Trois-Rivières Lions 2021-22 Lions de Trois-Rivières

[Adam Michaels]

 

[Adam Michaels]

Only way I see McShane sticking around the org is if we get an ECHL team (**** you TR mayor, you piece of ignorant ****) and we need some filler.

I completely agree. Especially the censored parts.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Only way I see McShane sticking around the org is if we get an ECHL team (**** you TR mayor, you piece of ignorant ****) and we need some filler.

Habs ECHL team isn't going there now?

 

[Treb]

Habs ECHL team isn't going there now?

Mayor is against it, so the council has to overturn it, which may or may not happen. Mayor did not disclose everything to the council.

 

[dinodebino]

The last time they re-assigned McNiven to another ECHL team was in November when they removed him from Adirondack and sent him to Jacksonville. That took about two days to put together.

This time, I think they were planning for it to be about the same thing. But my guess is it took longer to find him a new team to assign him to, as evidenced by the fact it's been a week and half instead of a day or two.

And this is where it is embarassing for the organization. They forgot to take care of McNiven in the meantime. To make sure the kid has what he needs to train and stay in shape.

Furthermore, the goalie coach in Laval didn't know he was still there. And neither did Bouchard. They were under the impression that McNiven was already sent to another ECHL team. But good on Bouchard to tell McNiven to come train with the team as soon as he found out. Hopefully Bouchard will let upper management know how they dropped the ball here.

It's understandable that Montreal has bigger fish to fry, but you can't just ignore a player under contract.

And this goes back to Montreal needing their own ECHL affiliate. And where I cross my fingers that it will all work out in Trois-Rivières.

Trois-Rivières is dead. Mayor doesn't want the ECHL. He wants junior hockey.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Trois-Rivières is dead. Mayor doesn't want the ECHL. He wants junior hockey.

It's not up to the mayor alone, though. The city council still has a say. So this may end up still happening.

 

[dinodebino]

It's not up to the mayor alone, though. The city council still has a say. So this may end up still happening.

Trois-Rivières is not very Montreal-driven. It's a very provincial, blue-collar town, very conservative. I do believe junior hockey will win it..

 

[Adam Michaels]

Trois-Rivières is not very Montreal-driven. It's a very provincial, blue-collar town, very conservative. I do believe junior hockey will win it..

Junior hockey will not win it because TR would infringe on Shawnigan's territory and they will veto it.

QMJHL is not looking for expansion nor relocation. So Junior hockey is out of the question.

The mayor wants the university hockey team to win. But the one looking to bring ECHL there is open to sharing it. He's not looking for anything exclusive.

We'll see how it shapes up.

 

[ahmedou]

They've an airport near this city?

 

[Treb]

They've an airport near this city?

Only for small planes (under 15 passengers). It's 1h30 from MTL anyway so who cares.

 

[Adam Michaels]

An update on the matter:



The mayor scheduled the vote for the arena's occupant to take place on January 21st.

Putting it on this date is strategic from the mayor's part because on the same day, the ECHL execs have meetings to organize the schedule for the following season. It's the ECHL's All-Star Weekend.

So it's another example of the mayor not hiding the fact that he doesn't want an ECHL team there.

The writer of the article, and the one who has been pretty much giving us all of the info on the matter, Steve Turcotte, says the mayor is hoping MacDonald pulls out of this on his own because if the ECHL schedule is made without confirmation that TR is a lock, then they will proceed without them, effectively ruining any chance that TR joins the league next season.

MacDonald has openly said that he is ready to share the building with the university team. He is not looking to be the occupant exclusively.

 

[tooji]

At this point maybe they can just use the Habs as their ECHL team?

 

[Adam Michaels]

At this point maybe they can just use the Habs as their ECHL team?

This is why the Habs are unique. In the same line-up, you get NHL, AHL, and ECHL.

 

[montreal]

sounds like another year without an ECHL team and they are going to need to figure something out for beyond next season.

 

[HABitual Fan]

I don't understand at all why they are acting like TR is doing them a favor by letting them put a team there. Sign a 5 year deal with another city and leave them with 30 or so nights to fill for the next 5 years.

I am sure that they can put a team in upper NY or Vermont and the community there would welcome the revenue with open arms.

 

[Adam Michaels]

I don't understand at all why they are acting like TR is doing them a favor by letting them put a team there. Sign a 5 year deal with another city and leave them with 30 or so nights to fill for the next 5 years.

I am sure that they can put a team in upper NY or Vermont and the community there would welcome the revenue with open arms.

I don't know where you see that they're acting like TR is doing them a favor.

The reason they really want it to work with TR is they have a brand new arena and they are nearby. And there is something about the Habs preferring to do their part to help a local community.

Not to mention that if this works out, TR will be able to start operations next season. If they do go to Vermont or NY, then they wouldn't be ready for next year.

But this doesn't mean that it's TR or nothing else. It may be possible that the Habs do have a back up plan?

I highly doubt Rangers separate from Maine right now, but I wouldn't mind seeing the Maine Mariners end up becoming Montreal's official affiliate.

