New team in Trois-Rivières, Qc in 2020

[Barclay Donaldson]

Just curious why the ECHL does not have a good reputation there? As someone looking in I would think a team affiliated with the Habs would be a big draw.

It's seen as lower level minor league hockey. Major junior has a much better reputation because that's the league everyone knows and every Q team has had guys drafted into the NHL and that's seen as far better than the ECHL. The AHL was seen the same way until the Laval Rocket.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

It's seen as lower level minor league hockey. Major junior has a much better reputation because that's the league everyone knows and every Q team has had guys drafted into the NHL and that's seen as far better than the ECHL. The AHL was seen the same way until the Laval Rocket.

Exactly and Laval is right next to Montreal so people are interested in the farm team.

Trois-Rivières was equally Nordiques territory than it was Habs territory. People east of TR were Nords fans mostly. They won't travel to TR for ECHL (which is seen as a goon league).

 

[Royalsflagrunner77]

Exactly and Laval is right next to Montreal so people are interested in the farm team.

Trois-Rivières was equally Nordiques territory than it was Habs territory. People east of TR were Nords fans mostly. They won't travel to TR for ECHL (which is seen as a goon league).

The ECHL now is far from a goon league now . Don't get me wrong you still have some of the lower budget teams icing goon squads because they cant attract the decent talent. But as of late mostly becuase of what Newfoundland did last year alot of teams are starting to half decent talent and earlier round picks in their rosters

 

[Scandale du Jour]

The ECHL now is far from a goon league now . Don't get me wrong you still have some of the lower budget teams icing goon squads because they cant attract the decent talent. But as of late mostly becuase of what Newfoundland did last year alot of teams are starting to half decent talent and earlier round picks in their rosters

Oh, I do not doubt that, but that is the perception people still have.

 

[GindyDraws]

It's seen as lower level minor league hockey. Major junior has a much better reputation because that's the league everyone knows and every Q team has had guys drafted into the NHL and that's seen as far better than the ECHL. The AHL was seen the same way until the Laval Rocket.

But, uh, what about the LNAH? I brought up that league and while the market has gone through quite a few teams in that league (including a team that had to be replaced midseason by a franchise that plays, ironically, in Laval), and although it's notorious as a goon league, what would the city think about yet another crack at that league?

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

But, uh, what about the LNAH? I brought up that league and while the market has gone through quite a few teams in that league (including a team that had to be replaced midseason by a franchise that plays, ironically, in Laval), and although it's notorious as a goon league, what would the city think about yet another crack at that league?

LNAH is for the Quebeckers who like fighting with a bit of hockey. Or les hiques depending on who is asked.

Maire Lamarche doesn't think that the ECHL is good enough for the new coliseum. He would burn Trois-Rivières to the ground before the LNAH is allowed anywhere near this C$60 million arena. If this current heading is continued, it is likely the new coliseum's only tenant will be Patriotes UQTR. Considering the support they have in the area and there are doubts the arena can even host two tenants, that would be perfectly fine with them.

 

[Martin Veillette]

I lived in Trois-Rivières for a while and les Patriotes de l'UQTR used to be a very big deal. ECHL does not have a good reputation in the province.

Thinking it is a slam dunk is not knowing the market at all. Les Patriotes are an easier sell than an ECHL team in Trois-Rivières.

Euh...no
-from TR too

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Euh...no
-from TR too

In the 90s, when they were wimming championships, thry were.

 

[extra skater]

LNAH is for the Quebeckers who like fighting with a bit of hockey. Or les hiques depending on who is asked.

I'd like to see how upper level leagues fans would react to teams named after sponsors and jerseys full of adds though.

 

[Growler]

It's seen as lower level minor league hockey. Major junior has a much better reputation because that's the league everyone knows and every Q team has had guys drafted into the NHL and that's seen as far better than the ECHL. The AHL was seen the same way until the Laval Rocket.

Considering the worst ECHL team would any beat easily any QMJHL team 10 out of 10 games "everyone" should educate themselves a little more.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

I'd like to see how upper level leagues fans would react to teams named after sponsors and jerseys full of adds though.

