2015-16 AHL Ontario Reign - going back to Cali, Cali, Cali...

[HansH]

With the release of the full AHL schedule today (Ontario Reign 2015-16 schedule), that brings us one step closer to actually talking about the on-ice feats of the prospects just a massive traffic jam down I-10 away from the big boys, instead of three time zones away.

So, just a couple of notes about their upcoming schedule:

A staggering 58 of the Reign's 68 games are not only within the Pacific time zone, but within the state of California. Three games in Cedar Park, TX, three games in San Antonio, two games in Charlotte, and two games in Winnipeg are the only exceptions.

From December 12th through January 22nd, they play 17 of 20 games at home (and the three road games are all within California).

The end of the season is going to be relatively rough for the Reign, as they play 15 of their final 21 games of the season on the road, including a four-game swing through Texas.

The Reign are only playing a 68-game schedule, as are the other four California teams. However, the rest of the AHL is playing a 76-game schedule -- including the two Texas teams in the same division as the California teams. So, standings will be factored by POINTS PERCENTAGE at the end of the year. If the fifth-place team (by percentage) in the Central has a better record (by percentage) than the fourth-place team in the Pacific, that team will replace the fourth-place Pacific team in the playoff bracket (the so-called "crossover" because the Central has 8 teams and the Pacific has 7).

Here are the opponents for the Reign, followed by how many times they play them (all equally split between road and home):

Divisional
Bakersfield - 12
San Diego - 12
San Jose - 12
Stockton - 12
San Antonio - 6
Texas - 6

Conference
Charlotte - 4
Manitoba - 4

Inter-conference
None.

Here are the days of the week for the home games (total of home and road games in parenthesis):

Monday - 0 (0)
Tuesday - 1 (3)
Wednesday - 4 (10)
Thursday - 2 (3)
Friday - 11 (17)
Saturday - 12 (27)
Sunday - 4 (8)

Now, other people are going to have to be responsible for the personnel analysis for the games other than the 12 against the Gulls, as I have split loyalties at the AHL level -- who wants to step up?

Click to read more...

 

[Captain Mittens*]

First of all, excellent post Hans

I just wanted to focus on this part

Divisional
Bakersfield - 12
San Diego - 12
San Jose - 12
Stockton - 12
San Antonio - 6
Texas - 6

Conference
Charlotte - 4
Manitoba - 4

First of all this is Charlotte, NC...right? Odd choice to be in their conference

It looks to me like the AHL needs more teams in Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Idaho and Utah

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Ha I am going to get to see Ontario before you guys down in LA.

 

[HansH]

First of all, excellent post Hans

Thank you!

First of all this is Charlotte, NC...right? Odd choice to be in their conference

Yes, but Charlotte is really kind of on an island in the AHL, with no real teams in the Southeast, and with Norfolk moving to San Diego isolating them even more. So, they were prone to being in a bit of a weird (for them) conference. The 15 teams in the East "stretch" from as far west as... Toronto, to as far east as St. John's (Newfoundland). Ignoring St. John's, Toronto or Portland (Maine) would be the farthest north team in the East, and Hershey would be the farthest south. There really is an overconcentration of AHL teams in the northeast, leading to odd alignments. Here's a visual aid: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...9062&spn=30.505788,79.013672&z=4&source=embed

It looks to me like the AHL needs more teams in Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Idaho and Utah

Well, there are only 30 teams to go around, so finding the 30 markets that will support that level of hockey AND make geographic sense is a challenge. If Calgary hadn't bent over the city of Abbotsford (BC) so badly on their lease deal for the Heat, then Abbotsford would be a perfect place for the Vancouver AHL team -- but the city is rightfully smarting from being fleeced by the Heat for millions of dollars in their sad years of existence.

Other markets are already taken by the WHL, and if you try to replace a major junior team with an AHL team, you'll hear the howls of indignance from the fans who insist that major junior is hands down better than minor pro of any level -- at least on the message boards (though this may be more a Canadian market phenomenon). The WHL has American teams in Everett, Seattle (actually the suburb of Kent), Portland (Oregon), Spokane, and Tri-City (Kennewick, et al, I believe). IF those teams were to depart, then maybe AHL replacements might be successful, but WHL attendance numbers aren't necessarily sustainable in the AHL. I'll be very interested to see how the Manitoba Moose do playing in the same arena as the Winnipeg Jets, as both Calgary and Edmonton own their own WHL teams that share the arena with them, instead of sharing them with their AHL teams.

I suppose it depends on whether the NHL parents of these five California teams see benefit or not, and whether other western NHL teams decide to purchase and uproot existing AHL franchises out west. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out, for sure.

 

[HansH]

Ha I am going to get to see Ontario before you guys down in LA.

