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[Report] Canucks announce AHL club to relocate from Utica to Abbotsford


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I used to live and work off S Fraser Way in Abbotsford.  

 

That was 25 years ago, over. Nearly 30 actually,  It was long ago, and it was far away.  And it was so much better than it is...

 

image.png.a3199732c2316bed65aded48110331b3.png  

 

Is Cheers pub up Gladwin rd still a thing? Steak night Friday, Prime rib Sunday, Mexican Monday.  Cannot remember the rest of the menu...

 

I assume the arena is somewhere off Marshall Rd?  

 

Pumped for the valley, my thanks to all the fans & folks in Utica!  

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16 hours ago, CoquitlamDave said:

Lookin forward to taking my boy to see some Canucks stars in the making.  Gotta sell hockey over video games these days.  In my days it was hockey or lacrosse.  

596x397.3333333333333-789086803473.jpg

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6 hours ago, Canuck Surfer said:

I used to live and work off S Fraser Way in Abbotsford.  

 

That was 25 years ago, over. Nearly 30 actually,  It was long ago, and it was far away.  And it was so much better than it is...

 

image.png.a3199732c2316bed65aded48110331b3.png  

 

Is Cheers pub up Gladwin rd still a thing? Steak night Friday, Prime rib Sunday, Mexican Monday.  Cannot remember the rest of the menu...

 

I assume the arena is somewhere off Marshall Rd?  

 

Pumped for the valley, my thanks to all the fans & folks in Utica!  

How long have you been in ‘Oceania’ and where did you find that map?

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22 minutes ago, CaptKirk888 said:

I used to live and work off S Fraser Way in Abbotsford.  

Back in the late 60's there was almost no buildings between Abbotsford and Clearbrook. Abby was just a small village back then and while I was living there, I used to hang out at Mill Lake on the weekends. What a drastic change in the past half century.

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On 5/5/2021 at 5:20 AM, canucklehead44 said:

Happened about 10 years later than it should have! AHL games cost about 1/8th as much as NHL games (for comparable seats) and can be fun to watch some of the prospects play. 

10 years ago there were fewer AHL clubs playing in our geographic area.  10 years ago the City of Abbotsford had to bribe the Flames to put their AHL affiliate there.  Not just to guarantee a given amount of revenue but other AHL clubs demanded the Abbotsford Heat pay for the added travel costs they had to expense.  We’re talking probably millions of dollars.  Team would be bleeding money with low ticket prices.  Aquilini is also a businessman.  Good luck convincing him to pay that.

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On 5/5/2021 at 7:46 AM, nux_win said:

That's kind of strange point of view.  At least for me.  It sounds to me like saying to a co-worker "stop working so hard, you're making others look bad".  I've never really liked that sentiment.  People should do as much as they want to do and others shouldn't be annoyed or jealous.  I like Vintage's posts and he can post as many as he likes as far as I'm concerned.  I don't think he's being a prima donna, just posting lots of good info.  GCG!

Vintage or it's not real!!!

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1 minute ago, NewbieCanuckFan said:

10 years ago there were fewer AHL clubs playing in our geographic area.  10 years ago the City of Abbotsford had to bribe the Flames to put their AHL affiliate there.  Not just to guarantee a given amount of revenue but other AHL clubs demanded the Abbotsford Heat pay for the added travel costs they had to expense.  We’re talking probably millions of dollars.  Team would be bleeding money with low ticket prices.  Aquilini is also a businessman.  Good luck convincing him to pay that.

I think the tipping point for Aquaman was the Seattle Kraken and their putting their farm team in the West. With all of the Pacific division teams and their farm teams situated out West, it just made financial sense to make this move.

 

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Just now, Kootenay Gold said:

I think the tipping point for Aquaman was the Seattle Kraken and their putting their farm team in the West. With all of the Pacific division teams and their farm teams situated out West, it just made financial sense to make this move.

 

Yup that too.  It’s makes more sense now.  Just not then.

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In a joint statement, Devils President Jake Reynolds and Devils Executive Vice President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald, expressed their excitement surrounding the new partnership:

 

“After multiple discussions and evaluating the options available for the future of our American Hockey League franchise, we have agreed to partner with local operating group Mohawk Valley Garden in Utica, NY, led by Comets President Robert Esche, to relocate our AHL franchise starting with the 2021-22 season. We are pleased to announce that this is a ten-year partnership which establishes a mutual commitment between our organization and the city of Utica.  We look forward to creating new memories for the fans as the next generation of Devils’ stars develop their professional careers at the Adirondack Bank Center.  Working with Robert and his team will be an exciting opportunity as we look to build upon the passion and enthusiasm that they’ve created in making Utica one of the top markets in the AHL.”

 

The organization will remain the Utica Comets, with jersey designs and colors to be revealed later this year. Throughout the process, both parties focused on the Utica community while introducing a new NHL partner into the City; the main component to that was ensuring that the team would still be called the Utica Comets.

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4 hours ago, Kootenay Gold said:

I think the tipping point for Aquaman was the Seattle Kraken and their putting their farm team in the West. With all of the Pacific division teams and their farm teams situated out West, it just made financial sense to make this move.

 

4 hours ago, NewbieCanuckFan said:

Yup that too.  It’s makes more sense now.  Just not then.

We'll still have more travel costs than the other Pacific division farm teams. The AHL West teams are pretty much all in California. So the Abbortsford _____ will have to fly to every away game.

 

19 minutes ago, Googlie said:

In a joint statement, Devils President Jake Reynolds and Devils Executive Vice President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald, expressed their excitement surrounding the new partnership:

 

“After multiple discussions and evaluating the options available for the future of our American Hockey League franchise, we have agreed to partner with local operating group Mohawk Valley Garden in Utica, NY, led by Comets President Robert Esche, to relocate our AHL franchise starting with the 2021-22 season. We are pleased to announce that this is a ten-year partnership which establishes a mutual commitment between our organization and the city of Utica.  We look forward to creating new memories for the fans as the next generation of Devils’ stars develop their professional careers at the Adirondack Bank Center.  Working with Robert and his team will be an exciting opportunity as we look to build upon the passion and enthusiasm that they’ve created in making Utica one of the top markets in the AHL.”

 

The organization will remain the Utica Comets, with jersey designs and colors to be revealed later this year. Throughout the process, both parties focused on the Utica community while introducing a new NHL partner into the City; the main component to that was ensuring that the team would still be called the Utica Comets.

While I wanted the Abbotsford Comets, I understand brand loyalty that would be important to the Utica faithful to remain the Comets and continue that legacy.

In terms of franchise records (Utica Comets all-time scorers/goalies/etc), would those move to Abbotsford or remain with the new Utica Comets?

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