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2018-19 Utica Comets Thread

stonecoldstevebernier
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GoldenAlien Abbotsford Star

GoldenAlien

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4 hours ago, TomatoPieFan said:

Do you think Virtanen would have developed in this bubble?  Markstrom probably had his best season of his career outside the bubble under the guidance of I think Rolie at the time in Utica.  Definitely pros and cons but IMO I think playing time is the most important factor.  Bakersville Condors averaged 4828 attendance last season, just for the record LOL

1. Virtanen, unfortunately, did mostly develop in Vancouver.  Unfortunate, because I think he should've been sent back to juniors then gone straight to the AHL, but that's neither here nor there.  The Marlies seem to have no trouble developing players in the Toronto bubble. 

 

2. Maybe Melanson worked with Markstrom from time to time in Utica, but he was Canucks' full time goaltending coach through the 2016-2017 season.  Markstrom was with the Canucks by 2015-2016.  The bulk of his time with Melanson was in Vancouver. 

 

3. Markstrom's best season was in Utica because it was his 5th AHL season.  He was a blue chip prospect earlier on in his career, imagine what Demko's numbers would look like if he was still playing in the AHL in 2020-2021.

 

4. If practice time was the most important factor, then the NCAA should be far more successful in developing prospects than the CHL.

 

5. Attendance isn't counted by pure numbers, but rather percentage of capacity.  The Heat, outside of its last year, was averaging around ~3,800 per game.  The Comets, outside of its first year, has been averaging ~3,800-3,900 per game.  Does that mean the Heat had pretty good attendance, or the Comets have bad attendance?  Neither, because the Abbotsford Centre sits 7,000.  If you have 3,800 people in there, it's almost half empty, while if 3,800 people were at the Aud, it's basically full.

 

The Rabobank Arena, where the Condors play, sits 8,800.  Averaging 4,800 means it's less than 55% full.  That would be like the Rogers Arena averaging less than 10,400 per game.  That's awful. 

 

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GoldenAlien Abbotsford Star

GoldenAlien

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3 hours ago, UticaHockey said:

There are compelling reasons for having the farm team in the same metro area as the parent team and there are compelling reasons for having the farm team close to other AHL cities to maximize practice by reducing travel.  Finding measurable metrics to determine which is the better model is the difficult part.  The LA Kings won two Stanley Cups when their AHL team was out east in Manchester, NH and none since they moved their prospects close to home in Ontario, CA.  Again that is not a true measurable metric because the Kings got older and slower since their last Cup victory but it shows that prospects can be developed without all of the internal resources available in the same metro area of the parent team.  You just need to hire good development coaches and trainers for the farm.

Right, development is more art than science, and not too long ago, having your own AHL team was more a luxury than a necessity, let alone having an AHL team nearby. 

 

To @Connor comet 's point, I don't think the Canucks should relocate at this juncture -- a realignment needs to happen to add a team in the Pacific Northwest and it doesn't sound like the Canucks have a concrete arena offer on the table.  If it was a Chicago Wolves situation I'd see the urgency to get out ASAP, but there's no need to make some mad dash just to get out of Utica.  Seattle may or may not have its own AHL team right away -- they could try some sharing arrangement like the Blues did when the Knights entered the league.  I think long term, there probably will be another AHL team in Washington/ Oregon, and maybe even one in Northern California/ Nevada, if the Knights buy their own team and move it to say, Reno.  

 

I think the real holdup here is the Seattle team is aiming to play in 2020, which is just one more season after this one ends.  The Canucks probably prefer to renew one year with the option to extend, but the Comets would want more commitment. 

 

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Alflives Canucks Hall-of-Famer

Alflives

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4 minutes ago, GoldenAlien said:

Right, development is more art than science, and not too long ago, having your own AHL team was more a luxury than a necessity, let alone having an AHL team nearby. 

 

To @Connor comet 's point, I don't think the Canucks should relocate at this juncture -- a realignment needs to happen to add a team in the Pacific Northwest and it doesn't sound like the Canucks have a concrete arena offer on the table.  If it was a Chicago Wolves situation I'd see the urgency to get out ASAP, but there's no need to make some mad dash just to get out of Utica.  Seattle may or may not have its own AHL team right away -- they could try some sharing arrangement like the Blues did when the Knights entered the league.  I think long term, there probably will be another AHL team in Washington/ Oregon, and maybe even one in Northern California/ Nevada, if the Knights buy their own team and move it to say, Reno.  