Unless they/we drive up to Bako for the opener -- it's only 120 miles (2 hours) from Staples to Rabobank Arena, which is five miles (and an hour shorter drive) closer to it than the Valley View Casino Center (where the San Diego Gulls will play). While the CBBA (Citizens Business Bank Arena) in Ontario is only 44 miles from Staples, it's still nearly 100 minutes drive -- so yeah, LA fans, y'all should go to the Bako home opener to spoil it for them

 

[HansH]

And for those of you who REALLY like rivalries, here is a list of the San Diego/Ontario games:

Thu, 11/05/15 San Diego at Ontario
Fri, 11/27/15 Ontario at San Diego
Sat, 11/28/15 San Diego at Ontario
Sat, 12/19/15 San Diego at Ontario
Sat, 12/26/15 Ontario at San Diego
Fri, 01/15/16 San Diego at Ontario
Fri, 01/29/16 Ontario at San Diego
Sat, 02/20/16 Ontario at San Diego
Sat, 03/12/16 San Diego at Ontario
Sat, 03/19/16 San Diego at Ontario
Fri, 04/15/16 Ontario at San Diego
Sat, 04/16/16 Ontario at San Diego (season finale for both teams)

Or, if driving North is less of a hassle for you than braving the traffic to San Diego, here are the Ontario/Bako games:

Sat, 10/10/15 Ontario at Bakersfield
Fri, 10/23/15 Bakersfield at Ontario
Sat, 11/14/15 Ontario at Bakersfield
Sat, 12/12/15 Bakersfield at Ontario
Sun, 12/20/15 Bakersfield at Ontario
Sat, 01/09/16 Ontario at Bakersfield
Sat, 01/16/16 Bakersfield at Ontario
Fri, 02/12/16 Bakersfield at Ontario
Tue, 03/22/16 Ontario at Bakersfield
Sat, 04/02/16 Ontario at Bakersfield
Fri, 04/08/16 Bakersfield at Ontario
Sat, 04/09/16 Ontario at Bakersfield (yes, three games out of four against the same opponent, so this one could very well be nasty.)

 

[Captain Mittens*]

Unless they/we drive up to Bako for the opener -- it's only 120 miles (2 hours) from Staples to Rabobank Arena, which is five miles (and an hour shorter drive) closer to it than the Valley View Casino Center (where the San Diego Gulls will play). While the CBBA (Citizens Business Bank Arena) in Ontario is only 44 miles from Staples, it's still nearly 100 minutes drive -- so yeah, LA fans, y'all should go to the Bako home opener to spoil it for them

That is a brutal drive. 2 hours is a little generous too. But that ll depends on when and traffic. I would say weather, but...

 

[HansH]

That is a brutal drive. 2 hours is a little generous too. But that ll depends on when and traffic. I would say weather, but...

Hm, I hadn't thought about it, but in the winter, the Grapevine certainly DOES find itself vulnerable to winter conditions along stretches...

And I did just do from Staples to Rabobank on Google Maps to get the timing estimates -- not from elsewhere within LA. I'm sure from elsewhere, that drive is a hump and three quarters. I did the San Diego/Bako trip a few times in the old WCHL/ECHL days, and the traffic _within_ LA always worried me far more than the traffic between LA and Bako

 

[Nashville Transplant]

sucks to be Charlotte... Bad Charlotte.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

Hm, I hadn't thought about it, but in the winter, the Grapevine certainly DOES find itself vulnerable to winter conditions along stretches...

And I did just do from Staples to Rabobank on Google Maps to get the timing estimates -- not from elsewhere within LA. I'm sure from elsewhere, that drive is a hump and three quarters. I did the San Diego/Bako trip a few times in the old WCHL/ECHL days, and the traffic _within_ LA always worried me far more than the traffic between LA and Bako

That is also a horrible drive in the rain. I was driving to Sacramento once and I was literally doing about 50 for more of the grapevine and it was snowing at the top (In April) and we slowed down to about 30.

I am fine with LA traffic because you can mostly predict what people will do. The grapevine for me sucks because you are driving up a 12% grade and a semi or a minivan pulls in front of you to pass another semi

 

[kingsboy11]

I'll try to go to all the games up here in San Jose when they play the Barracudas

 

[driller1]

Hm, I hadn't thought about it, but in the winter, the Grapevine certainly DOES find itself vulnerable to winter conditions along stretches...

And I did just do from Staples to Rabobank on Google Maps to get the timing estimates -- not from elsewhere within LA. I'm sure from elsewhere, that drive is a hump and three quarters. I did the San Diego/Bako trip a few times in the old WCHL/ECHL days, and the traffic _within_ LA always worried me far more than the traffic between LA and Bako

Bako native here (although I moved away a while back)… Once you get past Valencia (Magic Mountain), it's smooth sailing.

