Not mention yet, Youngstown, OH and/or Johnstown, PA as potential sites for relocation of the Flint Firebirds franchise under new ownership.
Any chance they put a team in downtown Toronto?
Any chance they put a team in downtown Toronto?
Not to also discount that from Toronto to Mississauga is only a half hour drive west of the heart of the GTA
Oh really? More than one game between St Mikes and Missy IceDogs was delayed because the visiting team's bus was stuck in traffic. That half hour drive can turn into 2+ hours.
More often than not, Missy would likely get to Guelph or even Kitchener quicker than to the old St Mikes barn.
Not sure why anyone would ever choose the ECHL over the OHL if given the choice between the 2.
LOL... only if they re playing at 2amNot to also discount that from Toronto to Mississauga is only a half hour drive west of the heart of the GTA
Different strokes for different folks as they say, but I am in your camp here. I get it that the ECHL is pro and there will be many a OHLer who won't make it that far but you do see some great players in the O who will bypass the E completely. Sure the O is a developmental league, but each team is their own master, no parent club taking your best players as the year progresses.
We talk about drafting, building a team in the O, the model in the E is completely different, based on affiliation. Feel the same about the AHL as well, not for me.
The issue I have with OHL versus AHL is that in the OHL once your roster is set and your players are sent back from the Pro's etc., you have a roster of 23 or 24 players and outside the odd trade, WJC commitments or injury, these are the players you're going to see every night.
On the other hand, in the AHL, you can go to any given game and there's no guarantee you'll see the star players. You buy a program and they'll have a roster of 35 to 40 players listed for each team. You may have about a dozen or so players you're pretty much guaranteed to see every time. Then you have the handful that are up-and-down between the AHL team and the parent NHL club. Further, there are a few more players that are up-and-down between the AHL club and the East Coast league club.
So from a fan's perspective, it's hard to get attached to players on AHL or even ECHL rosters - especially the high-end players who are hit and miss as to whether they'll be even on the ice on any given night. On the other hand, it's easy to get attached to players on an OHL roster because you know that the star players will be playing there every night barring injury or world Junior championships or the like.