2021-22 SPHL Season Thread

[Mayhem fan]

I saw the intellectual toilet that was SPHLforums has shut down. Guess the guy who ran it got tired of demanding money.

I just found this forum. If this forum goes the same route the SPHL Forums did referring to hijacked topics, topics not related to hockey etc., etc., I will not be here long.

 

[JMCx4]

I just found this forum. If this forum goes the same route the SPHL Forums did referring to hijacked topics, topics not related to hockey etc., etc., I will not be here long.

Welcome to the internet.

 

[JMCx4]

The Marksmen have officially published their 2021-22 schedule, for those keeping score.

 

[JMCx4]

From: The Macon Mayhem > News

Head Coach Kevin Kerr Steps Down

August 9, 2021

MACON, G.A. – The Macon Mayhem announced on Monday that Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Kevin Kerr has resigned due to personal and family reasons.

Kerr was in the middle of his second stint with the Macon Mayhem organization. Coach Kerr served as the team’s first head coach from 2015 to 2018 when he amassed a 94-56-18 record including a William B. Coffey Trophy and a President’s Cup in 2017. Kevin Kerr rejoined the organization last summer to lead the team during the abbreviated 2020-2021 season which ended with a 32-6-4 record en route to another William B. Coffey Trophy along with SPHL Coach of the Year honors. ...

Read more at: Head Coach Kevin Kerr Steps Down

 

[JMCx4]

A Field Pass Hockey entry offers some perspective on the post-Kerr era (Take 2) ... Kerr steps down as Mayhem coach

 

[JMCx4]

Hughes out, Watt in @ Vermilion County ...

Mike Watt named Head Coach for 2021-22 Season

Casey Bryant • Aug 12, 2021

Former NHL forward to serve as Bobcats bench boss

DANVILLE, IL-- The Vermilion County Bobcats of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) have officially tapped Mike Watt as head coach for the 2021-22 season. ...

Watt spent five seasons in the NHL, playing 157 games with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes. He posted 15 goals and 26 assists at the NHL level, with an additional 113 points in 194 AHL games, 89 points in 109 IHL games, 79 points in 68 UHL games and 36 points in 104 KHL games. ...

Since retiring from playing, Watt has become an accomplished coach at the junior level, serving as head coach of the USHL’s Central Illinois Flying Aces and assistant coach of the USHL’s Bloomington Thunder. ...

The Bobcats have amicably parted ways with previous coaching hire Brent Hughes amidst strict international travel restrictions. The organization wishes Brent nothing but the best going forward in his hockey career. ...

Read more at: https://www.vcbobcats.com/mike-watt-named-head-coach-for-2021-22-season

 

[JMCx4]

From: The Huntsville Havoc > News

Havoc Announce Return to Full Capacity

August 16, 2021

HUNTSVILLE, AL – The Huntsville Havoc are excited to announce that the Von Braun Center will be back at full capacity for the upcoming 2021-22 Huntsville Havoc season.

Huntsville has been the Southern Professional Hockey League leader for attendance in the past five full seasons and is returning to full capacity following a season that saw the Von Braun Center at limited capacity during the global pandemic. ...

Read more at: Havoc Announce Return to Full Capacity

 

[CrazyEddie20]

From: The Huntsville Havoc > News

What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Atlantian]

What could possibly go wrong?

I imagine a majority of teams in southern states in all 5 leagues will be at full capacity with no vaccine/negative test requirement or mask requirement

 

[JMCx4]

What could possibly go wrong?

It's Alabama. All of the wrongs have already go-ed.

 

[JMCx4]

What could possibly go wrong?

We all should've seen this coming, Eddie. Just check the Havoc promo schedule: The second weekend of their home games features a "Pack the ICU Night."

 

[CrazyEddie20]

We all should've seen this coming, Eddie. Just check the Havoc promo schedule: The second weekend of their home games features a "Pack the ICU Night."

I get it - the Havoc (and the other SPHL teams) probably can't survive with limited attendance despite the reality that they generally have limited attendance to begin with.

But this is outright dangerous.

 

[JMCx4]

From: The Macon Mayhem > News

Mayhem Tab Zac Desjardins as Head Coach

August 31, 2021

MACON, G.A. – The Macon Mayhem of the Southern Professional Hockey League officially announced Zac Desjardins as the team’s fifth Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations in franchise history on Tuesday afternoon. ...

Zac Desjardins has served as the Assistant Coach for the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL for the past four seasons. While with the Tulsa Oilers, he helped to lead the team to a 132-107-40 record including an appearance in the conference finals in the 2018 – 2019 season. ...

Read more at: Mayhem Tab Zac Desjardins as Head Coach

 

[SemireliableSource]

Interesting hire. If you told me a team hired a coach whose last HC job was in the WSHL, I'd expect it to be a team in the Fed making the hire.

 

[JMCx4]

Interesting hire. If you told me a team hired a coach whose last HC job was in the WSHL, I'd expect it to be a team in the Fed making the hire.

Three players on the Mayhem '21-'22 protected list played for Desjardins in Tulsa (Ryan Smith, Dean Balsamo, and Nick Minerva). Maybe one or all put bugs in Floyd's ear.

 

[JMCx4]

 

[royals119]

That's a good deal. Even $99 for all teams, all games and playoffs isn't bad at all.