They wouldn't react well. Hence why the LNAH attendance is around the 1,000 mark and they are only in markets that can't support any other form of hockey.

Considering the worst ECHL team would any beat easily any QMJHL team 10 out of 10 games "everyone" should educate themselves a little more.

They see Q alumni like Lemieux, Bergeron, MacKinnon, Chabot, Giroux, Crosby, Kucherov, Fleury, and soon to be Lafrenière. The ECHL doesn't have as many huge names come out of the league. Who would win head-to-head is irrelevant to them, as it ought to be. If a bunch of developed professionals in their mid-20s lose to a bunch of teenagers, something is wrong with former.

And considering St. John's nearly chose the QMJHL over the ECHL, "everyone" is closer to home than you think.

 

[Growler]

They wouldn't react well. Hence why the LNAH attendance is around the 1,000 mark and they are only in markets that can't support any other form of hockey.



They see Q alumni like Lemieux, Bergeron, MacKinnon, Chabot, Giroux, Crosby, Kucherov, Fleury, and soon to be Lafrenière. The ECHL doesn't have as many huge names come out of the league. Who would win head-to-head is irrelevant to them, as it ought to be. If a bunch of developed professionals in their mid-20s lose to a bunch of teenagers, something is wrong with former.

And considering St. John's nearly chose the QMJHL over the ECHL, "everyone" is closer to home than you think.

I know fans are more familiar with Junior hockey in Canada, but having been to hundreds of OHL games over the years, the ECHL is way more fun to watch.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

I know fans are more familiar with Junior hockey in Canada, but having been to hundreds of OHL games over the years, the ECHL is way more fun to watch.

Would you be saying the same if the Q was in St. John's right now instead of the ECHL?

Either way, you're expressing your opinion. It's all relative. There's dozens of communities across Canada that swear by junior hockey. Many have attendances that make half of the ECHL envious. Victoria booted their ECHL team in favor of a WHL one.

If Trois-Rivières wants to build a nice, shiny, new arena and just put a Q team in there, that's their money and what they want. Would it be nice to expose the province to the ECHL, and would it nice for it to be a success as an extension of the Montréal Canadiens organization? Yes. But if it's not what's wanted, don't even bother.

 

[Royalsflagrunner77]

Would you be saying the same if the Q was in St. John's right now instead of the ECHL?

Either way, you're expressing your opinion. It's all relative. There's dozens of communities across Canada that swear by junior hockey. Many have attendances that make half of the ECHL envious. Victoria booted their ECHL team in favor of a WHL one.

If Trois-Rivières wants to build a nice, shiny, new arena and just put a Q team in there, that's their money and what they want. Would it be nice to expose the province to the ECHL, and would it nice for it to be a success as an extension of the Montréal Canadiens organization? Yes. But if it's not what's wanted, don't even bother.

The question is would the QJMHL even approve that franchise to the proximity of the Shawinigan ?

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

The question is would the QJMHL even approve that franchise to the proximity of the Shawinigan ?

The league supposedly isn’t interested in expanding at all. Commissioner Courteau doesn’t want to water down an already watered down product (source in English: QMJHL commissioner says there are no immediate expansion plans | Cape Breton Post)

The only way he said in the past he would expand is if it in the heavily populated areas south of Montréal in Montérégie or in the United States. Neither of these things will happen.

Shawinigan has the right of refusal of the territory breach. Considering that probably 1/3 of corporate and fan support comes from the big city down the road, they won’t be strong armed into waiving any deal.

 

[Growlers]

C them wearing both projects - UQTR Patriotes on one side, Dean MacDonald and Marc-André Bergeron for Canadian school club in the ECHL on the other - have been warned they will receive a hearing before them in the hours which will precede this date fixed by the mayor Jean Lamarche.

No problem for the Patriots with this agenda, since in one way or another, their activities will follow their normal course. For the promoters of ECHL, it is much more complicated. The Assizes of the league takes place on January 21! It was during this meeting that the calendar was set in stone…

This ECHL deadline has been known to Mayor Lamarche since mid-December, which was initially the first deadline mentioned by ECHL. Why then stretch the elastic to the maximum? Some believe it is to force MacDonald to withdraw himself from the negotiating table. After all, and it is not a state secret, the mayor has already positioned himself in favor of the Patriots.

