Here are some of the things he had to say:
Guy Dupuis played the six-team West Coast Hockey League in 2002-03 and says he sees no reason why it can't work now.
It seems like everything is going to be better for the fans and that's why we're here,'' the all-star defenseman said. ``The six-team league I played was good for the fans because they got to know more of the other teams. They got to have a love-hate relationship with players on each team. If a team comes in and they don't know any players then it's less exciting for them. If they come in and start to get to know the nicknames of the guys, then it gets personal. That year the fans really got into it.''
Dupuis said he's waiting to talk more with Komets General Manager David Franke about a contract for next season and hopes to re-sign with the team.
``I would really hope so,'' Dupuis said. ``That's my plans and hopefully it will work out.''
Franke said on Monday he was waiting until returning from the league meetings in Las Vegas last week before trying to finalize negotiations with Dupuis and player/assistant coach Bruce Richardson. He hoped to get both players settled before the end of the week.
Some fans have wondered whether players will have reservations about playing only five teams during the season. He said many players were waiting to see what happened at the league meetings before making a decision, but Dupuis said he's fine with the smaller roster of opponents.
``That would only be a plus I think,'' he said. ``The more you know them the better you'll be able to counter them. I think there will be some really good rivalries. There are some teams like Muskegon and Kalamazoo we wanted to play more last year because whenever we played them it was a great game. I think these rivalries will promote games like that because I think there will be six really competitive teams.''
Dupuis said he believes the overall talent level of the league will go up, especially if the players selected in today's dispersal draft can be added back into the league.
Also, Dupuis said he's OK with the IHL dropping the instigation penalties until the final five minutes of the game. The owners said they are trying to encourage more physical play, which means more fighting.
``That will take care of itself,'' Dupuis said. ``I think the majority of the fans want to see more fights. I think guys will have some respect for each other and I doubt they abuse it. If they do, they'll have to answer to somebody else. It's never just a done deal if they do take advantage to somebody.''
Comments
Now the funny thing is so many people were ripping the league this offseason. I was thinking, is the guy wrong?
. You have the AHL clearly AAA, the ECHL which I would consider AA as most of the teams are NHL affiliated. Then you have the CHL which has lots of veteran talent (gheesh Sebastien Centomo once thought to be the next great Leafs goalie is starring there) which is AA/A. Then you are left with the UHL, SPHL etc etc. What argument can you make that these leagues with few NHL prospects and no affiliations is anything but A ? And so what if it is "A" ? That doesn't mean the games are not entertaining or there are no talented players. I think the UHL has not been much more than an A league all along.
I guess the question is, what is the definition of AAA , AA and A when it comes to pro hockey? With the exception of the AHL which has clearly established itself as AAA I think the rest is left to opinion.
It is opinion. But, guys that are and were All Stars in the CHL are average or worse players in the UHL. I think if you take the ECHL, CHL, and the UHL/IHL and play those teams all together, you would see little or no difference. It really doesn't matter. The IHL is more like the Independent Hockey League kind of like the Independent League in baseball that has good talent with no affiliations.
If the IHL is A, where's that leave the SPHL whose players rarely stuck or made an impact in the UHL?
Players move freely between the ECHL, UHL and CHL without much difference in performance or results. I've seen games in all three leagues and there's not much to choose.
In fact, I thought the CHL and UHL play was better than the ECHL.
As I recall most of the peanut butter flavored marshmellows ended up on the ice :-) :-(
I agree with Skate.....but we did hand Indy their Arse's in preseason play about 4 years ago when they were in the CHL. There was a definite difference at that time in talent level. I think the 3 leagues are probably equal when all is said and done. The difference in the ECHL is they have affiliations with AHL and NHL and the U/I may have more talented Veteran Players that played in the NHL and AHL but are now considered not to be prospects any longer due to whatever reason or pure politics.
