Manitoba Moose 2021 Season

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jetsmooseice

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Hearing mixed messages in the media about whether or not there will be a 2020-21 AHL season. It sure would be weird for player development if the entire year got scrapped. Maybe NHL rosters could be bumped up by a couple of players on a temporary basis and some of the younger guys could play another year in junior, but a lot of guys in the middle who are too old for junior but not quite ready for prime time will left in the lurch. Could be career-ending for quite a few.
 

Mortimer Snerd

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Hearing mixed messages in the media about whether or not there will be a 2020-21 AHL season. It sure would be weird for player development if the entire year got scrapped. Maybe NHL rosters could be bumped up by a couple of players on a temporary basis and some of the younger guys could play another year in junior, but a lot of guys in the middle who are too old for junior but not quite ready for prime time will left in the lurch. Could be career-ending for quite a few.

There are going to be a lot of casualties to Covid-19. In addition to the dead, there will be people with lifelong health issues, premature deaths years after their initial infections. A lot of small businesses will go broke and maybe quite a few bigger ones, possibly including some sports leagues, along with the obvious airlines.

This is a major event in world history that we are living through. Life is going to be very different until there is an effective vaccine. Even after we get a vaccine, or other cure, or the virus mutates to harmlessness, the effects of this pandemic will continue to be felt for a very long time.
 
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Keduzin

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Michael Spacek signed a one year contract with Tappara and will be playing the 2020-21 season in Finland. Any thoughts of what kind of a player he is ? Strengths, weaknesses ?
 

JetsUK

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Michael Spacek signed a one year contract with Tappara and will be playing the 2020-21 season in Finland. Any thoughts of what kind of a player he is ? Strengths, weaknesses ?

Plenty of talent, good mobile skater, and a good to very good playmaker with quick hands and a sneaky shot, defence and overall work ethic comes and goes depending on the game and his mood. Some rumours of frustration and attitude problems during his time with the Moose and had a down year there. He was a dark horse player for me but trended down and found himself passed by others on the way to the Jets. Didn't help that his strengths and style seemed not to quite mesh with the Jets systems/coaching.

All IMO -- have seen a lot of him over the past few years and had high hopes that he'd be a sleeper.
 

surixon

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Plenty of talent, good mobile skater, and a good to very good playmaker with quick hands and a sneaky shot, defence and overall work ethic comes and goes depending on the game and his mood. Some rumours of frustration and attitude problems during his time with the Moose and had a down year there. He was a dark horse player for me but trended down and found himself passed by others on the way to the Jets. Didn't help that his strengths and style seemed not to quite mesh with the Jets systems/coaching.

All IMO -- have seen a lot of him over the past few years and had high hopes that he'd be a sleeper.

Are you referring to Spacek?
 

Al Camino

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Jul 18, 2018
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Plenty of talent, good mobile skater, and a good to very good playmaker with quick hands and a sneaky shot, defence and overall work ethic comes and goes depending on the game and his mood. Some rumours of frustration and attitude problems during his time with the Moose and had a down year there. He was a dark horse player for me but trended down and found himself passed by others on the way to the Jets. Didn't help that his strengths and style seemed not to quite mesh with the Jets systems/coaching.

All IMO -- have seen a lot of him over the past few years and had high hopes that he'd be a sleeper.
Strengths and style didn't mesh with the Jets coaching and systems. Where have we heard that before? True he's a fourth round pick and was probably a long shot to make the big club it's just another example of the amatuer scouts drafting a player with a skill set that coaches can't seem to figure out how to make use of.
 

lanky

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Hearing mixed messages in the media about whether or not there will be a 2020-21 AHL season. It sure would be weird for player development if the entire year got scrapped. Maybe NHL rosters could be bumped up by a couple of players on a temporary basis and some of the younger guys could play another year in junior, but a lot of guys in the middle who are too old for junior but not quite ready for prime time will left in the lurch. Could be career-ending for quite a few.
You've assumed that the junior leagues will play but I'm highly skeptical.
 
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lanky

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I'm guessing KHL will play in front of empty seats if they have to and that AHL will not. If that turns out to be the case then Lipon has secured a job while many others will be without.

If I'm out to lunch on my uninformed assumptions then please set me straight.
 

voyageur

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Jul 10, 2011
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Figured he would have worn the C with Stoykewych's retirement. Guessing that it will be Schilling or Nogier (depending on what happens).


I don't think he has the temperament to be a captain, he runs around like a ball of hate. Schilling makes alot of sense. Ryan White could be an A if he comes back, in the same kind of agitating role as Lipon.
 

Atoyot

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Hearing mixed messages in the media about whether or not there will be a 2020-21 AHL season. It sure would be weird for player development if the entire year got scrapped. Maybe NHL rosters could be bumped up by a couple of players on a temporary basis and some of the younger guys could play another year in junior, but a lot of guys in the middle who are too old for junior but not quite ready for prime time will left in the lurch. Could be career-ending for quite a few.
Late to the party on this post but I was living in a tent in the middle of the forest for the summer so forgive me and I'll just make a quick point.

Could be career ending, but also could be career making for some. With the compacted schedule comes increased injuries, then players who contract the virus will have to sit out for weeks at a time, then players who have suspected exposure will have to sit out until they get test results back. Depth is going to be King this season and we're going to see players that would have never gotten an opportunity otherwise. It's going to be very interesting.
 

jetsmooseice

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Feb 20, 2020
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According to ESPN, if a season were to move forward, the AHL would have their own Canadian division, with the intention of Stockton, Bakersfield, and Utica being relocated to Canada for the 2020-21 season.

They are ambitiously suggesting a December 4 start.

