Monarchs seek new ownership

Status
Not open for further replies.

BruinsFan37

Registered User
Jun 26, 2015
1,583
1,667
More than likely it's to gauge fan interest. Depending upon how much season ticket sales go down (I don't see how they can't/won't) and the total number of season ticket holders they might use it as a selling point for the team (i.e. we have X number of tickets sold for next year) or they might use it as grounds for folding the team (season ticket sales have dropped Y% since last year the team has little to no value).
 

TcNorth

Registered User
Jan 25, 2015
2,540
431
Flint is currently in the (OHL) Ontario Hockey League. Supposedly, rumors are that owner Rolf Nilsen is looking to purchase a ECHL Club for his son Hakon Nilsen to play. Rolf owns the arena for in Flint (4,421) while Hakon plays defense for the Flint Firebirds of the OHL. I know. Sounds crazy to me as well.
 

GindyDraws

I will not disable my Adblock, HF
Mar 13, 2014
2,835
2,116
Indianapolis
Flint is currently in the (OHL) Ontario Hockey League. Supposedly, rumors are that owner Rolf Nilsen is looking to purchase a ECHL Club for his son Hakon Nilsen to play. Rolf owns the arena for in Flint (4,421) while Hakon plays defense for the Flint Firebirds of the OHL. I know. Sounds crazy to me as well.

On the one hand, it would be nice to have another regional team in the Midwest, but on the other hand, the team would exist just so Hakon Nilsen would play on it, and fans would know it. Plus, that would mean the OHL would have to find a place for the team to move to, and places such as Cornwall, Brampton, and Belleville are out of the question.
 

Barclay Donaldson

Registered User
Feb 4, 2018
2,531
2,058
Tatooine
On the one hand, it would be nice to have another regional team in the Midwest, but on the other hand, the team would exist just so Hakon Nilsen would play on it, and fans would know it. Plus, that would mean the OHL would have to find a place for the team to move to, and places such as Cornwall, Brampton, and Belleville are out of the question.

Let alone a potential EC team, Rolf Nilsen bought an OHL team just so Hakon had a place to play. Can’t imagine there’s too much doubt about that in anyone’s eyes. The kid isn’t very good, can’t imagine he’ll turn out to be an average EC/ above average SP player.

You’re right that this story is leaving out the difficulty of selling the OHL team and there’s not many takers, Brantford being the only possibility I can think off realistically and who’s been linked in the past. There’s other teams with relocation needs, with Peterborough specifically being brought up.
 

Centrum Hockey

Registered User
Aug 2, 2018
2,089
727
Let alone a potential EC team, Rolf Nilsen bought an OHL team just so Hakon had a place to play. Can’t imagine there’s too much doubt about that in anyone’s eyes. The kid isn’t very good, can’t imagine he’ll turn out to be an average EC/ above average SP player.

You’re right that this story is leaving out the difficulty of selling the OHL team and there’s not many takers, Brantford being the only possibility I can think off realistically and who’s been linked in the past. There’s other teams with relocation needs, with Peterborough specifically being brought up.
Would markets like Hartford and Manchester be a good landing spot for junior hockey the echl level of play was rejected by Manchester and would be by Hartford if the rangers leave and the echl tries to get into the market. Junior teams can still produce quality nhl players
 

CHRDANHUTCH

Registered User
Mar 4, 2002
35,232
4,218
Auburn, Maine
Not every market will embrace the echl. there is going to be few options when the ahl eventually pull's out of Springfield, Hartford and Bridgeport
2 out of the three are outright owned by the the NHL Teams, Centrum, you keep forgetting that when you post and you have to keep in mind if the Rangers pull Hartford, you automatically lose Portland, because it is highly unlikely Portland could survive multiple years on its own, unlike Greenville and several others who haven't found an affiliation and Spectra operates both Hartford and Portland, why would the Rangers have chosen Hartford, because it is closer to MSG, than Binghamton was, remember, Hartford was Providence for 4 decades when the AHL finally became what it is today, I agree with 210, you'll never see IT, and you, as we all have, keep forgetting about Bridgeport, which survived the westward movement
 

Barclay Donaldson

Registered User
Feb 4, 2018
2,531
2,058
Tatooine
Would markets like Hartford and Manchester be a good landing spot for junior hockey the echl level of play was rejected by Manchester and would be by Hartford if the rangers leave and the echl tries to get into the market. Junior teams can still produce quality nhl players

American junior leagues driven by ticket and sponsorship revenue almost exclusively draw well in markets where it’s the only hockey option, and occasionally the only entertainment option. I’ve never been to Sioux Falls, Fairbanks, Aberdeen, or Waterloo, but I can’t imagine there’s a big battle for entertainment dollars. There’s been some NA teams in the Northeast since 15-16 and none of them have drawn above 200 people/game, even with the inflated numbers. Even the one near Center City Philly couldn’t draw flies.

