New ECHL Franchise Coming in 2021-22 (Coralville, IA)

[GindyDraws]

I am not sure they fit his model. The biggest part of his model is a having an affiliation with a NHL that is popular in the area, interested in using a three tier model, and easy to access with call-ups. Which organization fits that model?

Chicago would be ideal geographically, but they have had an affiliation with Indy Fuel since 2014, have publicly said they are very happy with the arrangement, and have extended it at every opportunity. I can imagine the Blackhawks are a popular team in the region, so an affiliation could do well.

St. Louis is the only other realistic geographically. Their <<checkered>> AHL history would suggest their don't care much about their AHL affiliate let alone an ECHL affiliate. I cannot speak to the Blues popularity in the region.

Chicago is likely going to stay with Indy unless things go really south between the two, and I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon due to how things are. It's probably best to go with either St. Louis or Minnesota (who are the team I'd recommend).

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

Points of rebuttal, focused on my primary point of wooing Quad Cities hockey fans to support the new Coralville ECHL franchise:

1. The JMCs been to over 2 dozen Quad City Mallards & Quad City Storm home games over the last 9 seasons. Fans in CHI Blackhawks gear are far less frequently seen in their Downtown Moline arena than on fans in the other I-74 cities of Peoria & Bloomington, the latter two being long-term target markets for the ChiHawks' brand. I suspect the split of the Quad Cities between Illinois & Iowa presents split sports allegiances at the major league level, which diminishes the support of Illinois major league teams in the QC metro area. Major league baseball & football fans of my acquaintance around the Quad Cities (admittedly a small sample) follow the Twins & Vikings rather than the Cubs/White Sox & Bears. The QC River Bandits Class A baseball team who play on the riverfront in Davenport, IA (the largest of the Quad Cities) are a Houston Astros affiliate, which would contribute no further allegiances to Chicago-area sports.
   
2. The QC Mallards had affiliations with the Iowa Wild during their CHL days (2013-2014) *and* during their ECHL days (2015-2017). The only other Mallards AHL affiliation during their AA history was between the ECHL club & the Chicago Wolves (2017-2018). I'll leave it to others to depart on the usual tangent of Wolves vs. Blackhawks loyalties.
3. During our Quad Cities game visits, Mrs. JMC's traditional Blues jersey has been the only such team gear in sight at their arena. And more to the point her jersey has drawn no positive NOR negative comments from the local fan base, which is rare in our hockey travels across North America. I take this non-response to indicate a very low recognition of the STL Blues brand in the QC area. For a minor pro hockey team fan base, history shows that particular form of ignorance is a GOOD thing.

Excellent rebuttal. That satisfies the local interest in a nearby NHL team section, since clearly from your testimony there could be an attraction to St. Louis Blues. However, Dean MacDonald only needs to do 2 seconds of research to discover the Blues nearly complete apathy towards their minor league affiliates. They are hardly interested in a 2 tier development system, let alone a 3 tier development system.

 

[210]

As silly as it may seem, many writers (staff & free lance contributors) for major digital media sites still get paid for their work by the word just like the print media industry did in the 19th Century. So "East Coast Hockey League" would pay them 4 times more than "ECHL" would. Even for those writers who are paid according to content volume (another common payment measure), using the former league name is to their benefit. So it's not hard to believe that practices such as this have become habit among media writers and accepted by editors, no matter how pay-per-piece is determined. And as long as the League is being mentioned, why should they care what name or assumed acronym is being used to their benefit? As the old idiom goes: "Call me anything you want, just don’t call me late to supper." The writer and the League sit at this table together.

I don't know any reporter that gets paid by the word, and I know a lot of reporters. Writers and editors call it the East Coast Hockey League because they don't know any better.

 

[JMCx4]

... That satisfies the local interest in a nearby NHL team section, since clearly from your testimony there could be an attraction to St. Louis Blues. ...

Read again, my Rebuttal #3 said quite the opposite. The only minor pro hockey teams who benefit from an affiliation with the St. Louis Blues are those who want nothing to do with the NHL and their prospects. And what's the point of that, other than desperation?

 

[JMCx4]

I don't know any reporter that gets paid by the word, and I know a lot of reporters. Writers and editors call it the East Coast Hockey League because they don't know any better.

I bow to your insider knowledge. My premise was based on several web-based how-to articles for social media-focused writers. I definitely agree with your second sentence, though I'll point out that the author of the Gazette article that the OP posted was thoughtful in citing the "formerly known as" aspect of the League name. So SOMEBODY knows better.

 

[GindyDraws]

Read again, my Rebuttal #3 said quite the opposite. The only minor pro hockey teams who benefit from an affiliation with the St. Louis Blues are those who want nothing to do with the NHL and their prospects. And what's the point of that, other than desperation?

I could mention a certain team in Virginia that may or may not be willing to put up with that kind of abusive relationship, but not even the Blues would likely want to affiliate with them.

 

[mk80]

Excellent rebuttal. That satisfies the local interest in a nearby NHL team section, since clearly from your testimony there could be an attraction to St. Louis Blues. However, Dean MacDonald only needs to do 2 seconds of research to discover the Blues nearly complete apathy towards their minor league affiliates. They are hardly interested in a 2 tier development system, let alone a 3 tier development system.

Read again, my Rebuttal #3 said quite the opposite. The only minor pro hockey teams who benefit from an affiliation with the St. Louis Blues are those who want nothing to do with the NHL and their prospects. And what's the point of that, other than desperation?

