Flint After OHL Team?

[TcNorth]

If you think that the Flint front office is going to be able to turn over a majority of the roster, you may be in for some disappointment. How much say Vellucci had in hiring the current coach and GM isn't known to any of us on this board. It seems pretty obvious that Elland and Craig were just stop gap pieces until the team was moved or sold. What good coaching candidate wants to go into a situation that is up in the air? Now that there is new ownership and a place to play, I am sure they will attracted better front office staff. Although it will be tough to match the coaching Detroit/Plymouth has had over the years with Paul Maurice, Peter Deboer and Vellucci.

We shall see. Hopefully, Flint's new owners have selected a Coach and GM that will have more success on the ice than this years Whalers.

 

[Whalers Fan]

We shall see. Hopefully, Flint's new owners have selected a Coach and GM that will have more success on the ice than this years Whalers.

If the new Flint owners cannot select a GM and coach better than the Gong Show that was Plymouth this season, then the team is doomed to failure. As Sadist said, Craig and Elland were just lame duck hires by a franchise that was intent on either moving or being sold. A team is not going to able to attract quality candidates under such circumstances.

Instead, you should be hoping the new ownership can find candidates that do as fine a job as the men who were in Plymouth before this season. We were fortunate enough to have Mike Vellucci for 14 years, and before that Peter DeBoer was here. Both were considered among the best in the OHL during their tenures. They are also the reason the team has been able to recruit top American talent away from the NCAA -- players knew they would be in a excellent environment to develop and attract the attention of NHL scouts.

 

[TcNorth]

Flint has to stand on their own feet now. Vellucci will not be able to help Flint, but will surely be in the CHL/OHL Hall of Fame. Elland and Craig may be nice people, but have done a poor job in charge. If the person I am hearing from the USA NTDP organization is hired, I think that would at least be a decent start.

 

[Sadist]

Flint has to stand on their own feet now. Vellucci will not be able to help Flint, but will surely be in the CHL/OHL Hall of Fame. Elland and Craig may be nice people, but have done a poor job in charge. If the person I am hearing from the USA NTDP organization is hired, I think that would at least be a decent start.

Vellucci has a job with the Hurricanes and any affiliation with the OHL team ends after the season and the new owners take control. It's not like these owner came in and fired everyone. None of the staff was making a move with the team. Other than the players, Flint is starting from scratch.

Which brings me to my next point. As I said before, this roster will be mostly the same coming to Flint. Other than overagers, and AHL eligible players, you are looking at the same team. Take a look at Costa Papista's last OHL team move from North Bay to Saginaw.

In their last year, North Bay was in much of the same situation that Plymouth is now. In 2001-02, North Bay got into the playoffs as the 8th seed in a weaker Eastern Conference (they wouldn't have made the playoffs in the West). The next year in Saginaw, the finished last in the league with a roster made up of 16 players from the year before. That is why I said they can only do so much to turn over the roster in a year. With the OHL only allowing 30 player cards a year per team, it is difficult to get rid of an entire team.

It's great to be excited about the team and OHL hockey. I would be a little leery with Costa Papista making decisions in the front office. He had a terrible record as president and GM of Saginaw. He hired Dennis Desrosiers who was not a good coach, and the team finished dead last in the OHL his 2 season in Saginaw. He did draft Tom Pyatt who turned out to be a pretty good OHL player, so maybe he has an eye for talent.

 

[TcNorth]

Vellucci has a job with the Hurricanes and any affiliation with the OHL team ends after the season and the new owners take control. It's not like these owner came in and fired everyone. None of the staff was making a move with the team. Other than the players, Flint is starting from scratch.

Which brings me to my next point. As I said before, this roster will be mostly the same coming to Flint. Other than overagers, and AHL eligible players, you are looking at the same team. Take a look at Costa Papista's last OHL team move from North Bay to Saginaw.

In their last year, North Bay was in much of the same situation that Plymouth is now. In 2001-02, North Bay got into the playoffs as the 8th seed in a weaker Eastern Conference (they wouldn't have made the playoffs in the West). The next year in Saginaw, the finished last in the league with a roster made up of 16 players from the year before. That is why I said they can only do so much to turn over the roster in a year. With the OHL only allowing 30 player cards a year per team, it is difficult to get rid of an entire team.

It's great to be excited about the team and OHL hockey. I would be a little leery with Costa Papista making decisions in the front office. He had a terrible record as president and GM of Saginaw. He hired Dennis Desrosiers who was not a good coach, and the team finished dead last in the OHL his 2 season in Saginaw. He did draft Tom Pyatt who turned out to be a pretty good OHL player, so maybe he has an eye for talent.

I am a tad leery of Papista and understand he was working with Port Huron before before he convinced his boss to buy Flint's arena. His fortay is more working in the community, with business, and working on advertising and ticket sales. In this aspect, he was a tremendous success in Saginaw, with the help of others. However, I agree that his coaching selections have left a bit to be desired. Dennis DeRosiers was a great IHL player and led Flint to the IHL's Turner Cup in 1984 as coach, but junior hockey proved not to be his thing. Hopefully, Papista has learned from some of his mistakes in the last 10-15 years when hiring a staff.