There may not be much of a difference in talent but the way I form my opinion, the ECHL is a higher league because of the NHL affiliation. As a player, you are closer to the NHL playing on an ECHL team than an IHL team. If this were baseball you would have different levels of "A" baseball. I think that the UHL, SPHL and even the CHL are different levels of A.
Go Cubs Go!!!!
8-3 score in the 5th.....I remember a 8-3 9th inning lead last night that turned into a 9-8 Rockies lead....then the Cubs magically won the game 10-9.....;)
It is opinion....but I don't think that the SPHL, CHL, and IHL are the same. Just because the NHL is screwing up minor league hockey in the ECHL doesn't make that product superior to the IHL or CHL. You know, Rockford was feeding AHL teams with talent the last several season. As has been the case with Quad City, Adirondack, Danbury, Elmira, etc. Fort Wayne on a rare ocasion.
Hit I am not sure it is all about talent. Going back to baseball, most of the true prospects are in AA and not AAA. AAA in baseball is filled with alot of vets and fringe prospects but anybody who knows baseball knows that most of a teams true prospects are in AA. The hockey minor league system is very clandestine the way it is set up with everything below the AHL kind of scrambling to find their place.
I don't think we can really compare baseball's farm system to Minor League Hockey. It is more like the NBA with the NBADL and the CBA and how that used to work. Maybe one day you will see a more uniform approach to what the NHL is trying to accomplish and maybe the NHL will pull their collective heads out and maybe try to make their sport alot more fan friendly and try to get back to the level they once were. They are failing right now. Maybe if the larger market teams would put better teams on the ice the sport would take off again....ie Chicago. Seems like the whole system of hockey needs turned upside down and shaken a bit.
UMMM.....kind of like what the IHL is trying to do here?
AA baseball has the prospects....that aren't usually ready to make the leap to the big leagues. AAA baseball is the level that sends guys up and down as the big team needs them. I agree Prospects are more in the AA's in baseball. That really doesn't compare with hockey prospects being more in the AA system. I would imagine the real prospects are in the AHL.....right? The guys that just got drafted in the first rounds if they aren't ready to play in the NHL right away, they will play in the AHL....correct or not?
That is why I say that the IHL and maybe the CHL is more like the Independent League in baseball in which guys like Jose Canseco, Rickey Henderson, Darryl Strawberry, and such have played in that have no affiliations to big league teams but still are talent guys that play with a mixture of lifetime minor-league players and some young talented players that might not have been drafted right away that either are trying to get a look-see or are just good enough to play in that league. That is really what the UHL has been. Outside of Rockford, Missouri, and the Quad Cities that have had guys go up and down to the AHL.
I've always wondered about the AA classification myself.
We have the Wizards in the Continental league, a lower tier A league. The teams in that league have promoted many players to the bigs incuding Pujols who went straight from the Continental (Peoria) to the National. How many players have made it to the NHL after playing in the UHL? One?
I would consider the ECHL as AA and most of the rest as A if skill and chance for advancement are considered the same as in baseball. Even then it's no match. Heck, the USHL has promoted a ton of players to the NHL and most of those were before it changed itself to a Junior league. The average talent in the old USHL would no doubt be less then the UHL et all but the players were younger and their time in that league was short. They either advanced to higher levels in pro, got a ride in college, or hung up the skates.
I think it is a matter of opinion and marketing. It sounds better to advertise and promote the league as AA. Since there is no over all governing body for minor league hockey like there is for minor league baseball it is a mute point. Anyone can call their team/league what ever level they want.
I'll admit comparing the two (baseball and hockey) is probably unfair because in baseball they are all developmental leagues while in hockey you have the NHL, AHL, ECHL, and juniors/college as the only true developmental leagues.
I think there are quite a few prospects that come right out of the college ranks and junior ranks in hockey. There are also an equally large that are coming from Europe I really don't think there are too many "top prospects" in the AHL either.
Hmm, we seem to be posting on top of each other, we need a chat room for this :-)
Take a look at the top scorers in the AHL. The list is full of NHL washouts like Jason Krog, Kip Miller etc.
