Norfolk posters aren't usually active here as they once were, if there were any that chimed in, but their fan pages might have an more direct answer to that really....
but this was before Norfolk insisted on that being a part of the franchise, and one reason why the regional moniker faded away....
as I recall back then... Washington was the affiliate partner before Chicago bought the rights and upgraded the franchise, before Rockford became the centerpiece of that relationship....
it may have been simply the timing and how the ECHL was run late under the Kelly regime as it transitioned to McKenna, and now Crelin.... you have to remember the then ownership of Garcia and Johnson were running the Admirals and before Ken Young stabilized the franchise... it also could have something to do with the regulation that if an ECHL Franchise fails or is relocated... the ECHL has the option for five years on that market...
ok, this is what I found
@Atlantian:
the merger of the CHL, and WSHL is what caused the demise of the Columbus Cottonmouths as members of the ECHL FROM 2001-04 after the ownership of the HR Admirals was abandoned when the AHL and the Blackhawks acquired the AHL Admirals franchise (now in San Diego); there never was an agreement or proposal brought to the ECHL to take the dormant ECHL Admirals 1st franchise to AC.
THE Current ECHL Admirals franchise arrived from Edmonton via Anaheim, because at the time, neither Anaheim nor Arizona were in the owner/operation business that trend that claimed much of the Eastern teams with the advent of the Pacific Division in 2014/15... which is why IT BECAME reality in that off season once LA/SJ agreed to help faciliate the creation of the AHL'S Western movement and the Pacific Division... and the caveat as to why 68 games became the norm standard for those franchises as compared to the original 80, then revised to 76, which is what the rest of the league has since then...
the loss of affiliates and the demise of the OKC Blazers, which is why Edmonton created the OKC Barons by AHL MANDATE or face the revocation of the affiliate which had remained dormant ad infinitum after the failed run in Toronto's backyard AROUND THE TIME as well as the NHL Lockout of 2004.... (this is why the Marlies now are in Toronto today... rather than St. John's/Newfoundland).... the Condors AHL team went there to Bakersfield...
the AHL released their master schedule like they've always done, even if the NHL had been locked down.... and then Edmonton pulled a fast one by abruptly switching their affiliate from Toronto to Edmonton to replace the locked out Oilers, which drew the ire of the AHL.... THERE was also a ridiculous 5 way Oiler prospect developmental affiliation for a year thrown in to this at one point.... now you know why the defensive posture some posters take about New Jersey, AND to a degree, Calgary, that's where it generates from...