Inside minor hockey leagues' pandemic-season plans

That's interesting... I wonder where Stockton, Bakersfield and Utica would play? In the rinks of their parent clubs? If so, would they change the team's identity temporarily, or just try to sell the Bakersfield Condors in Edmonton?

Personally, I'd love to see the AHL play this season, partly from a player development/continuity perspective, but also because I'd appreciate having the entertainment option at a time when there aren't a lot of sports going on.
 
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Mortimer Snerd

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That's interesting... I wonder where Stockton, Bakersfield and Utica would play? In the rinks of their parent clubs? If so, would they change the team's identity temporarily, or just try to sell the Bakersfield Condors in Edmonton?

Personally, I'd love to see the AHL play this season, partly from a player development/continuity perspective, but also because I'd appreciate having the entertainment option at a time when there aren't a lot of sports going on.

What entertainment option? There won't be fans in the arenas.

Maybe TSN shows some AHL games? They are still hungry for content.
 
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jetsmooseice

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What entertainment option? There won't be fans in the arenas.

Maybe TSN shows some AHL games? They are still hungry for content.

It's conceivable that by February there may be fans in the stands... would the AHL even play a season where teams can't have fans in the stands?
 

Mortimer Snerd

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It's conceivable that by February there may be fans in the stands... would the AHL even play a season where teams can't have fans in the stands?

I suppose it is conceivable - but barely.

Whether they would play or not is very questionable. Are teams going to just leave those young players to fend for themselves, or will they pay them? Probably not pay them, but if they do pay, then they might just as well play, no? Maybe the AHL can scrounge up a little TV money. Sports networks are pretty hungry for content.

This contagion is getting worse by the day with no end in sight. I think fans in the stands is almost beyond words unlikely.
 

jetsmooseice

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This contagion is getting worse by the day with no end in sight. I think fans in the stands is almost beyond words unlikely.

I wouldn't say that. There is often a bias at play where people have a hard time imagining the current circumstances changing. Who in February would have imagined that every league could cancel its season a month later? Conversely, who would imagine right now that some leagues might actually go forward and play in front of fans in a few months? We tend to think that the current state of affairs will continue without changing.

It all depends on when this wave peaks. If it tops out in November, starts declining and then a vaccine starts rolling out, then it is totally realistic to expect limited numbers of fans in the stands in 2021. I'm not saying I'd bet the farm on it, but it's certainly within the realm of possibility.
 

Mortimer Snerd

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I wouldn't say that. There is often a bias at play where people have a hard time imagining the current circumstances changing. Who in February would have imagined that every league could cancel its season a month later? Conversely, who would imagine right now that some leagues might actually go forward and play in front of fans in a few months? We tend to think that the current state of affairs will continue without changing.

It all depends on when this wave peaks. If it tops out in November, starts declining and then a vaccine starts rolling out, then it is totally realistic to expect limited numbers of fans in the stands in 2021. I'm not saying I'd bet the farm on it, but it's certainly within the realm of possibility.

I'm sure all of the leagues would go ahead and play in front of fans if they were allowed to.

Nope. I expect the current state of affairs to change. It is getting worse by the day. That's change. There is no mechanism by which it can get better before next spring/summer. There will be a mechanism once a vaccine is approved. That could happen within the next couple of months. If we are lucky. But it will take time to produce and distribute enough doses to turn this around. Again with luck, we might be able to open up to the extent of having fans by May or June.

That is not a failure to anticipate change. It is realistically looking at the possibility of fans in the stands by Feb. A year from now? Sure, I'm optimistic.
 

voyageur

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It's conceivable that by February there may be fans in the stands... would the AHL even play a season where teams can't have fans in the stands?

In Canada they probably would allowed limited fans. Each government collects entertainment taxes, so they get revenue from the events. The AHL affiliates would likely get some broadcast rights with the scarcity of content. From a player development standpoint competition is important, the higher the quality the better the development. I think the AHL could even profit from having CHL players if the lockdown continues. NHL teams are much more equipped to run bubbles, isolating their players from risk. If the AHL players are playing out of the same rinks, you would think there is the same protection.

I just get the sense that there are two factors in play. Hockey is #1 in Canada. Rogers needs hockey to maintain subscribers. That's their bread and butter, and the NHL's biggest source of revenue this season.

Teams south of the border are taking on a bigger risk playing, as operating losses could be higher than some owners are willing to commit to. Bubbles seems very likely in the beginning.

I think the NHL and the AHL are both taking risks if they play, and the risk has to be based on having fans in the stands, in limited to full capacity at some point. Playoffs would be the most important time I think, as the revenues go straight into the owners pockets.
 

GumbyCan2

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“But at the end of the day to me it’s his mindset. He’s a very mature person. He knows who he is. He knows what he needs to do to have success and that’s what he brings. And for him to understand that part of the game, and it’s the game within the game, it’s a real advantage that he has cause for some players it takes years (for them) to understand who they are and some of them never truly understand and that’s why for some of them they never have the career they should be having. But for David I think he has a really good understanding of what he needs to do and to be proud of it. To be the guy that wants to be on the ice when we have to kill a penalty and taking a lot of pride in doing this and being the best at it. I think this guy is going to be a real good hockey player for a very long time.”

Moose coach Pascal Vincent as part of his video chat to discuss the cancellation of the AHL season spoke about what he saw from David Gustafsson in the time he spent with Manitoba.


Right on. Hope by the time he joins the Jets full-time ( next year hopefully!), the role for 3rd line Center/line is used more appropriately than in the past! Maybe he steps up and proves worthy of 2C duty in 2 years time?*:thumbu:
 
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