News Article: AHL West Official Announcement Set for Thursday

[CNS]

AHL West Official Announcement Set for Thursday

At Sunday’s AHL Board of Governors meeting in upstate New York, a vote was taken to finalize the plan to create an AHL West division first reported on MayorsManor last spring. All parties were sworn to silence regarding the closed door discussion. However, we have learned that relocation vote set to move five AHL clubs to California was approved, and the league’s full plan is expected to be announced at a press conference held in San Jose on Thursday.

Deserves its own thread.

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[damacles1156]

Big news, I am sorry for the East Coast King's fans. But it will be really nice to have the Monarchs on the West coast. My wallet thanks the Kings as well.

 

[HansH]

I posted this in the Monarchs thread, but since it supports the link CNS provided:

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20150127/SPORTS0702/150129175

Manchester announcement to be in Manchester on Friday at noon Pacific.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Would be huge if they got some sort of TV deal to air AHL West games next season.

 

[TKFAN]

Big news, I am sorry for the East Coast King's fans. But it will be really nice to have the Monarchs on the West coast. My wallet thanks the Kings as well.

Being Monarchs season ticket holders since day one, we are being selfish saying we hate to see the team head west, but it's certainly best for the Kings. The Monarchs front office folks contacted me a couple weeks ago indicating the Reign were coming to Manch. They actually tried to convince me that there is no difference between the ahl and the echl, have no idea what the ticket reps have been smoking. Said ticket prices would be reduced a lot, guess that will bring some people into the arena, but we won't be some of them.

 

[kingsfan28]

What is their schedule like for game, is it strickly weekends?

 

[CNS]

What is their schedule like for game, is it strickly weekends?

Currently, the AHL schedule is almost always Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights with the odd Wednesday games mixed in. Rarely are games played on the other three days of the week.

 

[Jason Lewis]

I, for one, am incredibly incredibly excited about this.

 

[HansH]

What is their schedule like for game, is it strickly weekends?

Breakdown of the entire AHL schedule for 2015:

| DOW | Count |
+-----------+-------+
| Monday | 10 |
| Tuesday | 71 |
| Wednesday | 137 |
| Thursday | 29 |
| Friday | 339 |
| Saturday | 372 |
| Sunday | 182 |

And, for grins and giggles, for the Monarchs home schedule:

| DOW | Count |
+-----------+-------+
| Friday | 12 |
| Saturday | 15 |
| Sunday | 8 |
| Wednesday | 3 |
+-----------+-------+

To compare, here's the breakdown of the ECHL Ontario Reign's schedule this season:
| DOW | Count |
+-----------+-------+
| Friday | 8 |
| Saturday | 9 |
| Sunday | 6 |
| Tuesday | 3 |
| Wednesday | 10 |

I'm not sure if the arena managers at Citizen's Business Bank Arena (the Reign's home arena) will open more weekend dates for the AHL Reign -- because I think AEG manages that arena themselves. The ECHL Reign's schedule breakdown is not typical -- overall the ECHL has the same Friday/Saturday skew that the AHL has.

For comparison, the NHL is far more concentrated on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday concentrations of games.

 

[KingsHockey24]

Where in California will the Monarchs play?

 

[Jeff18]

Ontario

 

[CNS]

Where in California will the Monarchs play?

Read the article?

 

[CTKingsFan]

Screw you guys!

You die! You die and go to hell!

 

[CNS]

Screw you guys!

You die! You die and go to hell!

 

[KingsHockey24]

Read the article?

San Diego?

Edit: Ontario, very close to LA.

 

[HansH]

Where in California will the Monarchs play?

As CNS suggested, a click on a link and a couple minutes of reading would reveal that.

That said, before there's a blizzard of people jumping in who haven't been following this whole thing, here's what's been reported (though not yet officially confirmed by the AHL, as CNS's link stated):

EDMONTON: Bakersfield (existing ECHL team moving to Norfolk)
CALGARY: Stockton (existing ECHL team being swapped with AHL Adirondack)
SAN JOSE: San Jose (sharing the SAP Center with the big Sharks on what's expected to be a 1-3 year solution until the Sharks practice rink is expanded as the AHL team's new "permanent" home)
ANAHEIM: San Diego
LOS ANGELES: Ontario (existing ECHL team being swapped with AHL Manchester)

 

[CTKingsFan]

Being Monarchs season ticket holders since day one, we are being selfish saying we hate to see the team head west, but it's certainly best for the Kings. The Monarchs front office folks contacted me a couple weeks ago indicating the Reign were coming to Manch. They actually tried to convince me that there is no difference between the ahl and the echl, have no idea what the ticket reps have been smoking. Said ticket prices would be reduced a lot, guess that will bring some people into the arena, but we won't be some of them.

Yeah, even with the Kings affiliation I can't see myself making the trip to Manchester to see an ECHL team.

I'm gonna start going to college hockey games. We got some good ones here with Quinnipiac and Yale. And Uconn just joined hockey east. For those who follow college hockey. Who do you think has the best program? Out of those 3.

 

[KingsOfCali25]

I, for one, am incredibly incredibly excited about this.

You can count me in on that too! I went to 2 games in Manchester to watch a buddy play for Providence and enjoyed it a lot. I will be going to a lot of games in Ontario now

 

[Reclamation Project]

San Diego?

Edit: Ontario, very close to LA.

El oh el.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Would love to go to a few games and get a jersey.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

This is ****ing awesome

 

[goosh]

Would be huge if they got some sort of TV deal to air AHL West games next season.

I have my doubts, but this would be awesome. I'd watch so many games.

 

[Reclamation Project]

 

[HansH]

This is seriously jacking with my rooting mojo -- Anaheim's prospects will be playing in the arena I first held hockey season tickets in, so of course they'll be my home team, and the team I will root for. But in EVERY OTHER GAME, I'll of course continue my rooting interest in Ontario -- I've headed up for a game a season or so since we lost the ECHL Gulls. Bah, I feel like I'm about to short circuit like a bad 70s sci-fi android...

 

[go4hockey]

I can't wait. The Ontario arena is 10 min from my house I will enjoy watching our youngsters I just hope they play home when the Kings are on the road.