 

[Whalers Fan]

Which brings me to my next point. As I said before, this roster will be mostly the same coming to Flint. Other than overagers, and AHL eligible players, you are looking at the same team.

Yes, and as I mentioned earlier the only players I would be excited about who may return are Nedeljkovic, Chatham, Bitten, and Henderson. And to be quite honest, the new team would probably be wise to trade Ned to a contender next season, as they could get a huge return for such a good goaltender. It would be a big step towards rebuilding, plus it would be nice to see Alex finish his OHL career with a decent team after these past two seasons -- he's earned it.

 

[Mickey the mouse]

Flint has to stand on their own feet now. Vellucci will not be able to help Flint, but will surely be in the CHL/OHL Hall of Fame. Elland and Craig may be nice people, but have done a poor job in charge. If the person I am hearing from the USA NTDP organization is hired, I think that would at least be a decent start.

IMO it would be a great start ! It will open the door for more US kids to play in OHL for sure.

If true, 1 of the most quality individuals you will ever meet and players will absolutely love to play for him.

 

[HamiltonOHL]

with the BOG for the OHL for a team to move when is the deadline for something like that to happen like July? I know Flint is already a 100% but just wondering

 

[From Up Top]

with the BOG for the OHL for a team to move when is the deadline for something like that to happen like July? I know Flint is already a 100% but just wondering

Any relocation request has to be made before December 31st.

Or at least that's the written rule

 

[HamiltonOHL]

did they say when officially they would name the club?

 

[Savard18]

Next Wednesday, 9am I think was the time the press conference is scheduled for. As TCFlint pointed out elsewhere, based on comments by Papista, the smart money is on Sparks/Firebirds/Fire.

 

[battfan888]

I'm putting my money on Firebirds. Announcement was said to be this coming Wednesday the 18th.

 

[TcNorth]

The Flint Journal said yesterday, according to team President Costa Papista, who was speaking at the Flint Rotary Club, of the 5,000 suggestions the winning name was suggested by 38 people, and embodied the name of many other suggestions. This would eliminate the name Tropics and point to the Flint Firebirds. I looked at a couple thousand of the suggestions and the word "Fire" was in many many suggestions. A man from Burton, MI (a Flint suburb of 30,000) won the naming competion , chose the colors, and is receiving 2 season tickets, and a jersey and will be present at the press conference Wednesday morning.

 

[EON]

I think Flint Phoenix would be awesome, Firebirds sounds pretty good too though. Anything other than Tropics really

 

[TcNorth]

did they say when officially they would name the club?

HamiltonOHL, as you probably know, Flint and Hamilton are sister cities. This year/summer marks the 57th anniversary of the Flint vs Hamilton CANUSA Games (this summer the games are in Hamilton). The games are the longest running amateur sports competition in North America. We now get to meet in OHL competion as well. Being that Hamilton is in the Eastern Division and Flint in the Western Division, if I am understanding the scheduling correctly, we will only meet twice in the regular season.

Also, to ErieOttersNews: The OHL told Flint they could not use Phoenix because the name was already in use with Sherbrooke in the QMJHL.

 

[battfan888]

Also, to ErieOttersNews: The OHL told Flint they could not use Phoenix because the name was already in use with Sherbrooke in the QMJHL.

Hence why it is probably going to be Firebirds since that is a direct translation of what a Phoenix is.

 

[TcNorth]

Hence why it is probably going to be Firebirds since that is a direct translation of what a Phoenix is.

I think most know a Phoenix and Firebird are basically the same thing.

 

[battfan888]

I think most know a Phoenix and Firebird are basically the same thing.

You'd think so but I've had to explain it to too many people already.

 

[TcNorth]

You'd think so but I've had to explain it to too many people already.

I think another reason Flint fans and others, get confused is because Flint is the birthplace of General Motors. Billy Durant, Charles Stewart Mott, Mr. David Buick, and Mr. Chrysler all lived in Flint at one time. However, they need to know that "Firebirds", in this case, has absolutely nothing to do with automobiles. You know it, I know it, but there are some that may need it explained.

 

[Savard18]

HamiltonOHL, as you probably know, Flint and Hamilton are sister cities. This year/summer marks the 57th anniversary of the Flint vs Hamilton CANUSA Games (this summer the games are in Hamilton). The games are the longest running amateur sports competition in North America. We now get to meet in OHL competion as well. Being that Hamilton is in the Eastern Division and Flint in the Western Division, if I am understanding the scheduling correctly, we will only meet twice in the regular season.

Also, to ErieOttersNews: The OHL told Flint they could not use Phoenix because the name was already in use with Sherbrooke in the QMJHL.

Oh yeah. I hadn't even thought of the Flint-Hamilton connection yet. All the teams selling and moving is a little worrying (especially with an owner that resides in Florida I believe) and the team hasn't even played a game yet. We have a couple years at least, to prove this can work but I'd imagine we're gonna have to do it by supporting a team that has limited/mediocre on ice success the first season or two. Wanna grab some torches and find this Burton man just to be sure it's Firebirds? Looks like we're gonna get that #2 pick. Which is actually good. They could go after Gabriel Viliardi, whose brother already plays for Plymouth. That's a very mildly informed assumption but it should decrease the chance our first pick gets sketchy and fails to report.