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Canucks Owner To Buy Abbotsford Sports Entertainment?


Alex the Great

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I would say call em the Abbotsford Orcas, but that might be too close to the Connecticut Whale. :P

Abbotsford Millionaires or Abbotsford Aviators.. I like the sound of both of those.

and I really like the sound of our prospects playing there. I imagine that the Wolves attendance was terrible in Chicago while our prospects played there, too.

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Smart stuff Aquilini. I remember reading something about the Canucks org and their discontent w/ the Wolves affiliation. By purchasing his own farm team - he can run it the way he wants. I bet my Snickers bar that the sleep Dr and all these secret off-ice Canuck programs will be implemented with minor league team as well.

The pros far outweigh the cons here, IMO.

-Cdn markets mean a large media following. The earlier players can adjust and cope with that pressure, the better they'll be long term

- Canucks org will able to follow the prospects more closely

- Fans will get to see them more often

- Young free agents might be more inclined to chose a club that is within close proximity of their parent club. I remember it was a strong factor in Gustavsson choosing the Leafs.

It's a win/win.

EDIT: A little update: http://canuckscentral.ca/index.php?/topic/31-fraser-valley-abuzz-that-vancouver-canucks-owner-has-designs-on-abbotsford-hockey-team-arena/#entry50

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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?

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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.

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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.

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