Dumb question... How come AHL/CHL teams are all from small cities?

[Raimu]

I think it's more a Montreal thing. Montreal is the only top 30 city in Canada that doesn't have an AHL or a CHL team.

Nothing exists in hockey in MTL except the Habs.

They've tried Junior hockey in montreal a few times. The rocket and junior of the QMJHL both went under due to lack of interest.

The Montreal Junior were second overall in the league standings with a Canadiens first rounder on their roster and they drew only 1,000 fans in the playoffs.


They've since moved to Blainville-Broisbiand and have been a fantastic organization. But Junior teams don't work in Montreal at all.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

It's very hard to get decent media coverage in larger cities for minor league hockey-at least in the US.
The cost of advertising is prohibitive for the budgets of minor league teams as well.

There are exceptions. The AHL Chicago Wolves have been around for a long time in the western suburb of Rosemont. Cincinnati (28th biggest US market) has supported the ECHL Cyclones for the past 9 years. Las Vegas supported the ECHL Wranglers pretty well, but there were issues between the arena and the organization which caused that team to suspend operations after last season. Orlando has an ECHL team.....we'll see where they are in a few years. Milwaukee and Cleveland have had long AHL histories.

In general, minor league hockey has had a very checkered history in large US cities. It's almost impossible to successfully operate a minor league hockey team in a large city if there is already an NHL franchise in the market. In larger markets without an NHL team, minor league and junior teams can survive even without very strong media coverage and high advertising prices, but it's not an ideal situation. Markets like Hershey Pa, Rochester, NY and Fort Wayne Indiana are ideal minor league markets. Large enough to have a corporate base to support a decent sponsorship level and they also have population bases which are sufficient to support a minor league team. Teams in these mid sized markets are generally the best entertainment option as well.

 

[Habsrule]

I live a 45 minute drive from Hamilton and have often wondered why the Habs AHL team is so close to Toronto. You would think that if the team was in Quebec it would be a lot more successful in drawing crowds. Plus it would be a lot easier to call players up or send them down with little travel time. It would be like the Leafs putting their AHL team in Quebec. It just does not make much sense to me.

 

[Redux91]

Because big cities have NHL teams.

lol i chuckled

the mod goes /thread, and DOESNT close it!

boss

 

[optimus2861]

I live a 45 minute drive from Hamilton and have often wondered why the Habs AHL team is so close to Toronto. You would think that if the team was in Quebec it would be a lot more successful in drawing crowds. Plus it would be a lot easier to call players up or send them down with little travel time. It would be like the Leafs putting their AHL team in Quebec. It just does not make much sense to me.

The Canadiens tried putting their AHL team in Quebec in the 99/00 season, but it didn't draw particularly well, at least at first. The wound from the departure of the Nordiques was too fresh, the team was mediocre, and the Quebec Remparts have a strong hold on the hearts of QC residents (I feel that you can generally make an AHL or major junior team work in a city but not both).

The team's attendance did increase every year and it might have made a go of it, but then they got bought & moved to Hamilton.