2018-19 Utica Comets Thread

[canuckledraggin]

Vegas Baby!

[Fred65]

I drive through the Pennsylvania, NY state New England area  and it's surprising how close most of these teams are to one another. Travel is a minimum and the attendance offers good atmosphere for the players. To me compared with past farm team locations it's great. Abbotsford has never shown a propensity  to support much of  any thing. I'm shocked the Giants are still out in Langley to be honest. How many fans on this forum would be buying season tickets out in Abbotsford ? Utica sell out more often than enough

[Quantum]

I do feel like the Canucks moving there AHL team to California is inevitable. Every other Pacific Division team has AHL teams in either California or Arizona (in the Coyotes case) -- Besides, Vegas who I won't be shocked to see try and move there AHL team out west in the same time frame as the Canucks, VGK will probably try and lock down Reno. Having an AHL team in the same time zone has really benefited those teams and I feel it would really benefit the Canucks. I think issues with Trent Cull and how the Comets are run would be less "pressing" (if you will) in California. A California team would be a less than two hour flight away from Canucks brass who could go and regularly watch the prospects and monitor things like training and development. And with Palm Springs getting the AHL team for Seattle and as stated above, there are California (and even a Nevada city in Reno) that could hold an AHL team.

 

I do feel like Sacramento would be the ideal spot. They already have an NBA team, they're California's capital, and they can build a fan base quickly. It won't be like Utica in terms of environment but it could build into... something. I do really like the idea of Reno. Reno seems like it could be the Utica of the West. Reno's got no real competition in terms of other sports entertainment and the tax situation in Nevada could help the Canucks lure higher profile AHL guys. Fresno would be a distant third with cities like Irvine, San Bernadino, Santa Ana, Oakland, and Rancho Cucamonga being other options...

 

Even if the Canucks leave Utica, I expect Utica to still have an AHL team. I could honestly see a team like the Florida Panthers taking over the Utica operations and ditching there affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts or the Minnesota Wild ditching Iowa for Utica too. There will be options for Utica. I just think it makes more sense for the Canucks to try and get there prospects West based on geography... but it doesn't mean I want to see Utica become teamless. Those fans are incredible and they deserve to be rewarded and I'm sure an NHL team will reward them because of that.

 

Regardless, excited for our guys in Utica next season. October can't come fast enough!

[dpn1]

COMETS WIN COMMUNITY SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARD

JUL 5, 2019

Utica, N.Y. –– The Utica Comets were honored on Thursday evening during the American Hockey League Awards Gala with the Eastern Conference Community Service Excellence Award for the 2018-19 season. 

 

The event, which took place at the AHL's annual meeting of the Board of Governors in Hilton Head, South Carolina, paid tribute to great on and off-ice accomplishments from the recently concluded season. 

 

Sean Lavoine, VP of Licensing and Corporate Sales for the AHL, spoke highly of the Comet’s community engagement, noting the over 100 community appearances by Comets’ players throughout the season, the Purple Heart Recognition Night and over $300,000 in donations to the local community. This is the fifth AHL Team Business award the Comets have received since the inaugural season and second for exception community service. This includes the James C. Hendy Memorial Award, the Presidents Award, and an award for Exceptional Fan Experience.

 

Team President Robert Esche and Vice President Adam Pawlick accepted the award on behalf of the Comets organization. 

 

“We’re so lucky to have a community that constantly displays unwavering support for our team and embraces our players the way they do,’ said Esche. “This award is a true honor and representation of our entire area’s passion for helping those in need.” 

 

Additionally, the Springfield Thunderbirds (Eastern) and Manitoba Moose (Western) were honored for digital media excellence; the San Antonio Rampage (Western) earned the nods for exceptional community relations efforts; and the Cleveland Monsters (Eastern) andIowa Wild (Western) were recognized for outstanding fan experience at home game.

 

For the latest Comets news visit www.uticacomets.com or follow the team on Facebook (www.facebook.com/uticacomets), Twitter (@UticaComets), Instagram (@UticaComets), and the Comets YouTube Channel.

 

 

This was a nice story from the Comets.  It is nice to see the Baby Canuck's Giving back to the community.  Like the emphasis on Charity Work like they have done here in Vancouver.