If that's the plan, it might work because MacDonald doesn't see how he can wait so long before he announces his intentions to ECHL for the 2020-21 season. Over the next few hours, he will, therefore, rewrite to elected municipal officials to remind them of how pressing the time is for his project, and asking to be heard more quickly.

It seems to me that with all the efforts made, he deserves at least the chance to present his offer. If they wish, the mayor and his councilors can then turn their back on a Canadian school club and all the potential benefits that can be attached to it, such as part of the training camp of the large club in Trois-Rivières. , or even an NHL playoff game.

This is their Coliseum, they were elected to make these kinds of decisions. If they prefer to offer an arena of more than $ 60 million including 5,000 seats to a university program that is struggling to attract amateurs, it is up to them. But they should at least have the courage to decide, not force McDonald to abandon the adventure due to a suddenly too tight deadline when the discussions started in May ...

Source: Nouveau Colisée: vers une décision le 21 janvier

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

Some last updates before a big update on Monday.

Colisée de Trois-Rivières: le Canadien revient à la charge

The Canadiens write to the bigwigs in Trois-Rivières saying they fully back the plan to put a ECHL team in T-R and that it would be affiliated with the Canadien and Rocket.

Nouveau colisée: absent lundi, MacDonald voudrait se faire entendre

The big meeting is Monday. UQTR Patriotes are pitching their business plan. Newfoundland and ECHL Trois-Rivières promoter Dean McDonald won't even be there. The meeting was conveniently scheduled at the same time as the ECHL BOG meeting. Several municipal counselors politely said they would be disappointed if they don't even see the ECHL pitch. "Point-du-Lac counselor François Bélisle believes it is the duty of the city to give the promoter a chance to be heard. "I would like to hear what he has to say to us, if only out of politeness to an investor who wishes to invest in our city. We must go through this business plan. Thereafter, when a decision will be made, we can say that at least we will have made it with full knowledge of the facts, "said Mr. Bélisle."

 

[Adam Michaels]

Something that can be seen as a good sign. The city had pushed the deadline to February 7th to accomodate MacDonald for the ECHL team.

They had initially booked it for yesterday but MacDonald wasn't able to attend since he's at the ECHL Board of Governors meeting as owner of the Newfoundland Growlers.

As already mentioned, on Friday, John Sedgwick, Habs' VP of Hockey Ops and Legal Affairs, sent the city a letter confirming the Habs' interest in having an affiliate in TR and also confirming that they back MacDonald's project.

The mayor and some council members said that they had received some different messages from Habs higher ups, saying that another VP, France Margaret Bélanger, had told them before that the Habs were not associated with MacDonald. So when they got the letter on Friday (and Sedgwick sent another one in November), the mayor and some council members were confused. However they had said that the letter on Friday does change things.

Yesterday, the mayor announced that they will push the date back so they give MacDonald a chance to meet the council and share his plans.

The mayor also confirmed that after he received the letter, he got in touch with the higher ups of the Habs to answer some of his questions. He said they were, but he didn't share any details.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Some news:

Yesterday, the Patriotes revealed their plans to the city council. Some of the events we learned of:

- Obviously, the home games of the university team. They play about 18-20 home games. So already there, they won't be occupying it much.

- Preseason games that would also include games against NCAA teams. Those are just a few games.

- The Canadian University hockey tournament that IF they get selected, they can host it for the next two years. Again, a short tournament and it wouldn't be long-term as it would only be for the next two years.

- They also want to host a few exhibition games during the holidays against NCAA teams when the regular seasons are on holiday breaks.

So all in all, they would need the arena for a total of about 35-40 games, give or take.

Now the city will wait to meet with MacDonald to share his plan. Again, the fact the Habs made it official that they want to get involved, has changed some of the narrative.

The man who is heading the Patriotes is Daniel McMahon, spoke after the meeting and said that he is not opposed to sharing the arena.