It’s so far down the list of priorities for people in the Northeast, especially since it’s a hotbed for college hockey that, for the most part, is seen as better than the EC. There’s a lot of hockey options, and a lot of other things to do. The USHL had the opportunity to move into the East Coast markets during the Pacific shuffle of 2015 and smartly chose to stand pat. Just about every great market opened up for them and they didn’t bite. They know where they fit in the grand scheme of things and New England, for better or worse, doesn’t have a seat at the table for them.
 

Centrum Hockey

Registered User
Aug 2, 2018
2,089
727
American junior leagues driven by ticket and sponsorship revenue almost exclusively draw well in markets where it’s the only hockey option, and occasionally the only entertainment option. I’ve never been to Sioux Falls, Fairbanks, Aberdeen, or Waterloo, but I can’t imagine there’s a big battle for entertainment dollars. There’s been some NA teams in the Northeast since 15-16 and none of them have drawn above 200 people/game, even with the inflated numbers. Even the one near Center City Philly couldn’t draw flies.

It’s so far down the list of priorities for people in the Northeast, especially since it’s a hotbed for college hockey that, for the most part, is seen as better than the EC. There’s a lot of hockey options, and a lot of other things to do. The USHL had the opportunity to move into the East Coast markets during the Pacific shuffle of 2015 and smartly chose to stand pat. Just about every great market opened up for them and they didn’t bite. They know where they fit in the grand scheme of things and New England, for better or worse, doesn’t have a seat at the table for them.
There does not seem to be a lot of options if the Manchester echl team folds this year other than going dormant and waiting for ahl team that needs a place to play like what Utica did with the comets.
 
Last edited:

CHRDANHUTCH

Registered User
Mar 4, 2002
35,232
4,218
Auburn, Maine
It was supposed to be an example Utica only got a ahl team because Vancouver ran out of options for places to move the rivermen close to British Columbia.
Vancouver was impressed by Esche, remember him, Centrum, who operates the business out there.... ESCHE

THAT'S WHY Vancouver extended there and could stay there INDEFINITELY

BC doesn't want pro hockey, it failed in Victoria, which was an ECHL franchise.....
 

Royalsflagrunner77

Registered User
Jul 26, 2013
245
67
Birdsboro PA
Would markets like Hartford and Manchester be a good landing spot for junior hockey the echl level of play was rejected by Manchester and would be by Hartford if the rangers leave and the echl tries to get into the market. Junior teams can still produce quality nhl players
Doesn't Spectacore own Hartford if the rangers pull out wouldn't the team remain and just find another affiliate
 

Barclay Donaldson

Registered User
Feb 4, 2018
2,531
2,058
Tatooine
There does not seem to be a lot of options if the Manchester echl team folds this year other than going dormant and waiting for ahl team that needs a place to play like what Utica did with the comets.

There's no AHL team waiting for Manchester in the wings. The days of the high density AHL Northeast strongholds with Worcester, Lowell, Springfield, Manchester, Portland, Hartford, and Albany all having strong AHL franchises within a stone's throw of each other are done. Markets evolve or die. Atlantic Canada preceded New England as an AHL power region, with St. John's, Saint John, PEI, Cape Breton, Fredricton, Halifax, and Moncton all having teams. They all either joined the Q or died, save for St. John's who floated between teams and leagues and have finally settled on the EC.

If Manchester doesn't survive, then you'll see a trickle down effect. There's plenty of hockey options around them. Boston is more of a commute than a hike nowadays. Take Lowell for example. UMass-Lowell bought the arena and the AHL Devils left after a bit of a messy lease negotiation. Those former minor pro fans became college hockey fans. UML, even during their down years, is still a hot ticket and average attendance is rarely below 5,000. The same thing will probably happen in Manchester, fans will find somewhere else. It isn't going to be a new team that pops up, but people will gravitate to other established hockey institutions.

