FHL-The Circus Sideshow Continues
- Thread starter Lefty9420
- Start date
Sports Enthusiast
Not Here To Be Liked
Me too. I have looked for it. All the links I have found say it's private. Since the article said the team originally had it posted on their page my guess is they thought it was cool, until they saw everyone's reaction and took it down. Either way this league is a total ***** Show.
Gearhead82
Saginaw Gears 72-83
Gearhead82
Saginaw Gears 72-83
That is just terrible! Matt Puntureri who did that just embarrased the FHL and minor pro hockey in general. Yes its the FHL and not the NHL, but that is just a mockery of the game. If he was my teamate he would get a beat down for pulling that crap.
No Fun Shogun
34-38-61-10-13-15
A couple guys in a dead end league goofed around..... so what?
Not to mention that I sure as heck wouldn't want to get into a fist fight for a salary that's probably a couple hundred bucks a week, tops.
Not to mention that I sure as heck wouldn't want to get into a fist fight for a salary that's probably a couple hundred bucks a week, tops.
Looks like both were suspended for the rest of the season and possibly for life.....for making a "mockery" of the league. I hate to break it to the FHL Commish, but this league has been a mockery from day one and didn't need these two goofs to achieve that goal.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...r-life--stunt-details-revealed-175909150.html
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...r-life--stunt-details-revealed-175909150.html
Dr Pepper
Registered User
Figured there would be a thread up on this already, as I just caught the story on Yahoo myself.
Never heard of this league before, but seriously.....4 teams?! That's barely a division, let alone an entire league.
As for the beer stunt, I honestly don't see a problem with it.
Never heard of this league before, but seriously.....4 teams?! That's barely a division, let alone an entire league.
As for the beer stunt, I honestly don't see a problem with it.
SemireliableSource
Liter-a-cola
CrazyEddie20
Hey RuZZia - Cut Your Losses and Go Home.
I believe you're correct. Some towns and villages wait all year with bated breath for the circus, carnival, or WWE. Others have the consistency of the FHL, which is the buffet of buffoonery.
That's really irrelevant, those that wish the FHL fold or go away are most likely not in markets suitable for just a lower lever league. The FHL or the soon to be NAPHL fill a hockey void for smaller size cities or those that have smaller arenas such as Watertown or Danbury etc. the product may not wield AHL or even ECHL talent but has provided those lacking the talent with the ability to play out of love, a little bit of money, and an entertainment value for the fans of where they play whom otherwise not have much else to do during the winter months in the towns where they live. Not a suitable product in an AHL or ECHL market no but maybe Danbury, Watertown, Berkshire Mass size market or possibly Rutland VT are areas in population suitable for possible low level minor league hockey if done right, suitable arena is present, and a model of sustainability is possible.
Figured there would be a thread up on this already, as I just caught the story on Yahoo myself.
Never heard of this league before, but seriously.....4 teams?! That's barely a division, let alone an entire league.
As for the beer stunt, I honestly don't see a problem with it.
They would have looked more attractive and better represented their nation had they skipped the nasty cigars, gross.
CrazyEddie20
Hey RuZZia - Cut Your Losses and Go Home.
I guess you haven't noticed that so far, between all the garbage leagues that keep floating up to the top of hockey's sewage treatment tank, a few markets in the SPHL and one in the FHL have proved themselves to be sustainable and actually fill a void where there is sufficient DEMAND for the kind of "professional hockey" that Class-A hockey SUPPLIES.
Yes, that void for Class-A hockey was gaping in places like Akwesasne, Battle Creek, Broome County, Florence, Augusta, Winston-Salem, Miami, Orlando, Lakeland, Alexandria Bay, Chicago, Cape Cod, Delaware, Detroit, Madison, New Jersey, Vermont, Brooklyn, Williamsport, Cincinnati, Lapeer, Wooster, Troy, etc. Most of those teams were one-and-done, too.
And the demand for Class-A hockey in Watertown is huge! Look at the headlines!
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20140329/SPORTS01/703299856
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20140331/NEWS03/703319950
No one wants to go to the games, and no one wants to buy the money pit of a team.
The bottom line is that Class-A hockey is, for the most part, unsustainable.
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I really don't understand the obsessive need that some posters have to put down leagues, players, etc. It speaks to some deeply ingrained problem.
