I don’t know if Wright changes things. At 15 with exceptional status, is there any other place to go to play at the level of the OHL? He can’t go the college route just yet, and an extra year of OHL would be helpful, regardless of the team. Who’s to say he wouldn’t just play the first year and then want out. Granted, Flint would be compensated well if the kid requests, to be moved. It seems like it’s been said by several players, “I’ll play for whoever drafts me”, “I’ll play for whoever I get traded to”, and then next thing you hear is they want out of said place.
Obviously not always the case, but it tends to happen more than I like seeing.
Yeah that last Whalers season was rough. The rumors around the team being sold definitely had a negative impact on the players on the ice. I honestly think flint would be in a much better place had there not been so much off ice drama from the two months of the team. Even today, their roster on paper, doesn’t scream “3 wins out of 30”.
As the team is underperforming, there’s definitely going to be those rumors of “oh they might move”. If there’s legit any talk of that behind the scenes, I definitely see how it could again, impact on ice performances. I don’t mean to crap all over Flint hockey with this statement, so don’t take it as such, but I feel bad for the current Firebirds roster. There’s guys that aren’t playing to their full potential, and then there’s guys that play with heart and aren’t deserving of the record and backstage shenanigans with the Branch/Bilsen fiasco.
Would I expect a last place team to be last in attendance? Yes. I don’t think that’s a proper assessment for the fan base in Flint. I always get a kick out of the windsor board complaining about attendance. Because an average 4,000-4,500 is SO Much to complain about in a 6500 seat arena. I remember the Whalers averaging about 2000 in a 3200 Arena, and that was enough to validate moving.
I definitely think Flints arena and fan experience has improved from the first season. Just wish for the players, the team, and the fans that everything else had improved as much.