Talked with David Franke and Al Sims today. Here's some of the highlights.
* The Komets haven't talked to Frankie DeAngelis yet this week, but it would not shock them if DeAngelis is out for at least the rest of the regular season with a concussion. ``He can't even go for a walk without getting a headache,'' Sims said. "I'd be very surprised if he's playing this week.''
* Dan Lapointe has a deep bruise on his leg, and Artem Podshendyalov had a cap fall off his tooth and that got infected so both are day-to-day.
* If the Komets play either Colorado or Rapid City in the playoffs, they'll be taking a sleeper bus on that trip(s).
* The Komets have not talked to Justin Hodgman since the start of the season and he will not be returning to Fort Wayne for the playoffs unless it is as a spectator.
* The lines are all going to change up this week in an effort to get more scoring.
* CHL teams can bring in two amateurs for the playoffs and they do not count against the salary cap or 19-man roster.
Comments
They are ALOT stronger at this point than the CHL and they have a good established midwest division already in place. Most teams have NHL affiliations and they would be the most logical place to start when making sense of the AA landscape.
What makes more sense for the Komets franchise, traveling to Colorado, Rapid City, Missouri, Louisiana, etc... or traveling to places like Chicago, Kalamazoo, Cincy, Toledo, etc...?
There is good information out there if you choose to have an open mind to listen to it or people around here can continue to blindly follow the status quo and listen to those who called people idiots for saying anything contrary to the company line....
Right or South Carolina or Elmira or Florida or Alaska, because those are ooohhhh so much closer. They are ALL in trouble because of travel.... Period. The CHL actualy has better equipment deals and some other things that cut costs which the ECHL doesn't have. No AA league is perfect and they never will be.
Alaska 0 140,991 33 4,272
Utah 0 137,570 33 4,169
Idaho 0 125,891 32 3,934
Cincinnati 0 129,640 33 3,928
Las Vegas 0 108,691 28 3,882
Greenville 0 110,949 30 3,698
Victoria 0 108,539 30 3,618
Elmira 0 112,647 32 3,520
South Carolina 0 113,973 34 3,352
Kalamazoo 0 94,247 31 3,040
Wheeling 0 73,495 31 2,371
Trenton 0 75,277 32 2,352
I guarantee you, everybody on this list in the ECHL is losing money simple on travel costs alone, and that's more than half the league, so how in the world is the ECHL stronger? The answer is they both are in trouble.
Some places in AA hockey could benefit from one another....
K-Zoo's attendance would improve and their travel would improve from teams like FW, Eville, Dayton.
Cincy the same situation.
Toledo same.
And obviously it wouldn't hurt The IHL section of the CHL to be in a league that has Chicago, K-Zoo, Toledo, Cincy....
Something has to give.
Yes, all the egos involved. I think if the ECHL dropped their expansion fee request, this would all get fixed in a heartbeat and both leagues would be much stronger. Part of the deal I heard last time was the ECHL wanted the ``new'' teams to sign over their rights to their logos, team names, etc. Oh, heck, no.
Then what is your solution Blake? Are you even listening to the chatter or just going with what the Frankes tell you? All I see you doing is saying everyone is in trouble; but offering no ideas for solutions....
There is a TON of chatter out there that people are talking and maybe have been for some time. There's chatter of a new league, merging of leagues, a division of league geographically, etc... Alot of it makes very good sense and would work if implemented.
If most or all of the southern CHL teams (rumored or confirmed to this point) leave for the juniors or the SPHL (like we are hearing) then teams left over down there will probaly follow suit or go dark. No way teams in Allen or Arizona can make it travelling to the midwest all season long next season.
And to be fair, there are 2-3 ECHL teams we are hearing that are gone for next season too. ECHL teams that are basically on an island... Vegas, Victoria, cant remember the third team rumored.
What I am saying is that if chatter proves to be true then in the next season or two, there is going to be a TON of change. The ECHL may be the last AA league standing (of those active right now) ... This summer could be eventful.
Which summer over the last 10 years hasn't been eventful?
I think this Minor League Switch-a-roo game is part of our season ticket package and is what keeps us entertained when we have no hockey to watch.....
And it drives Super Fan to Foo Foos....LOL
JR, there is no solution until these leagues come together and right now I don't think they are desperate enough to do that. I've been saying these exact same things for 15 years. Are things that much worse now than they were 15 years ago? It was obvious they were business idiots then and they are business idiots now.
There are too many egos involved. When the CHL, IHL and SPHL all held a meeting last year in Vegas, they asked the ECHL to attend and no one even showed up. This is nothing new, but they all have to be in the same position of desperation before something will finally be done. It will be done eventually, but it's going to have to put all of them up against the wall with guns at their heads so they don't have any other choice. That's the only way it will happen.