I attended many games at the Danbury Ice Arena over the years watching Danbury's team (currently the Whalers in the FHL) play in one league or another.
It has always been fun. Tickets are inexpensive, you can sit close to the ice, and the hockey, while certainly not on the level of the NHL, AHL, or ECHL is always entertaining and frequently compelling.
The guys who play on these teams, many who are ex college and junior players, have no illusions that they will make the NHL. These are not developmental leagues like the lower leagues in baseball, they are more akin to the lower levels of leagues you find in English soccer. The players play for the love of the game, they earn peanuts. Since they are playing because they care about hockey, you almost always get max effort from these guys...sometimes more than you get from NHL players making millions.
So don't put them down without thinking. Yes, sometimes you get some clowns, but hey, I've seem some pretty embarrassing incidents at the NHL level.
Lower minor league level, whether the FHL, CHL, or SPHL (leagues that are also frequently draw the undeserved ire of some of you here) is always an iffy thing and teams and leagues come and go. Making a go of it financially is often not possible.
I've never gone to Danbury and not enjoyed myself. So to all of you who put it down, I say come to the Danbury Ice Arena on a Friday night sometime in the dead of winter, and join the 2000 or so fans who are always there (yes, I know that years ago one of the crazy sections there were full of fans who give hockey a bad name) and see what the real love of hockey is. Players with no future giving their all and fans who are passionate about the game at all levels.
This endless bashing of the leagues is just not justified. They are not beer leagues. Crazy things sometimes happens. The the hockey is fun and the games intense. Try it instead of putting it down.
I attended many games at the Danbury Ice Arena over the years watching Danbury's team (currently the Whalers in the FHL) play in one league or another.
It has always been fun. Tickets are inexpensive, you can sit close to the ice, and the hockey, while certainly not on the level of the NHL, AHL, or ECHL is always entertaining and frequently compelling.
The guys who play on these teams, many who are ex college and junior players, have no illusions that they will make the NHL. These are not developmental leagues like the lower leagues in baseball, they are more akin to the lower levels of leagues you find in English soccer. The players play for the love of the game, they earn peanuts. Since they are playing because they care about hockey, you almost always get max effort from these guys...sometimes more than you get from NHL players making millions.
So don't put them down without thinking. Yes, sometimes you get some clowns, but hey, I've seem some pretty embarrassing incidents at the NHL level.
Lower minor league level, whether the FHL, CHL, or SPHL (leagues that are also frequently draw the undeserved ire of some of you here) is always an iffy thing and teams and leagues come and go. Making a go of it financially is often not possible.
I've never gone to Danbury and not enjoyed myself. So to all of you who put it down, I say come to the Danbury Ice Arena on a Friday night sometime in the dead of winter, and join the 2000 or so fans who are always there (yes, I know that years ago one of the crazy sections there were full of fans who give hockey a bad name) and see what the real love of hockey is. Players with no future giving their all and fans who are passionate about the game at all levels.
This endless bashing of the leagues is just not justified. They are not beer leagues. Crazy things sometimes happens. The the hockey is fun and the games intense. Try it instead of putting it down.
GindyDraws
I will not disable my Adblock, HF
While I can't speak for the nay-sayers, the problem I have is that this league does not seem to have financial stability, nor do they seem to care all that much about the markets they do have. Frankly, I'd be better off investing in amatuer hockey than this cavalcade of yokels.
And, there IS Class-A hockey. It's called the SPHL, and they do it better down south.
And, there IS Class-A hockey. It's called the SPHL, and they do it better down south.
@alkurtz- I wouldn't put the CHL or the SPHL in the same category of ineptitude and farce as the FHL. They may have some drawbacks, but those two leagues also have redeeming qualities.
The FHL is just a plain joke starting at the top and working its way down to the on ice shenanigans.
The FHL is just a plain joke starting at the top and working its way down to the on ice shenanigans.
PCSPounder
Stadium Groupie
Something like the FHL burns markets. Cities owning arenas, as an effect of the shenanigans, make it harder for the next team to enter the market.
So the cities hosting these teams need encouragement.
The league most certainly needs the scorn, however. They create the conditions by which the crap happens.
So the cities hosting these teams need encouragement.