So you honestly think any New England market that doesn't want/like the ECHL would be happy to have an even lower level of hockey?

It's the old flawed Hartford argument. Whaler diehards are suddenly going to become minor league hockey diehards. One of the most effective ways to garner interest is take the hockey away and make the fans grateful for a team to root for. It's worked so far in Worcester, time will tell if it works with Maine and Newfoundland.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Centrum Hockey

CHRDANHUTCH

Registered User
Mar 4, 2002
35,232
4,218
Auburn, Maine
Doesn't Spectacore own Hartford if the rangers pull out wouldn't the team remain and just find another affiliate
Hartford has been owned by the Rangers in some form since 1991, Spectra outright owns Portland, THE REASON WHY Hartford was selected it's not an hour between MSG and XL when you talk call-ups.... in fact MSG tried to put XL into its real estate holdings but the CTDRA has had major say in how XL is operated
 

Centrum Hockey

Registered User
Aug 2, 2018
2,089
727
There's no AHL team waiting for Manchester in the wings. The days of the high density AHL Northeast strongholds with Worcester, Lowell, Springfield, Manchester, Portland, Hartford, and Albany all having strong AHL franchises within a stone's throw of each other are done. Markets evolve or die. Atlantic Canada preceded New England as an AHL power region, with St. John's, Saint John, PEI, Cape Breton, Fredricton, Halifax, and Moncton all having teams. They all either joined the Q or died, save for St. John's who floated between teams and leagues and have finally settled on the EC.

If Manchester doesn't survive, then you'll see a trickle down effect. There's plenty of hockey options around them. Boston is more of a commute than a hike nowadays. Take Lowell for example. UMass-Lowell bought the arena and the AHL Devils left after a bit of a messy lease negotiation. Those former minor pro fans became college hockey fans. UML, even during their down years, is still a hot ticket and average attendance is rarely below 5,000. The same thing will probably happen in Manchester, fans will find somewhere else. It isn't going to be a new team that pops up, but people will gravitate to other established hockey institutions.



It's the old flawed Hartford argument. Whaler diehards are suddenly going to become minor league hockey diehards. One of the most effective ways to garner interest is take the hockey away and make the fans grateful for a team to root for. It's worked so far in Worcester, time will tell if it works with Maine and Newfoundland.
I started taking the train to Boston Bruins games after the sharks left Worcester. Your right about how there is a lot of good hockey in New England. The echl needs great management and ownership to work though which Manchester’s echl team unfortunately does not have.
 

Barclay Donaldson

Registered User
Feb 4, 2018
2,531
2,058
Tatooine
I started taking the train to Boston Bruins games after the sharks left Worcester. Your right about how there is a lot of good hockey in New England. The echl needs great management and ownership to work though which Manchester’s echl team unfortunately does not have.

The EC is likely the only minor pro hockey these markets will ever have again. I've said it a million times on this thread and others: Worcester, and to a lesser extent Adirondack, has worked out a pseudo-minor league baseball marketing strategy and it has worked so far. Manchester has the potential to draw people, they led the AHL in attendance for years. But whatever they're doing in the Granite State isn't working.
 

210

Registered User
Mar 5, 2003
12,393
961
Worcester, MA
210sportsblog.com
The EC is likely the only minor pro hockey these markets will ever have again. I've said it a million times on this thread and others: Worcester, and to a lesser extent Adirondack, has worked out a pseudo-minor league baseball marketing strategy and it has worked so far. Manchester has the potential to draw people, they led the AHL in attendance for years. But whatever they're doing in the Granite State isn't working.

They alienated a lot of fans in the last few seasons of the AHL Monarchs with their business practices, and then doubled down on the ECHL Monarchs by essentially acting like nothing changed. The current owners didn't do anything to counteract the previous issues, and according to fans there in some cases made it worse.
 

CHRDANHUTCH

Registered User
Mar 4, 2002
35,232
4,218
Auburn, Maine
They alienated a lot of fans in the last few seasons of the AHL Monarchs with their business practices, and then doubled down on the ECHL Monarchs by essentially acting like nothing changed. The current owners didn't do anything to counteract the previous issues, and according to fans there in some cases made it worse.
is that the fault of current ownership or AEG, or both.... that's where it stands, but had Ontario not been started when it was, 2014/15 WOULD'VE BEEN THE END OF PRO HOCKEY IN Manchester, hence no swap of franchise and SNHU would've been dark
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->