-Vintage Canuck- Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Quote Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Canucks President of Hockey Operations Trevor Linden announced today that the club has entered into an affiliation agreement with the Alaska Aces of the ECHL. Under this arrangement, the Canucks will designate players within their development system for assignment with the Aces during the 2016.17 season. “We are pleased to enter into a new development partnership with the Aces,” said Canucks President of Hockey Operations Trevor Linden. “The community of Anchorage has a rich history of developing players that have had success at the National Hockey League level. We’re excited to continue this tradition with the Aces and provide our prospects with an excellent environment for growth.” The Aces, based in Anchorage, were 2005.06, 2010.11, and 2013.14 Kelly Cup Champions. “As an organization we are extremely excited about this opportunity. We as a group feel that having Vancouver, the closest NHL team in proximity to Alaska, will give our fan base another team to cheer for,” said Aces Head Coach and President of Hockey Operations Rob Murray. “The parity in the ECHL has gotten stronger over the past few years and we felt it imperative to find an affiliation to help with not only recruiting but providing depth to the Aces. We will also be working closely with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate in Utica throughout the 2016.17 season." The Anchorage Aces originally played in the Pacific Southwest Hockey League from 1989 through 1999 before joining the West Coast Hockey League from 1995 to 2003. The team joined the ECHL to start the 2003.04 season and were renamed the Alaska Aces after the league switch. The Aces were previously affiliated with the St. Louis Blues from 2005 to 2012, the Calgary Flames during the 2013.14 season, and both the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild during the 2014.15 season. Alaska currently competes in the ECHL’s West Division, which also includes Colorado, Idaho, Rapid City and Utah. The Canucks have had previous ECHL affiliation agreements with the Columbus Chill (1992 to 1994), South Carolina Stingrays (1994.95), Columbia Inferno (2001 to 2006), Victoria Salmon Kings (2006 to 2011), and Kalamazoo Wings (2012 to 2015). http://canucks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=885892 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Neilsons Towel Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Geez... That's a rough flight from Utica for players going back and forth... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejazz97 Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 "Anchorage to Utica, Utica to Vancouver Way too much travel, that's all that I know" ~ Kanye West, probably Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollowRoads Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 3 minutes ago, Roger Neilson's Towel said: Geez... That's a rough flight from Utica for players going back and forth... 6924 kms. Yikes. Seems like a great place to have some of the younger/project guys develop but man is that a tough travel. Imagine the emergency call ups... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Neilsons Towel Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Just now, HollowRoads said: 6924 kms. Yikes. Seems like a great place to have some of the younger/project guys develop but man is that a tough travel. Imagine the emergency call ups... Exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UticaHockey Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 6 minutes ago, Roger Neilson's Towel said: Geez... That's a rough flight from Utica for players going back and forth... The Comets barely called anyone up from Kzoo anyway. When we needed a player we signed a PTO. Once Green cut someone they were pretty much gone for the year if not longer in the case of Blomstrand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasCanuck Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 West Coast...I wonder if this signals first step towards Utica Comets becoming the Abbotsford Comets?? Just curious that they select a team that is that far removed from NY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonecoldstevebernier Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 6 minutes ago, Roger Neilson's Towel said: Geez... That's a rough flight from Utica for players going back and forth... Considering our ECHL players barely saw the light of day in the AHL last year it might not be too much of a factor... under this regime the ECHL seems like more of a place to send players that they have no intention of bringing back. (As opposed to previously when players like Grenier, Archibald, Friesen all spent time there and then moved up). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Neilsons Towel Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 2 minutes ago, UticaHockey said: The Comets barely called anyone up from Kzoo anyway. When we needed a player we signed a PTO. Once Green cut someone they were pretty much gone for the year if not longer in the case of Blomstrand. 1 minute ago, stonecoldstevebernier said: Considering our ECHL players barely saw the light of day in the AHL last year it might not be too much of a factor... under this regime the ECHL seems like more of a place to send players that they have no intention of bringing back. (As opposed to previously when players like Grenier, Archibald, Friesen all spent time there and then moved up). Ahhh... I see. Thanks for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasCanuck Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Of course, this might just be a situation where we like to keep our ECHL players in the dark? Motivation to play better and get somewhere warmer and with more daylight?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Sparkle Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 if you aint good enough to play for the comets, yo ass is ****ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derp... Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 They prefer to keep players in one city on one team if possible less movement is better for development in their eyes. Bringing guys up and down from ECHL to AHL causes a disruption to their normal routine which may inhibit them from performing or progressing as well. On the other hand playing better competition and practising with better players is an important part of development as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Provost Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 27 minutes ago, VegasCanuck said: West Coast...I wonder if this signals first step towards Utica Comets becoming the Abbotsford Comets?? Just curious that they select a team that is that far removed from NY. It would have been an obvious move a couple of years ago until the Abbotsford Mayor crapped the bed and refused to negotiate with them. Now things are going so gangbusters in Utica it would be REALLY hard to move the team again. That city is crazy for their team, and it is a great atmosphere for their young guys to play in. Down the road you think it would have to happen at some point though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustABandwagoner Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I feel SOOOO BAD for the players that get sent there. Its prob like the North America version of Siberia LOOOOL Work hard guys! Try to make Utica at least or u fked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam126 Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Would be funny if the town they are playing in would be inside the arctic circle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UticaHockey Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 1 hour ago, VegasCanuck said: West Coast...I wonder if this signals first step towards Utica Comets becoming the Abbotsford Comets?? Just curious that they select a team that is that far removed from NY. I'm sure Vancouver will move their AHL out west at some point whether it's in Abbotsford or some city in California they won't be called the Comets. That name is locally owned and honors a Comets heritage that goes back to the 1940's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG AL Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Just wonder if people in Anchorage reading these posts are thinking what we do when people from the continental USA are talking about what Canada is like? ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred65 Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I wonder if it provides management to sign more players on a ECHL contract ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeNiro Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Alaska would be an awesome place to live, don't know what some of you people are talking about. And if players hate living there it's more motivation for them to earn their ticket to Utica. Notable players that have played there are Scott Gomez and Brandon Dubinsky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quantum Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Alaska has a very good tax situation, so it's actually not the worst thing to happen. This could be a sign that the Canucks will be heading out West with their AHL team once their agreement with Utica ends. (I assume Utica will still get to have an AHL team with an Eastern Conference team taking over the affiliation). In a perfect world, it would be nice to have the Canucks have their two minor league teams on the West Coast. Maybe have the AHL team move to Portland or somewhere in California (Sacramento maybe?!?) and keep up an affiliation with the Aces for the next few years. It should be noted that the Aces spent the last two seasons in the ECHL unaffliated with any NHL team and were previously affilated with Calgary and St. Louis. And it's true, both Dubinsky and Gomez have played for the Aces. They're also both Alaskan boys so that makes sense. I think Gomez most notably played for them during the last lockout instead of playing in Europe. And if I'm not mistaken, Dubinsky did the same thing. And former Canuck Wade Brookbank got his start playing for the Aces before climbing the ranks to make it into the NHL. Still though, it's cool that the Canucks have a minor league team that's actually close to them for once since the Salmon Kings shuttered down operations a few years back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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