The league most certainly needs the scorn, however. They create the conditions by which the crap happens.
CrazyEddie20
Hey RuZZia - Cut Your Losses and Go Home.
Right, so as long as they're putting teams and refs on the ice, we shouldn't be critical? The players care, so we should care.
Come on, man. That's your blistering hot take? All love and Care Bears?
Let's be honest. All these other fly-by-night things make it HARDER for fans in the long run.
How? Owners come into a market completely unprepared and undercapitalized, exploiting overly-ambitious and under-skilled dreamers to try and make a quick buck or lose a few bucks that they can write off as losses against their AGI come April 15. When the team owners finally have lost more than they can bear, they stiff municipalities, rink owners, vendors, players, and employees.
Let's take your beloved Danbury Whalers, who owe over $100,000 in fees to the city for fire and police protection at the games. When they go bankrupt (it's pretty hard to go Chapter 11 when you don't have enough revenue to begin with) and/or fold, the city will probably get stiffed for that money, and it will have to come out of taxpayer's pockets.
Two years down the road, one of two things will happen - either some other gongshow wannabe professional hockey league run by a sweaty carnival barker-like "Commissioner" will want to put a team in the DIA, or the City of Danbury will actually consider building an arena that could support a real minor league hockey team - the kind the Danbury market could and would support if there were a decent facility.
But after getting stiffed by the Whalers, and the NEHL Stars before that, and the Trashers before that, do you really think the city fathers are going to be able to convince taxpayers to put up the money or approve the bonds for a new arena? Or at the minimum, do you really think the City will sign a Certificate of Occupancy for the DIA to host games again? Really?
When this happens in one city, other cities take notice. Minor league hockey does not have a great name, and leagues like this only make it harder. Fans who want teams to move or start in their town are much less likely to see it actually happen because of leagues, teams, and owners like these. They deserve to be criticized, and they deserve to be called out for their ineptitude and incompetence.
And as for the league being a glorified beer league, well - where would these guys be playing the the FHL didn't exist? What kind of league tells it's players to buy their own skate laces and sticks and equipment and calls itself "professional?" What kind of professional team packs 14 guys into a house in the dead of winter, cuts their heat off, and then when the pipes freeze and the house floods, makes the players pay for the damage?
Certainly not one worth my ticket money.
Come on, man. That's your blistering hot take? All love and Care Bears?
Let's be honest. All these other fly-by-night things make it HARDER for fans in the long run.
How? Owners come into a market completely unprepared and undercapitalized, exploiting overly-ambitious and under-skilled dreamers to try and make a quick buck or lose a few bucks that they can write off as losses against their AGI come April 15. When the team owners finally have lost more than they can bear, they stiff municipalities, rink owners, vendors, players, and employees.
Let's take your beloved Danbury Whalers, who owe over $100,000 in fees to the city for fire and police protection at the games. When they go bankrupt (it's pretty hard to go Chapter 11 when you don't have enough revenue to begin with) and/or fold, the city will probably get stiffed for that money, and it will have to come out of taxpayer's pockets.
Two years down the road, one of two things will happen - either some other gongshow wannabe professional hockey league run by a sweaty carnival barker-like "Commissioner" will want to put a team in the DIA, or the City of Danbury will actually consider building an arena that could support a real minor league hockey team - the kind the Danbury market could and would support if there were a decent facility.
But after getting stiffed by the Whalers, and the NEHL Stars before that, and the Trashers before that, do you really think the city fathers are going to be able to convince taxpayers to put up the money or approve the bonds for a new arena? Or at the minimum, do you really think the City will sign a Certificate of Occupancy for the DIA to host games again? Really?
When this happens in one city, other cities take notice. Minor league hockey does not have a great name, and leagues like this only make it harder. Fans who want teams to move or start in their town are much less likely to see it actually happen because of leagues, teams, and owners like these. They deserve to be criticized, and they deserve to be called out for their ineptitude and incompetence.
And as for the league being a glorified beer league, well - where would these guys be playing the the FHL didn't exist? What kind of league tells it's players to buy their own skate laces and sticks and equipment and calls itself "professional?" What kind of professional team packs 14 guys into a house in the dead of winter, cuts their heat off, and then when the pipes freeze and the house floods, makes the players pay for the damage?
Certainly not one worth my ticket money.