You guys are facing a drought for pete's sake. Boba - how often do you think it actually rains (or snows?). The big rigs are annoying but there are a lot of 3 lane areas where you can whip around any traffic.

Besides, Bako is definitely Kings country, EDM minor league team be damned… There's a reason why the Kings are playing the Coyotes there. Heck, I still remember watching Robitaille play there 2 decades ago…

And Rabobank arena is pretty decent place to catch a game… If you do go, make sure to grab some tri-tip or deep pit bbq from Jake's and some home made ice cream from Dewars!

 

[Captain Mittens*]

Bako native here (although I moved away a while back)… Once you get past Valencia (Magic Mountain), it's smooth sailing.

You guys are facing a drought for pete's sake. Boba - how often do you think it actually rains (or snows?). The big rigs are annoying but there are a lot of 3 lane areas where you can whip around any traffic.

You must not have heard about the El Nino that is going to hit this winter

 

[hangons]

That is a brutal drive. 2 hours is a little generous too. But that ll depends on when and traffic. I would say weather, but...

I'm taking the 210 East from Thousand Oaks...

 

[driller1]

You must not have heard about the El Nino that is going to hit this winter

Well, for your sake I hope it replenishes all the reservoirs in the state!

But I've made the drive literally hundreds of times. It really is smooth sailing past Valencia.

Bako is definitely worthwhile to mix it up once it a while. There are some quirky restaurants and old school creameries to make the trip worthwhile… And I guarantee you'll find plenty of Kings fans at the game. You won't be stepping into hostile territory, that's for sure. In fact, I would venture to guess it will be more pleasurable than, say, the Ponda center...

 

[HansH]

And Rabobank arena is pretty decent place to catch a game… If you do go, make sure to grab some tri-tip or deep pit bbq from Jake's and some home made ice cream from Dewars!

It's been at least 10 years since I caught a game up at Rabobank Arena, but I concur with driller1 on it being a very nice minor-league hockey arena -- a little smaller than CBBA, nice sightlines for hockey, seats about 9k if I remember correctly. And even attached to a hotel for convenience.

 

[lumbergh]

I would say that the drive to Bakersfield is easier than the one to Ontario if you live in the northwestern quadrant of the Southland.

 

[ExistentialIcing]

Hey HF, LOOOONG time lurker - first time poster. I'll never forget the original Mike Richards trade thread when everyone on HF said, "lol eklund, sure".

As a staff member of the Reign myself, I couldn't be more excited for those of you who have been before to see what we have planned for this season, and for those of you who have never been out before - it's going to be worth the drive.. trust me.

Naturally, I'd love to see all of you guys and gals out here at CBBA this season so allow me to be a friendly contact for ticket questions, team questions, etc. My email is [email protected].

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

As a staff member of the Reign myself, I couldn't be more excited for those of you who have been before to see what we have planned for this season, and for those of you who have never been out before - it's going to be worth the drive.. trust me.

 

[Kingsfan1]

Can someone please post the possible roster for the Reign ?

I want to see what our defense will look like or could look like with the many possible prospects that can play in Ontario.

Gravel
Lintuniemi
Cernak
Ebert
Loverde
Schultz
Leslie
.............

 

[EON]

Can someone please post the possible roster for the Reign ?

I want to see what our defense will look like or could look like with the many possible prospects that can play in Ontario.

Gravel
Lintuniemi
Cernak
Ebert
Loverde
Schultz
Leslie
.............

I'm very interested to see if he makes Ontario or gets sent to Erie. Could certainly use him in Erie and he'd get top playing time, but with the size he has I would not be surprised if he starts in the AHL.

 

[417th]

How many other STH's for the Reignarchs are here on hf? Should be a fun group and can't wait to see AHL hockey in California. It is going to be great. I will travel with the team for most of the Cali games so that should be fun.

 

[Vino]

I want to see what our defense will look like or could look like with the many possible prospects that can play in Ontario.

Gravel
Lintuniemi
Cernak
Ebert
Loverde
Schultz
Leslie
.............

McBain?
Forbort?
McDermid?
Roach?

 

[417th]

I have gotten to watch a bunch of Lurch play for the 67's and I think he is going to be a very good 2nd paring Dman for us for a long while in a couple of seasons. He does everything really well and his speed/timing is improving faster than I expected. I think he will have a very good rookie year for the Reign and then establish his game next season. 3 seasons from now we could get a pretty solid big kid with reach and lots of game added to the big club.

Gravel should get his chance at a call up or two this season and see some time with us next season. He can flat out play the game. My choice for a 3rd pairing stalwart with a few other gifts. NHL caliber. Can't wait to see them play together this coming season.

 

[Dawdler]

I'm just hoping that they have an AHL stream through out the season, I'd love to watch a game when the Kings are off