Pretty much the Blues care enough to stay the hell away from the Wolves after the two did not have the greatest relationship. That's why they were happy to take the temporary inconvenience of sharing with Vegas for a year and signing on with San Antonio.

More importantly than the Coralville NHL affiliation to me is the opening it creates for aspiring digital media/broadcasters looking for jobs in the pandemic.

 

[Growler]

If Mr. MacDonald is smart - as he sure seems to be - he would do better to focus on the Quad Cities market (approx. 60 miles to the east on I-80. with a traditional fan base that came from AA & briefly A-level pro hockey which is ripe for picking and not engaged by the local SPHL product) rather than trying to raid the Cedar Rapids-Waterloo market (whose fan bases have been very supportive year-over-year of the USHL & its NHL prospects pools since 1999 and 1980, respectively).

And don't dismiss the potential for a substantial hockey fan base in & around Iowa City itself, with a population of over 170,000 residents at the last census and growing (with the near 'burb of North Liberty leading that growth). It's not a metropolis by any means, but the Iowa City metro is an increasingly strong economic engine in Eastern Iowa with a spiffy new arena that will soon enough bring a new sports entertainment product to town. I reckon the "Eastern Iowa Wild" will have little problem selling enough of its 5,100 fixed seats & suites for their first season to build momentum for establishing a sustainable pro ice hockey market in that part of the state.

This may be true, but it seemed like the city approached him - and they are giving him additional operational rights as well. Something St. John's city hall can't seem to understand.

 

[JMCx4]

... More importantly than the Coralville NHL affiliation to me is the opening it creates for aspiring digital media/broadcasters looking for jobs in the pandemic.

No bad luck intended, but if this pandemic is still around when that franchise decides to start media staff position interviews, you've got bigger problems than career aspirations.

 

[mk80]

No bad luck intended, but if this pandemic is still around when that franchise decides to start media staff position interviews, you've got bigger problems than career aspirations.

Very good point.

 

[battra]

The QC Mallards had affiliations with the Iowa Wild during their CHL days (2013-2014) *and* during their ECHL days (2015-2017). The only other Mallards AHL affiliation during their AA history was between the ECHL club & the Chicago Wolves (2017-2018). I'll leave it to others to depart on the usual tangent of Wolves vs. Blackhawks loyalties.

If memory serves, and it may not.

When I was in the Mark of the Quad Cities for the first time in the year 00 or maybe 01...there was a Hershey Bears logo of affiliation on the wall along with the Washington Capitals...there was a third one there too...but I don't recall it.

And besides, apart from the Icehogs/Admirals affiliation, the UHL affiliations really didn't amount for much to speak about.

 

[210]

If memory serves, and it may not.

When I was in the Mark of the Quad Cities for the first time in the year 00 or maybe 01...there was a Hershey Bears logo of affiliation on the wall along with the Washington Capitals...there was a third one there too...but I don't recall it.

And besides, apart from the Icehogs/Admirals affiliation, the UHL affiliations really didn't amount for much to speak about.

The UHL Mallards were affiliated with Hershey, but I think Hershey's NHL affiliate at the time was Colorado.

 

[JMCx4]

... And besides, apart from the Icehogs/Admirals affiliation, the UHL affiliations really didn't amount for much to speak about.

I couched my previous declaration as: "Mallards AHL affiliation during their AA history." I'm gonna need an official ruling from Dave Eminian of the PJ Star re. UHL = AA level hockey before I edit my post. He is my designated subject matter expert in such nuanced hockey discussions.

 

[CrazyEddie20]

I couched my previous declaration as: "Mallards AHL affiliation during their AA history." I'm gonna need an official ruling from Dave Eminian of the PJ Star re. UHL = AA level hockey before I edit my post. He is my designated subject matter expert in such nuanced hockey discussions.

Dave always considered the UHL to be a Class A league, and he was right.

 

[battra]

I couched my previous declaration as: "Mallards AHL affiliation during their AA history." I'm gonna need an official ruling from Dave Eminian of the PJ Star re. UHL = AA level hockey before I edit my post. He is my designated subject matter expert in such nuanced hockey discussions.

Yes, the UHL was always AA.

At least according to the NHL's pyramid back in the day.

No one was ever called up from the UHL to the ECHL, WCHL, or WPHL.

 

[royals119]

I couched my previous declaration as: "Mallards AHL affiliation during their AA history." I'm gonna need an official ruling from Dave Eminian of the PJ Star re. UHL = AA level hockey before I edit my post. He is my designated subject matter expert in such nuanced hockey discussions.

Now you have gone and done it. Haven't seen this argument go around for a number of years, but back in the day it was one of the biggest discussion topics. How to classify the ECHL, UHL, and CHL, and was there a "higher level of hockey" in one league vs the others.

 

[Atlantian]

Now you have gone and done it. Haven't seen this argument go around for a number of years, but back in the day it was one of the biggest discussion topics. How to classify the ECHL, UHL, and CHL, and was there a "higher level of hockey" in one league vs the others.

It seems to me that the ECHL is a higher level of AA, but the UHL and CHL were definitely higher than the Single-A SPHL.

 

[JMCx4]

I hereby blame @royals119 for this current tangent, because he actually read my post.

 

[CrazyEddie20]

I don't know any reporter that gets paid by the word, and I know a lot of reporters. Writers and editors call it the East Coast Hockey League because they don't know any better.

These days, I barely know any writers that get paid.

 

[210]

These days, I barely know any writers that get paid.

Their number is indeed dwindling.