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Canucks Owner To Buy Abbotsford Sports Entertainment?


Alex the Great

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Having the AHL club close by in no way guarantees attendance. No offense to those in Abbotsford but it is far from Vanvouver! There aren't many weeknight games but it's still a long trek on a weekend. And Abbotsford really makes no sense in the A. Their travel would be way worse than the Canucks. There is no team close. Other teams hate having Abbotsford in the legue and if I'm not mistaken the Hest subsidize travel for visiting teams. And if the team loses all bets are off.

The Wolves are one of the best franchises in the AHL. They play in front of large crowds, have an owner that could be a NHL owner, are run like a pro team and are in a hockey hotbed with teams all around. And perhaps the best feature is they play to win. Something that isn't true of a lot of AHL affiliates. And similar to the great situation they had in Winnipeg??

The best option for the Canucks would be to buy an AHL club and move it right into Rogers Arena and keep the Heat in Abbotsford. This works best for both clubs. The Heat are less isolated and the Canucks have a natural rival close by.

It's less than an hour and a quarter away. I think the hockey crazed market here would support our affiliate team and provide the right atmosphere as well as attendance. I hate the thought of any of our potential players establishing roots in or feeling any kind of loyalty to Chicago. Doesn't sit well with me and I'd love them to play here and know they'd get a great turnout.

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It's less than an hour and a quarter away. I think the hockey crazed market here would support our affiliate team and provide the right atmosphere as well as attendance. I hate the thought of any of our potential players establishing roots in or feeling any kind of loyalty to Chicago. Doesn't sit well with me and I'd love them to play here and know they'd get a great turnout.

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The Canucks are well served by the Wolves. The extra travel and increased hype surrounding a Lower Mainland AHL team could be negative.

In the event that it does go down I agree that two AHL teams in the Lower Mainland would be better. It eliminates some travel. Also I believe that the Canucks bought the Vancouver Millionaire name and logo a few years back.

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Tilting at windmills, Bodee?? .. anyone who canna see how the positives out-weigh the negatives in having your farm team close to your organizational base for training, access to coaching, medical treatment and early "inclusion" into the Community, must be playing Devils Advocate for the sake of being ornery .. it is the fan base in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland that for the most part supports the Canucks .. these fans DESERVE access to these potential players.

I live about 9 to 10 hours north of the Lower mainland, and I, and many of my friends, would support the team in Abbotsford ..we would combine weekend trips where we could watch both the Canucks and their farm team play .. this would help bring added revenue to the Abbotsford community as well ..

The team being in Abbotsford may mean nothing to folks that are too far away to actually attend games, but for those who actually "pay" the freight for this Canucks franchise, having access to another level of the Organization would be very worthwhile.

Truth is, when I go down for a Canucks game, I stay in Abbotsford motels and shop their Malls .. true story .. :)

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^^ All the talk about Seattle potentially getting an NHL team is a smokescreen IMO. However, should they get the arena that's being discussed, there's no reason why the AHL couldn't seriously consider relocating a franchise there at the first opportunity.

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What happens to Chicago fans and the Wolves.

The people of Chicago seemed to get behind the VC players.............is it fair to them to up sticks and and go after only a couple of Seasons?.............I don't know.

1. Hershey 0 ..........................375,146................. 38...................... 9,872

2. Chicago 0 ..........................300,550 .................38 ......................7,909

3. Lake Erie 0 ........................298,096 .................38 ......................7,845

Providence 0 297,037 38 7,817

Houston 0 278,299 38 7,324

Grand Rapids 0 275,632 38 7,253

San Antonio 0 271,083 38 7,134

Charlotte 0 257,189 38 6,768

St. John's 0 239,299 38 6,297

Milwaukee 0 236,579 38 6,226

W-B/Scranton 0 229,053 38 6,028

Manchester 0 216,622 38 5,701

Rochester 0 212,605 38 5,595

Toronto 0 208,223 38 5,480

Texas 0 207,855 38 5,470

Peoria 0 205,726 38 5,414

Abbotsford is 3rd last in the League with about 3,000

Despite the fact that we haven't given Chicago a great deal, prospect wise I think they have been damn loyal. They also have a great community / charity thing going down there. I remember seeing a programme on ESPN America where guys like Parent, Lack and Con were really idolised by the fans.

I watched quite a few of the games there and many appeared to be matinees, with lots of kids. Is it fair to take the Canucks away from these youngsters? It seems a bit greedy to me.

I could see, with the prospects we have brought in the crowds getting even bigger ............so is it fair to them?

I'm quite sure the guys with the big bucks whose main interest is the NHL team don't really care too much about "the fans in Chicago" when making these decisions. They have to do what is right for the team and, included in that, the prospects playing FOR the chance to join their team. And, if they want to move them here, great news for us.

You have to also consider that the Chicago hockey fans run hot/cold. Attendance is up right now but if you look back 5 years or more, wasn't always so. They didn't even hit 13,000 for the 2006-07 season. So sure, when the Blackhawks are hot it spills over and the Wolves are the likely beneficiaries in that. But don't paint them as more loyal or commited fans...simply a hot ticket item. Isn't any different than Vancouver and the loyal fans HERE, who would love to watch "their" team and also deserve a chance to see the prospects that we will support later on down the road. Many here simply can't get tickets to the Canucks but are no less deserving of attending the prospect's games.

The fans of Chicago are behind the team...but who's to say Vancouver fans don't also deserve that opportunity? I'm sure we'd be just as passionate/committed as the fine folk of Chicago to our prospects. My guess is moreso. Honestly - not sure why we (or the Vancouver based company who have the greatest interest in the Wolves members as developing players for our team) should give a rat's behind about the fans of Chicago. I, for one, don't.

It's not like Chicago fans hang in there through thick and thin and have some proven loyalty that gives them a right of way here....

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^^ All the talk about Seattle potentially getting an NHL team is a smokescreen IMO. However, should they get the arena that's being discussed, there's no reason why the AHL couldn't seriously consider relocating a franchise there at the first opportunity.

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Tilting at windmills, Bodee?? .. anyone who canna see how the positives out-weigh the negatives in having your farm team close to your organizational base for training, access to coaching, medical treatment and early "inclusion" into the Community, must be playing Devils Advocate for the sake of being ornery .. it is the fan base in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland that for the most part supports the Canucks .. these fans DESERVE access to these potential players.

I live about 9 to 10 hours north of the Lower mainland, and I, and many of my friends, would support the team in Abbotsford ..we would combine weekend trips where we could watch both the Canucks and their farm team play .. this would help bring added revenue to the Abbotsford community as well ..

The team being in Abbotsford may mean nothing to folks that are too far away to actually attend games, but for those who actually "pay" the freight for this Canucks franchise, having access to another level of the Organization would be very worthwhile.

Truth is, when I go down for a Canucks game, I stay in Abbotsford motels and shop their Malls .. true story .. :)

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