Interesting thought, as when I think of the pluses and minuses I usually assume that a Canucks AHL affiliate would get fan support in the lower mainland. A WCHL team in Langley and AHL team in Abbotsford might be pushing it, though.
This idea of moving the Canucks' AHL team to the lower mainland or elsewhere comes up every couple of months, frequently enough to be tiresome. As I see it, to oversimplify a bit the pluses and minuses of putting a team in the Fraser Valley are:
Plus: 1. When the Canucks call players up or send them down the travel would, on average, be shorter and easier. 2. The AHL team's general manager would be seen in the building more often and may be inclined to devote more attention to building the AHL roster. 3. The attention of the local media might be sufficient to have the Canucks try for a winning AHL roster instead of primarily using the team as a place to stash NHL depth.
Minus: 1. From a player development standpoint Utica is a much better spot. It has more teams in the area, much less travel and more practice time. Travel for a team in the Fraser Valley or Vancouver would be brutal and would simply have to cut down available time for practice. 2. Utica has an enthusiastic fanbase and hockey is likely their main sports attraction so the players develop in a hockey market but far enough away from the Canucks' media frenzy that the additional stress will be quite a bit less. They are learning to cope with a hockey market without being subjected to the same level of firestorm-another way in which the NHL is a step "up" from the AHL. If the team was in the Lower Mainland or Fraser Valley, then it would get an oversized, unreasonable media frenzy, placing pressure on players that isn't all conducive to developing their games. 3. It's hard to imagine how it makes sense economically to ice a minor pro hockey team where every team you play has to fly to your arena and you have to fly to get to all of your games. I s'pose the players may learn how to cope with a brutal travel schedule, but I'd rather they have the time in their practice rink.
Since historically this management regime has used the Comets more as a place to stash NHL depth than as a place to develop prospects, it would be easy to see them moving the Comets when they can. While when the team was first placed in Utica I had trouble getting my mind around how a place so far away and inconvenient to travel to from Vancouver could make any sense, imo the Canucks have a good situation for player development and should leave the team in Utica and use it to develop prospects.
