Quote:
Originally Posted by Skraut
For me, I can watch an AHL team 10 minutes away, or an NHL team 130 minutes away.
For the reasons you mentioned, the NHL team USUALLY wins.
But, take away the NHL for a season, and you take away the chance that the AHL player you like will get called up, leading to more continuity in teams.
Take away the NHL, and I can forget that the AHL players I'm watching will go and play for one of my most despised teams (Colorado)
Take away the NHL, and the money I spent on quarter season upper bowl tickets, suddenly becomes a full season 2 rows from the glass at the AHL.
Take away the NHL, and I would spend less time talking about a last place team, and spend more time enjoying a playoff team.
Add in having seemingly the only 6 month old in the world that doesn't sleep in the car, and if the NHL goes away for a year, I could be perfectly happy with the AHL.
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During the lockout year of 2004-05, the quality of AHL hockey was unreal. It was almost like watching an NHL game. In fact, "almost" isn't needed when one is a Jackets fan.
From the 2004-05 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, these TEN players all played a full season 7 years later in the NHL in 2011-12: Joffery Lupul, Zenon Konopka, Kurtis Foster, PA Parenteau, Shane O'Brien, Chris Kunitz, Dustin Penner, Tim Brent, Sheldon Brookbank and Ilya Bryzgalov. That's probably more NHL retention that most NHL teams have had since then. There were many other outstanding players on that Ducks team.
NHL hockey is a very replaceable commodity for a real hockey fan when the product is as good as the AHL in a lock out/strike situation.
Even the ECHL will become a much better product with a labor stoppage.
I hope (and think) that the situation will resolved without any stoppage. Fehr is tough and the owners and players don't want another stoppage.
Also, if anyone might care, former Jacket Andrew Cassels will not be returning for a second season as an assistant coach for the ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones. I don't know why, but am assuming that he did not want to relocate himself and/or family from his home in the Columbus area.