Unfortunately the possibility of a new arena in Danbury, a hot topic at the height of the Trashers success (on ice success, not talking about all the other well documented off ice stuff), seems to be nil.
And Danbury is caught in the middle, just not big enough for a ECHL franchise needing to draw about 4000 a night, but capable of drawing the 2000 needed at the CHL, SPHL, and FHL level.
All I am saying is that it would be unfortunate if hockey disappears from Danbury. Is there a business model that would make hockey work at this level? Probably not without NHL support and there is no reason for the NHL to give that support. If the entire structure of hockey development were different, with three tiered layers of developmental leagues (SPHL/CHL/FHL at the lowest, then ECHL, then AHL) it would be different. But that will never happen as major juniors in Canada, the US junior leagues of USA Hockey) and major colleges, serves the NHL well.
So these lower leagues will continue their fly-by-night, year-to-year, existence. As fans, we have no control over this. All we can do is choose either to attend or not to attend. This situation is not going to change....the economics are just not sustainable.
Yes, I do admire these players whose salaries are so low as to be literally poverty wages. You could argue that they should just get on with the lives, and get their hockey fix in adult beer leagues playing late at night. The turnover in players each year is substantial. But they do play like they care.
So, what do you suggest? Just ignore them all together? I certainly understand if that is your choice. But it's fun going to the games. I'm a diehard Ranger fan, who was a season ticket holder in the blue seats back in the Emile Francis era. I live to far away to realistically make it into MSG for games so I rarely miss a game on TV. But sometimes I need my live hockey fix (my son played HS hockey so for a while I went to a lot of HS games). Danbury fills that need as I'm sure all these leagues do for many. I wish there were more stability and a better business model.
Until then, I will enjoy going to these games.
And Danbury is caught in the middle, just not big enough for a ECHL franchise needing to draw about 4000 a night, but capable of drawing the 2000 needed at the CHL, SPHL, and FHL level.
All I am saying is that it would be unfortunate if hockey disappears from Danbury. Is there a business model that would make hockey work at this level? Probably not without NHL support and there is no reason for the NHL to give that support. If the entire structure of hockey development were different, with three tiered layers of developmental leagues (SPHL/CHL/FHL at the lowest, then ECHL, then AHL) it would be different. But that will never happen as major juniors in Canada, the US junior leagues of USA Hockey) and major colleges, serves the NHL well.
So these lower leagues will continue their fly-by-night, year-to-year, existence. As fans, we have no control over this. All we can do is choose either to attend or not to attend. This situation is not going to change....the economics are just not sustainable.
Yes, I do admire these players whose salaries are so low as to be literally poverty wages. You could argue that they should just get on with the lives, and get their hockey fix in adult beer leagues playing late at night. The turnover in players each year is substantial. But they do play like they care.
So, what do you suggest? Just ignore them all together? I certainly understand if that is your choice. But it's fun going to the games. I'm a diehard Ranger fan, who was a season ticket holder in the blue seats back in the Emile Francis era. I live to far away to realistically make it into MSG for games so I rarely miss a game on TV. But sometimes I need my live hockey fix (my son played HS hockey so for a while I went to a lot of HS games). Danbury fills that need as I'm sure all these leagues do for many. I wish there were more stability and a better business model.
Until then, I will enjoy going to these games.
I never said the demand is huge for this level of hockey, but Watertown has the demographics to support a lower level minor pro or solid junior program. The United Hockey League even eyed Watertown for a landing spot upon the departure of the B.C. Iceman. For that to have happened several things needed to be accomplished and Watertown Officials were not up to bringing the fairgrounds arena up to minimal modern standards. Watertown and the surrounding area is of a traditional hockey area so give the locals a product they can be proud of. One has to look deeper in to the operational habbits of the team's owner and since they are related to the league bosses maybe one should look at any league failures resulting from their business practices. To simply throw out there an opinion that a lower level league CAN NOT work without taking into account location, facilties, and economic demographics. Danbury CT certainly has the economics, extensive regional population, but unfortunately the Danbury Arena which is in a great downtown location just lacks the additional size to allow it to expand to higher level league at this time. If a larger arena was ever built in Danbury it should be done right where the current one sits. Next to a parking garage, right in downtown, and even a stones throw away from the Metro North station.
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