 

[JMCx4]

That's a good deal. Even $99 for all teams, all games and playoffs isn't bad at all.

Having subscribed to HockeyTV for a couple of months in the spring to follow post-season play, I will note that the service is pretty much no frills. But the video feed quality was consistently good.

 

[SemireliableSource]

Looking at the signings for Vermilion County, does Mike Watt know he's putting together an SPHL team and not an FPHL team? The best signing is so far is a goalie, either Chase Perry, a 0.900 SPHL guy, or Corbin Kaczperski, a guy that played D1 hockey at Yale and Denver.

Perry's numbers will undoubtedly take a hit this season unless VC pulls the okie doke and completely revamps the roster. We've also seen D1 guys be good to serviceable SPHL goalies (Perry is an example) while we've also seen D1 guys get lit the hell up so we won't know what we have in Kaczperski until the puck drops, if then if he's left out to dry every night.

 

[GindyDraws]

Looking at the signings for Vermilion County, does Mike Watt know he's putting together an SPHL team and not an FPHL team? The best signing is so far is a goalie, either Chase Perry, a 0.900 SPHL guy, or Corbin Kaczperski, a guy that played D1 hockey at Yale and Denver.

Perry's numbers will undoubtedly take a hit this season unless VC pulls the okie doke and completely revamps the roster. We've also seen D1 guys be good to serviceable SPHL goalies (Perry is an example) while we've also seen D1 guys get lit the hell up so we won't know what we have in Kaczperski until the puck drops, if then if he's left out to dry every night.

Considering I had hoped to experience this team during tryouts last month and not once did the team get back to me, methinks they be pinching pennies.

Evansville will finally leave the cellar!

 

[CrazyEddie20]

Looking at the signings for Vermilion County, does Mike Watt know he's putting together an SPHL team and not an FPHL team? The best signing is so far is a goalie, either Chase Perry, a 0.900 SPHL guy, or Corbin Kaczperski, a guy that played D1 hockey at Yale and Denver.

Perry's numbers will undoubtedly take a hit this season unless VC pulls the okie doke and completely revamps the roster. We've also seen D1 guys be good to serviceable SPHL goalies (Perry is an example) while we've also seen D1 guys get lit the hell up so we won't know what we have in Kaczperski until the puck drops, if then if he's left out to dry every night.

A lot of club hockey alumni on the VC roster... that's going to make for a tough year.

The play in the SPHL is decidedly below Division I. What a lot of people don't realize is that it can actually be harder to be a goaltender when you play down a level. There are a lot more broken plays, breakaways, etc. Defencemen don't do what they're supposed to do, i.e. not screen you, lift sticks, steer shooters out to the wall, etc. As far as DI goalies, the ones who have success in the SPHL are generally average to better-than-average college players, but those guys are also usually going to the ECHL first. Guys who were the third/fourth goalie are going to struggle in the SPHL, just like they struggled to get playing time in college.

 

[SemireliableSource]

Considering I had hoped to experience this team during tryouts last month and not once did the team get back to me, methinks they be pinching pennies.

Evansville will finally leave the cellar!

That makes no sense? Were you willing to pay the tryout camp fee? If so, why wouldn't they take your money in what amounts to a cash grab. Only acceptable explanation would be they were already full at your position.

 

[GindyDraws]

That makes no sense? Were you willing to pay the tryout camp fee? If so, why wouldn't they take your money in what amounts to a cash grab. Only acceptable explanation would be they were already full at your position.

That's partially because I'm not exactly what you would call an "athlete", at least when it comes to the rink. My beer league skills are best suited to futsol. What I was trying to do was see if I can get audience to the Fuel Tank to observe the team and see how things were going with the players they had gotten or were trying to recruit and see how they might shape up this season. I even was willing to pay to get in.

But they never did get back to me. So maybe they just weren't interested in lookie-loos, but something tells me this team isn't exactly wanting outsiders to find out what's going on just yet. After all, it is rather peculiar for a town like Danville, Illinois to be part of this league (yes, the Bulls play in Pelham, AL, but that's considered a suburb of Birmingham) even with the lower standards of the SPHL.

 

[JMCx4]

... After all, it is rather peculiar for a town like Danville, Illinois to be part of this league (yes, the Bulls play in Pelham, AL, but that's considered a suburb of Birmingham) even with the lower standards of the SPHL.

The SPHL had a willing owner with cash to burn, and a former FPHL market to poach. It was "peculiar" for Bloomington, IL to be given a shot as part of the initial northern expansion; but the motivation (beyond a cash infusion) was establishment of a new regional base for the League, the base that Danville ownership now has its chance to stabilize. I say give them a season to either prove they have a future or to provide more fodder for the next Silly Season.

 

[JMCx4]

@JDogindy's post above reminded me that I needed to check on tickets for VCB's opening weekend in Danville. Bought a pair today for each of the two games hosting Peoria, so Mrs. JMC 'n' me will be there. I hope for a sellout for the sake of the ownership & the team's future, but I doubt there are that many hockey fans left in the area after Barry upped sticks (even at the dirt cheap ticket prices being offered). So my next best hope is that the crowd who do attend are vocal & excited to have hockey back in town.