What you say makes perfect sense, but for that reason alone it may not happen. Hockey sense and business sense and common sense are three distinctly different things. This stuff has been going on for 50 years with no common sense involved, so I'm not sure why you may think it's going to happen now. Yes, it seems obvious that it needs to. That's one reason why it may not.
That's why I have said, just a few weeks ago, that this is all cyclical and there will be a Midwest league back eventually. That has all happened before and will continue to happen because none of them ever seem to be able to learn from the mistakes other before them have made. They all keep making the same mistakes. Maybe, finally, the business people will take over.
Where does the ECHL think these established teams who are struggling are going to find the money for an expansion fee? It will never happen.
Think about it this way, and this is a story I'm doing for next week. How many minor league owners do you think are out there who have owned their teams for more than 10 years? When you see that number, a lot of this stupidity will make more sense.
Eventually, you just become numb to it all, and you realize there will always be hockey here and leave it at that. They play whoever it is they can get to play. I'm just truly amazed there is anybody left out there who is willing to buy a hockey team.
There is a sucker born every minute......
I agree Blake... I think some of the problem is that most minor sports owners arent in it to make money. They are fans that want to own the hometown team... The Bossier-Shreveport owner is on record saying he could deal with a 250,000 dollar loss; but its hard dealing with the nearly 800,000 dollar loss he is taking right now, and thats why he is looking to get out of his CHL contract to move to the SPHL...
As long as there are millionare sports fans there will be prospective owners...lol
See, that's what the 1980s were like around here. It's all cyclical.
Blake Fort Wayne is very lucky to be able to rest peacefully knowing there will be hockey here every year. That is why all of the slamming of the IHL2 and the Franke involvement pizzled me off. We are lucky to have owners who will do whatever is needed to keep hockey alive and still put a good entertaining product on and off the ice in whatever league they have to for the fans who are happy to have hockey every winter.
The ECHL didn't show up because they didn't have to.
The same reason I won't attend a meeting about the future of the bus terminal in Fort Wayne. I own a car. I don't have any use for what Citilink is offering.
Snuff, Its easy to be so giving when its a cash cow.
Also the Frankes are pretty fortunate to have fans that support the product with their hard-earned cash.
Stop being a snob.
I agree that we get a good product.
I am sold.
Somebody should ask the Frankes when were going to the ECHL.
The only place that has had zero problems with the Frankes owning the Komets, running the league (IHL2) and having a hand in at least half the teams in the league are mostly Komets fans...
JM if I were to agree with you that it is a cash cow then I'd love to explore why that is.
If you go by what this blog and a couple of other forums would tell you then the fan base has not been happy since they left for the UHL years ago. There has always been a loud segment of the fan base wanting more or different than was being offered.
Where I am going with this is that if the product was as bad as the few loud bloggers would have you believe then I would think the cow would have dried up years ago.
Flint for example used to be a very good hockey town. However years of "fan abuse", team ownership instability and a poor economy lead to their extinction.
People in Fort Wayne are known for being cheap when it comes to sports. Blake will back me up on this (I think). If the ownership was not providing a solid product then I believe you would see people staying away just as they have in other cities. That has not happened yet. The fact is the Komets put a competitive team on the ice just about every year and provide a good family friendly night out at a relative inexpensive price. I believe when (yes when) the IHL3 or whatever they choose to call it is formed you will hear the same loud voices complain but the fan base will remain loyal because of the product on the ice and the experience of the event.
I do believe that if the Komets continue to play teams from Texas and other faraway places where fans cannot connect then it will lead to a shrinking fan base not only for the Komets but other teams as well.
My opinions of course.
I agree that we get a good product and that is a result of the Frankes hard work.
I just get tired of hearing how much we're all indebted to them. It's not like they are taking a loss to give us "cheap, greedy" fans hockey. I appreciate what they do, but turning them into saints is a bit much.
JM I can agree with that.
I also never called Fort Wayne fans greedy in a financial sense. On the opposite, any time the Komets or the city in general has called on the fans to be generous with donations for charities I think people in this town respond above and beyond. The only "greed" might be in the fact that Komet fans are somewhat spoiled by the success of this franchise. That is one reason other cities love to hate on the Komets, the Frankes and the town. Winning teams are teams other towns love to hate. Of course other cities resented the Franke involvement in IHL2. Then again without it those towns probably didn't have hockey to watch during the last 2 years. Short sighted sour grapes in my opinion.
I won't call the Frankes saints. I will say that if they ever decide to put this team up for sale we can all look forward to the same instability that 99.9% of other minor league cities deal with in every sport. I will throw salt over my shoulder and pray every day that it won't happen ;)