However, another member part of the Patriotes group, Daniel Lamarre of Cirque du Soleil, said that he doesn't think sharing is a possibility at the moment. He explained that the arena is made for one major team and isn't built for sharing. He mentioned that to accomodate two teams, they would need to make certain renovations in the facility, particularly regarding dressing rooms. And he estimates it would cost about 2-million$.

He did say that he does a lot of business with the Groupe CH as they rent the Bell Center for Cirque du Soleil about 21 dates a year. And that if they were interested and the city voted for it, he wouldn't stand in the way. He thinks highly of the organization. He just shared his belief that modifications will need to be made to the facility to accomodate both.

Council members also gave statements and they pretty much echoed that their priority is to find a way to have both teams share the facility.

They said they were impressed with the Patriotes vision and plan. And they believe they will be equally impressed with MacDonald's, but that they will need to hear his proposal first before making their final decision on February 7th.


Regarding the ECHL, I remember reading that the real deadline the league gives a team is mid-March. So if that is true, then if the ECHL there becomes a reality, then chances are they'll be ready to start playing next season.

 

[Adam Michaels]

A little edit from my previous post where I said the deadline is mid-March. I remember reading that somewhere but it turns out, it's not true.

Andrew Zadarnowski of Habs Eyes on the Prize had an interview with Dean MacDonald that will be up in a day or two, and in there, MacDonald confirmed that the deadline to grant an expansion team has passed. So it wouldn't be for next season.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

A little edit from my previous post where I said the deadline is mid-March. I remember reading that somewhere but it turns out, it's not true.

Andrew Zadarnowski of Habs Eyes on the Prize had an interview with Dean MacDonald that will be up in a day or two, and in there, MacDonald confirmed that the deadline to grant an expansion team has passed. So it wouldn't be for next season.

Jean Lamarche was on 91.9Sports this morning to talk about the potential for a ECHL team in the arena, but I was unable to tune in.

Everything I have read has said he was against the ECHL bid until he got confirmation from John Sedgewick, the Canadiens VP of Hockey OPs, that the Canadiens would be the affiliate. Not sure if that was a negotiating tactic, or if he really didn't believe Dean McDonald. Either way, he held out until it was too late and the ECHL expansion deadline passed. Many of municipal counselors are unhappy with Lamarche, since he's sandbagging a person who wants to invest a lot into the city.

 

[Growlers]

The Growlers were announced way later than January. So not sure why there is no chance for them to play next season.

 

[Growlers]

Another Story here "Cohabitation at the Colosseum: "I don't believe in it," says Daniel Lamarre"

Cohabitation au Colisée : « Je n’y crois pas », dit Daniel Lamarre

 

[Adam Michaels]

MacDonald en ville au début février

So MacDonald confirmed to Turcotte that it is too late now to have the ECHL team ready for next season. He said that if the city was able to give him an answer sooner, he may have been able to convince the ECHL to extend the window before he had to give them a final answer.

He is still very much interested in this project and is willing to wait another year for it.

With the ECHL Board of Governors meetings now over, he and his team will start working on their presentation. The city has given them three dates to choose from to meet with them, all of them early February.

At the meeting will be him, his partner Glenn Stanford. Also to be there will be Marc-André Bergeron, who will be in charge of the team (like Briere is with Maine). He also said that someone from the Habs will be at that meeting with them.

He said that it's no secret the Habs and his team need to finalize a few details and agree on things. He said it's part of the normal progression of the process, saying it was the same thing with the Growlers and the Leafs.

 

[Adam Michaels]

The Growlers were announced way later than January. So not sure why there is no chance for them to play next season.

I believe it was officially approved in March 2018 and the team began the following September.

So I am also wondering how come this deadline has passed. Unless the ECHL felt that the situation with the Growlers (and the dispute they had with the St. John's Edge that required an arbitrator) was too close for comfort for the league and didn't want to repeat it again this time around?

I remember reading that the ECHL gave MacDonald a deadline for mid-December. Then a few weeks later, I read from the same source that the actual cut-off date is mid-March.