Even with the goalies, you have guys like Wade Flaherty (who was an original San Jose Shark I think), Good old Cassivi who was playing in the OLD IHL.. There are a few good prospects like Montoya but I think just like in baseball, the AHL is full mainly of the "old reliable callups" with a few young prospects mixed in.
At least Jarmo Myllys isn't still hanging around LOL
Jarmo Myllys.....I have not heard that name mentioned in a very long time! Wasn't he the goalie that had to skate over to the bench (very quickly!) so that he could, eh....spew in the middle of a game?
A former ladyfriend told me this story.....said he was the same shade of green as his jersey!
Hit, does 10 ft ego in a 4 ft body ring any bells??
good discussions all the way around! classification i guess comes down to two ways..1. the nhl version, which would make ahl aaa and echl aa and the rest of the leagues either high a ihl chl or low a sphl and the rest. or you go talent wise and its ahl as a triple a and the echl ihl and chl as double a and the rest single a. all that matters is that we have hockey but someone should put the peoria guy in his place, cause who is he and why should he put down another league? until we have an end of the year playoff with them, he has no basis for "fact"
Just an aside question for Blake,
Will we still be able to link to the blog from the NS site?
I tried typing in the new name, but kept getting Google messages that it couldn't be found. Was anyone else having this problem?
chuckitt, aren't you bashing the sphl saying its a low a league...isnt that the same thing as the Peoria guy calling the ihl an a league? I've never paid much attention to the sphl but they do have more teams than the ihl..
Is there anyway to follow the draft tonight? Will they be updating on the new site??
Oh, Good Lord, lakes will boil and the skies are going to fall, but I'm actually agreeing with Hit on something. LOL. What makes an A or AA? A piece of paper that says NHL affiliation on it? Please. Hit is right in that all you have to do is compare the stats of the guys who came from one league or the other to see how they stacked up. This whole conversation is a double yawn. You guys are making Dave's year by getting so worked up about this. It's part of his shtickt. He's like the little brother constantly poking at you to get your attention.
You know what really makes the clarification between A and AA? The goaltending, and look at the roster of goaltenders in each league. The UHL had more vets, and we all know goaltenders get better as they mature, right? So do defensemen. Guess which league had/has the most experienced goaltenders? We'll have a great opportunity this year to see how Frenchy does in the CHL which will give us an idea. Look at what some of the former UHL goalies have done in the ECHL. Look what Derek Gustafson has done or Jamie Hodson, Scott Stirling or Joel Martin. The stats are comparable and if anything, some of them had worse stats in the UHL which really makes some questions about the real level of competition. How about Marco Emond, Kevin Reiter, Ron Vogel, Derek Dolson or Jeremy Symington in the CHL? Every one of those guys had significantly better stats in the CHL than the UHL which again raises comparisons about the level of competition. Or if you want go look at the top 20 scorers in the ECHL and see how many have played in the UHL and compare those stats.
The only real difference is in average age. If you were a goalie, would you rather face seven UHL vets every night or a bunch of first and second-year players in the ECHL? It's pretty simple in that the kids go to the ECHL, and the vets come to the UHL/IHL. It must be pretty tough for the ECHL to have any continuity on teams if you are bringing in a new truckload of kids every year, too. Nah, I'll take the vets.
They are still working on the bugs on this thing, Jeff, and that might take a while.
They won't announce the results until the draft is over. I think you can look at the SPHL salary cap and make a pretty easy comparison. They have a lower cap and fewer veterans so they kind of do it to themselves.
At about what time is the draft looking to get over with?
It just depends. There are 14 rounds. If nobody wants to pick after six, it ends after six. There is not a timetable I've heard of, and even then it will take a while for the league and the individual teams to write up their announcements.
I Love Hockey.....PUCKBUNNY. Don't push it.
ok thanks Blake. Hopefully we get some goodies that want to sign.