A friend of mine was at the NAHL Showcase.. he mentioned a few kids that were long shot pros..
Stolarz, '94, 6'5 goalie on Corpus Christie
Pavlo Padakin, '94, forward on Fairbanks
Garrett Cecere, a '95 dman on Janesville, Colorado College commit.
Let me know if anyone has seen these kids, thoughts?
Is this league owned by the mob? How financially do they survive? It is a cool league but in all reality all it is is elite Junior B hockey. I have seen attendance reports on line and even that blows my mind how some teams survive. Seems like a great league for kids to play in but I am still shocked if it can last financially I mean.
That is why you see so many new teams every year. Take a look at the North. The Traverse City Northstars are the longest established team at 5 or 6 years. I am not sure how they are still in TC as attendance is abysmal and has been for all seasons. They are a good team by making the playoffs almost every year. Facility costs for them are probably really cheap though as the TC prospects camp and Red Wings training camp brings a lot of money to the rink.
The Bismarck Bobcats have been around since they have been around since 1997 second behind Springfield Jr. Blues who started up in 1993. The Bobcats have had to switch leagues because of leagues folding. Minot finally got a junior team since the Minot Muskies who the owner bought the Bobcat then sold them 4 years later to the now owner. Its a great league the President of the league is a very nice guy I've got to meet him a few times.
The Dawson Creek Rage drew, at most, 400 fans for a Saturday night game against the division leading Fairbanks Ice Dogs. Many of those tickets were discounted or freebies.
The team is subsidized by the city, and is the only reason they
may survive, as the venue needs a major tenant and the city needs revenue.
With the Junior B Canucks and Senior Canucks hockey in town, the Rage are forgotten or ignored,
This request was originally denied by USA Hockey, owner went through the appeal process, and the Junior Council (now with new members) listened to all the facts, and not the lies that were originally presented. Junior Council reversed their decsion and will allow Wenatchee to apply to the BCHL.....All signs are also pointing to the Avalanche not fielding a team next season. DC Rage are also thinking about dropping out. The NAHL West is going to be a mess, especially if Fresno decides to leave..
The DC Rage have claimed dormancy, and are seeking another league to play in.
Asked to declare Dormancy for the 2012-13 season
Traverse City North Stars ----> They will become the Soo (MI) Indians and play in the NAHL
Wenatchee Wild------> Leaving for BCHL
St Louis Bandits
Dawson Creek Rage
Alaska Avalanche
Fresno Monsters
Michigan Warriors----->Coach Mantha says they will stay and play in the NAHL next season, using the "dormancy" tag to create leverage in Arena lease negotiations....Others have said they are done in Flint.
wow teams in the West are having problem. I go to almost every Bobcats game and its always a packed house. They never give away tickets or discount them. In the Central they don't seem to have a problem packing the seats but when I went down to Texas for a few games it looked like a ghost town.
Also Dawson Creek was a power house last year but this year the have gone to crap.
Its like the AWHL all over again for the West division.
The DC Rage have claimed dormancy, and are seeking another league to play in.
Why wouldn't they just play in the AJHL? I mean the teams already go up to Grande Praraie. Thats only about an hours drive from there. The BCHL doesn't want DC I bet most of the league hates having to go up to Prince George. I think the AJ would be a good fit.
wow teams in the West are having problem. I go to almost every Bobcats game and its always a packed house. They never give away tickets or discount them. In the Central they don't seem to have a problem packing the seats but when I went down to Texas for a few games it looked like a ghost town.
Also Dawson Creek was a power house last year but this year the have gone to crap.
Its like the AWHL all over again for the West division.
Its weird you say that, the teams in the South and the West are some of the highest attendance wise. Also not sure if you mean play wise, but Dawsons Creek was terrible last year as well.
Surprised by the Fresno dormancy...I know a few people that play there...and they get pretty good support. Must just cost to much to go to Alaska so many times throughout the year, and even worse if Wenatchee leaves.
Why wouldn't they just play in the AJHL? I mean the teams already go up to Grande Praraie. Thats only about an hours drive from there. The BCHL doesn't want DC I bet most of the league hates having to go up to Prince George. I think the AJ would be a good fit.
i heard that DC will play in the AJHL.
does anyone know whats going on the west division, Alaska and Fresno probably folding and Wenatchee was planned to join the BCHL but i read somewhere that they are passed the BCHL deadline so they are most likely going to have to wait another year. what does that mean for fairbanks and kenai river?
Fairbanks is GOOD! I mean, REALLY good. I'd hate to see those kids dispersed, as they seem like a very tightknit team.
Dawson Creek always made far more sense in the AJHL, and I suspect that that was always the plan. Get the infrastructure and marketing in place, which they did, and show the AJHL that the Rage are well managed from a business sense. They would draw infinitely more fans as a member of that League than in the NAHL, but the NAHL was a great way to showcase that despite a lack of on-ice success, the team is run well.
The Rage won't leave the NAHL just due to there contract they have with the NAHL next year the 2012-2013 season is there last year. If they removed themselves from the league they would have a cost associated with leaving that is the same as what it cost allot to get out of the contract.
I think some minor changes to the team are in need aka. Coaching and some ways the team is run....They have no marketing...No advertising and small to little community involvement, I would think to have ppl drawn to this hockey it needs to be cheap at first and slowly ramp up....incentives would also have to be included season ticket holders get so many extra tickets to bring ppl or friends and try and draw ppl to the hockey..
I think the ownership piece has issues too I think if there are going to be more then one owner you need to have a group ownership and have shares...So what I mean is have one owner own 75% of the team and then have public or anyone buy shares in the team this creates drive for anyone that owns to help market, and try and draw crowds to the rink so they can have there intrest looked after..
I know for a fact half of the seats behind the Home net are all sold and no one ever sit in there these seats were purchased by businesses and some games they are totally empty.
Surprised by the Fresno dormancy...I know a few people that play there...and they get pretty good support. Must just cost to much to go to Alaska so many times throughout the year, and even worse if Wenatchee leaves.
Fresno will be back next year along with Wantachee, looks like the West division will be back for another year, may only have 1 team go dormant now.
Also not sure if you mean play wise, but Dawsons Creek was terrible last year as well.