 

[Adam Michaels]

The Habs' VP, John Sedgwick, sent the city of TR a letter today reiterating the Habs' interest in having an ECHL affiliate there. He also confirmed the organization's confidence in Andrew MacDonald and Glenn Stanford, who are running this bid.

He says they worked with Stanford when they were in St. John's and have a good relationship with him. And they also say they trust MacDonald, who has had success with the Growlers.

The mayor and a council member is quoted in this article saying that this letter contradicts what they got from another Habs VP, France Margaret Bélanger, who had told me before that the Habs weren't associated with MacDonald. So for the mayor and some members, today's letter confused them a bit because now they weren't sure what side the Habs organization was leaning on.

Other council members said this letter is a positive because it confirms that the Habs' interest is legitimate.

They will meet the university's members on Monday to hear their proposal. However, MacDonald won't be present because it is the ECHL's Board of Governors meeting that same day. Which was a strategic move by TR's mayor to schedule the meeting the same day.

However, the mayor did say that with this letter, they will look into it a little deeper before making a decision.

This is a roller coaster ride.

 

[montreal]

how the f*** does that even happen, how do 2 people working under Molson and MB (as least it says Sedgwick is when I googled their names but didn't click on either of their bios) You would think that having their own ECHL affiliate would be important considering how McNiven has been treated.

 

[Adam Michaels]

how the **** does that even happen, how do 2 people working under Molson and MB (as least it says Sedgwick is when I googled their names but didn't click on either of their bios) You would think that having their own ECHL affiliate would be important considering how McNiven has been treated.

The thing that we don't know is when did Bélanger say that they weren't associated with MacDonald? Which is what the mayor said in the article. He said that when they asked her if they were indeed associated with MacDonald, she said no. How long ago did she say this to the mayor and council of TR? So that obviously, and understandably, made the city a little wary of what an ECHL team in TR can do for the city if they're not associated with the Habs?

In Sedgwick's letter that he sent and was revealed today, he mentions a letter he sent to the mayor and council in November. He says that today's letter was to reiterate what he wrote in the November letter. So if he's reiterating, then that means he already made them aware of the Habs wanting to have their ECHL team there.

Also, in December, Paul Wilson had confirmed to the media in TR that the Habs were associated with MacDonald and wanted to have an affiliate there.

So for me, if Sedgwick sent a letter in November (he states it was on November 11th) and sent another one today, and Paul Wilson also confirmed the Habs' interest, then when did the city get contradictory answers from Bélanger? Was it between November and today (dates between Sedgwick's letter and Wilson's confirmation)? Or was that before Sedgwick and Wilson made their comments and the mayor and some council members are still hung up on that?

If she said what she said before Sedgwick and Wilson, then it's possible at the time she said it, she wasn't lying. It was possibly at the early stages of the partnership between Habs and MacDonald/Stanford.

 

[ahmedou]

The majority of our ex-ECHL teams were in the USA.

 

[Adam Michaels]

The majority of our ex-ECHL teams were in the USA.

That's because the ECHL was always in the States. They've only had three Canadian teams in the ECHL: Victoria Salmon Kings from 2004 to 2011 (was mostly affiliated with the Canucks), Brampton Beast (who the Habs were affiliated with), and now the Newfoundland Growlers (who is affiliated with the Leafs).

And now the Habs would like to help bring a third Canadian team currently (and fourth in history, and first in Quebec).

 

[Adam Michaels]

Something that can be seen as a good sign. The mayor announced today that the he and the council agreed to make their final decision on February 7th, so as do give Andrew MacDonald a chance to meet the council and present his plans, including schedule and other events. Since he can't meet the city on Monday (he will be at the ECHL Board of Governors meeting that day as owner of the Newfoundland Growlers), the council agreed to push it back so he can meet them.

The mayor also confirmed that on Friday, he spoke directly with the higher ups of the Canadiens and that all of his questions were answered. He didn't offer any details of the conversation.

 

[ahmedou]

Partnership with the UQTR would be interesting too. You know for our players there. It’d be a Plan B if hockey doesn’t work for them.

 

[HABsurde]

Partnership with the UQTR would be interesting too. You know for our players there. It’d be a Plan B if hockey doesn’t work for them.

And if there is good university player at UQTR, they might get an ECHL shot after university

 

[Adam Michaels]

Partnership with the UQTR would be interesting too. You know for our players there. It’d be a Plan B if hockey doesn’t work for them.

MacDonald has openly said that he's willing to share the facility. He's not looking to have it exclusively. He's trying to recreate what he did in St. John's with the Newfoundland Growlers. They're sharing the arena with the local pro basketball team, St. John's Edge.

For those who don't know, when MacDonald was bringing in the Newfoundland Growlers, he approached both the Leafs and the Habs to be the affiliate. Habs were interested but ultimately decided that the distance is not worth it (having gone through that with the St. John's IceCaps). So the Leafs ended up becoming the affiliate there.