team on ice is struggling. The ECHL is a very fan friendly product of the sports entertainment business yet takes its place in the pro hockey landscape seriously.

 

[JMCx4]

... if i were a bettin man i would say its gonne be shamrocks...but ive been known to wrong and lose a lot of bets!

J5

In that case, you're gonna be really popular around this forum.

 

[Nightsquad]

I didn't mind the Ice Caps name, not for St. John's. I never liked the old ECHL Raleigh Ice Caps name though, not for North Carolina lol. I remember back in the 1990s, the Ice Caps were a Devils affiliate and we sent a lot of good players up to Albany NY. We eventually went from an ECHL team to an NHL city lol, just like Nashville. Good things starts in the ECHL

 

[jammers5]

Welcome aboard to the boards, and welcome as a new ECHL fan/city. I think you will be happy with the play of the ECHL, its not a significant drop off in play from the AHL. The noticeable differences would be that its a little more run and gun of a game. Individual offensive skills will be quite noticeable, yet the undeveloped defensive skill sets will be obvious. The overall speed is much like the AHL, they hit harder and may get in to a few more fights then what your used to seeing in the AHL, what might be frustrating at times is that you will very likely see a few more odd man rushes, broken plays, and a few missed passes but all that can be expected. The advantage of the ECHL is while they are a part of the developmental system they are more focused on keeping fans in their respective markets happy. NHL owned AHL teams are not always concerned about keeping their fans happy, or looking to keep fans happily entertained when they team on ice is struggling. The ECHL is a very fan friendly product of the sports entertainment business yet takes its place in the pro hockey landscape seriously.

Thanks ....i was curious the level of play in the ECHL and what to expect. This all sound good to me, and I didn't have unrealistic expectations to think it was on the same level as AHL hockey. We had a QMJHL team here for a few years and it was a big difference from AHL hockey.

When the ownership group came forward saying they were looking to bring hockey back to St. John's I was really hoping it would be an ECHL franchise they would pursue. The AHL owes no allegiances to the cities they are in and they allow teams to move based on the wishes of the NHL clubs.The Q was not the caliber of hockey St. John's fan had become accustomed to. The ECHL fills the void perfectly, local ownership with no influence from NHL clubs should provide some stability, and fans shouldn't have to worry of when they are going to leave for markets close to their NHL parents. The caliber of play, by your description, should satisfy the local hockey market.

Can't wait for puck drop!

J5

 

[jammers5]

I didn't mind the Ice Caps name, not for St. John's. I never liked the old ECHL Raleigh Ice Caps name though, not for North Carolina lol. I remember back in the 1990s, the Ice Caps were a Devils affiliate and we sent a lot of good players up to Albany NY. We eventually went from an ECHL team to an NHL city lol, just like Nashville. Good things starts in the ECHL

Wow i never knew there was another hockey team called Ice Caps!

J5

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Thanks ....i was curious the level of play in the ECHL and what to expect. This all sound good to me, and I didn't have unrealistic expectations to think it was on the same level as AHL hockey. We had a QMJHL team here for a few years and it was a big difference from AHL hockey.

When the ownership group came forward saying they were looking to bring hockey back to St. John's I was really hoping it would be an ECHL franchise they would pursue. The AHL owes no allegiances to the cities they are in and they allow teams to move based on the wishes of the NHL clubs.The Q was not the caliber of hockey St. John's fan had become accustomed to. The ECHL fills the void perfectly, local ownership with no influence from NHL clubs should provide some stability, and fans shouldn't have to worry of when they are going to leave for markets close to their NHL parents. The caliber of play, by your description, should satisfy the local hockey market.

Can't wait for puck drop!

J5

well the Q tried Maine before, J5, in fact, last season marked the 10th anniversary of that franchise's success before it collapsed in fact, the Portland broadcaster got his start in that league.... currently, that market has a NA3EHL franchise and is getting a 2nd team for the opposite city where I am based out of.... the majority of posters here are well versed in those rivalries between Adirondack, Portland, Manchester and Worcester, even before adding St. John's.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

Moving AHL Utica out west somewhere (Fresno?), and adding ECHL teams in Albany and Utica seems much more likely and reasonable than the Syracuse/Orlando swap.

Also, if this is some kind of "dream" ECHL, there should be a better alignment than having Baltimore and Wheeling in the south division. Wheeling fits much better with the central division, and Baltimore is 2 hours from Reading. Both of them would end up playing half their schedule out of their division. If are going to pick a city to add to the south you could just add a team that is actually in the south like Florence, Augusta or Biloxi rather than Baltimore.

Worcester, Adirondack, Albany, Elmira, Utica, Trenton, Reading, Binghamton would be a nice north division if we are just making stuff up that is never going to happen.

I want Wheeling back East though. And Wheeling and Baltimore wouldn't necessarily play that many games out of their division.

 

[Captain Crash]

I want Wheeling back East though. And Wheeling and Baltimore wouldn't necessarily play that many games out of their division.

That's great that you want them out east. But I'm willing to bet that every franchise involved would rather Wheeling be within a 5 hour drive of it's divisional opponents rather than a 15 hour drive.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

I want Wheeling back East though. And Wheeling and Baltimore wouldn't necessarily play that many games out of their division.

there just simply hasn't been an effort for Monumental to return to Baltimore, in any league, Z.... AND THAT'S LIKELY who the owner would have to be, how that would impact South Carolina's deal included, since the Stingrays are locked through at least 2020.... even if Monumental wanted Baltimore in the higher league, it is decreed by trust, that Hershey continues

 

[Wince]

I'd expect the team to be named St. John's Caps

I hope you're right. I've been wanting a Caps revival since the senior team died shortly after our first foray into the AHL. Did you find it interesting that the recent game against the Leafs alumni was played against the St. John's Caps?

 

[Wince]

The city just wants a team to call it's own and not have to worry about the rug being pulled based on circumstances they have no control over.

If the ECHL comes to St John's and the league and ownership group can make the city and fanbase believe they are making a commitment to the area and will stay long term, then they have potential to be a great addition to the league. Having Glen Stanford involved is a major positive as he knows the area and fanbase well and every team he's been involved in here has had success.

I think you nailed it and this is why I am cautiously optimistic for this franchise with this particular ownership group. I never got behind the IceCaps at all because I knew they'd be leaving so what was the point.

 

[BigBadBread]

I think you nailed it and this is why I am cautiously optimistic for this franchise with this particular ownership group. I never got behind the IceCaps at all because I knew they'd be leaving so what was the point.

Yeah I was all in during the IceCaps/Jets era. Didn't have season tickets because I was a student at the time but went to regular season games most weekends and waited in line for playoff tickets at 5am every round. Can say I never missed an IceCaps playoff game though, even in the last year.

But when they announced the Montreal affiliation and the definite 2/3 year end date that was it for many fans including myself. I was not about to spend as much money as I did in the previous seasons and only went to games every couple of weeks. Not to mention the on-ice product dropped heavily when the Jets left. You can only look at the current NHL rosters of both teams for evidence of that. Montreal used St John's as a cheap "camper/motel" while their AHL house was being built elsewhere and the city/fans were never treated as anything more than that. All while Danny Williams expected people to be happy to have that poor, soon-to-be leaving product, and still fill the building and his pockets.

Here's hoping we get some solid ownership that is in it for the long haul here, with just as much interest in building the local market and keeping fans happy as they are interested in making money. If they do that the money part will solve itself.