 

I think the real holdup here is the Seattle team is aiming to play in 2020, which is just one more season after this one ends.  The Canucks probably prefer to renew one year with the option to extend, but the Comets would want more commitment. 

 

I see the Canucks and Utica as not continuing their relationship beyond this season.  I doubt the Canucks will have the Comets come to BC, but (instead) think they will find them a home in SoCal.  It's likely a lot cheaper living for the players, and cheaper operation costs for the club.  Yet the players are still in our time-zone.

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TomatoPieFan Abbotsford Regular

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1 hour ago, Alflives said:

I see the Canucks and Utica as not continuing their relationship beyond this season.  I doubt the Canucks will have the Comets come to BC, but (instead) think they will find them a home in SoCal.  It's likely a lot cheaper living for the players, and cheaper operation costs for the club.  Yet the players are still in our time-zone.

I'm leaning to agree that Vancouver will move the team sooner than later but so far as cost of living...no comparison way cheaper in central, NY than SoCal. West coast teams play 68 games and ride the bus and plane twice as much as northeast who play 76 games.  The Comets have about 12 overnight trips the whole season including only 1 plane trip to Charlotte.  As an aside, Esche's group will keep the Comets name. Back to back vs. Laval this weekend with depleted lineup.  Gonna be interesting.

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Alflives Canucks Hall-of-Famer

Alflives

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1 minute ago, TomatoPieFan said:

I'm leaning to agree that Vancouver will move the team sooner than later but so far as cost of living...no comparison way cheaper in central, NY than SoCal. West coast teams play 68 games and ride the bus and plane twice as much as northeast who play 76 games.  The Comets have about 12 overnight trips the whole season including only 1 plane trip to Charlotte.  As an aside, Esche's group will keep the Comets name. Back to back vs. Laval this weekend with depleted lineup.  Gonna be interesting.

My poor language.  It's way cheaper in a smaller SoCal city than Vancouver proper.  I'd love for the Comets to be close, like the Pacific Colosseum, but believe they (players especially) are better off in an American city.   

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canuckledraggin Canucks Third-Line

canuckledraggin

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Damnit. I could have been boning up on my french and watching the Comets at the same time. Looks like the Laval stream is available through the usual suspects for "illegal" streams. illegal is in quotes, because if an offshore server provides access to a global market, then who am I to deny myself access to the stream. I'll be streaming the Canucks game through the same server later on. 3-0 Comets in the 2nd intermission.

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Nuxfanabroad Canucks Hall-of-Famer

Nuxfanabroad

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1 minute ago, canuckledraggin said:

Damnit. I could have been boning up on my french and watching the Comets at the same time. Looks like the Laval stream is available through the usual suspects for "illegal" streams. illegal is in quotes, because if an offshore server provides access to a global market, then who am I to deny myself access to the stream. I'll be streaming the Canucks game through the same server later on. 3-0 Comets in the 2nd intermission.

Do you know who sniped? Were any tallies of the sexy variety?

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TomatoPieFan Abbotsford Regular

TomatoPieFan

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3-0 start of 3rd.  MacEwen's goal was a snipe.  Laval changes goalies after the 3rd goal.  Kulbakov show again. Laval has targeted Juolevi hard all night.  Twice Comets defended him and smacked down the laval offenders

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canuckledraggin Canucks Third-Line

canuckledraggin

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6 minutes ago, Nuxfanabroad said:

Do you know who sniped? Were any tallies of the sexy variety?

I missed the 1st 2 periods hence the damnit part. The goals are from Dahlen, MacEwen and Carcone and you can see them here.   https://twitter.com/UticaComets

 

That 1st is a gorgeous stretch pass from Breezy and a highlight finish from Dahlen. The 2nd is a nice forecheck and finish by Big Mac and the 3rd went off Carcone's butt, So we'll take it. Vaughnlive is streaming the game and they are my favorite streaming site for movies and shows if you're into that sort of thing.

 

 

Edited by canuckledraggin
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