Ok, I'll bite. Why aren't there many Fronts fans posting here or anywhere? What is up with the fan base?
I could start with the fact that, in a military city, a Remembrance Day game is far from sold out. I could start with the fact that our ex-GM now "President of Hockey Ops" wants to free up more time to do his book tour than turn this team into a contender. I could talk about the lack of marketing, community involvement, and interaction to the fan base. OR I could talk about the fact that when ticket prices get unreasonable in the playoffs for a team that until the last two season hadn't won a playoff series in 24 years decided to blame YOU the fan for the reason that no one shows up.
The inefficiency with this organization and lack of motivation is what is killing them. And the worst part? Since Paul McFarland took over as coach and up to present, they've had a good team. The coaches and players are not to blame. The "President of Hockey Ops" and his business staff are to blame.
The fact that most nights the team struggles to draw 3500 people is tough. Especially when they've not only got a great team but that there are THREE colleges/universities in Kingston with RMC, Queen's, and St Lawrence. How you manage to turn away post secondary students from coming to your games is beyond me. And they've also got a passionate population of armed forces members that you could be reaching out to. But yet you never see any outreach to anyone about Fronts tickets. There is no marketing of this team. There is ONE ad in Kingston about the Frontenacs and it's from Gabriel's Pizza about a Fronts themed pizza. How are people supposed to know about you?
Next is the community involvement. Take into account a team like the Soo Greyhounds who take advantage of every opportunity to get out in the community. Whether it be some eco-friendly initiative or going to visit kids at the hospital (something that doesn't involve money coming into your pockets) they're always out and about. The Frontenacs go to schools (by getting you to buy tickets to a game) and that's it for reaching out to kids. The only other thing would be team events at sponsors (Farm Boy or Home Depot) where they're there because the sponsors are paying them to honor their agreement. Is this the player's fault? Not at all, this is a business team's job to connect with fans and the community. They do nothing.
Doug Gilmour released a statement this summer saying he was promoting himself to "President of Hockey Ops" so that he could focus on his book tour... how much confidence does that inspire in him as a GM? Not only is the guy in Toronto every other week for some promotion, he's almost never in Kingston. Now, if he wasn't going to put in the work of going out and scouting at all the AAA tournaments and such, why would he take on a GM job? Ego. The same reason why he promoted himself to GM after his coaching tenure yielded nothing but mediocre results.
Lastly, during the playoffs last year, the Fronts struggled to draw even 4000 for a game on a team that was just as exciting as the 2016 team that had Dal Colle, Mckeown, and Crouse. Not to mention that some tickets were even in the 30$ range from 20-25 during the regular season. When people (rightfully so) decided they weren't going to pay astronomical money like that, the Fronts decided to attack. Despite the obvious ticket prices being the problem, they went to the media and expressed that it was not ticket prices but that it was the fans' fault. Now, I'm no front office worker, but how do you expect to draw from the limited fan base that still likes you when you say that it's their fault the attendance is poor and not yours? This city has been jerked around for too long by this organization and they need to make some massive changes. Time to show some accountability and admit that they've somehow managed to turn the better part of a city away from them. This is why their attendance struggles, this is why the fan base is dead, this is why it's hard to attract young players to this team.