ECHL Affiliation yet,

[JamesB]

15 hours ago, King Heffy said:

I fail to see the downside other than the cost.  It also provides a spot to assign new coaches so you don't get a repeat of a guy like Baumgartner retiring, getting a chance as an assistant, and causing a ton of damage to the prospects.  Having our own ECHL team to give staff an opportunity is much less risky.

 

15 hours ago, Ilya Mikheyev said:

Yea for sure . And ECHL owners would be thankful for the extra personal and guidance I imagine? I'm not super on top of the nuances of the ECHL right now, but I agree with you, there doesn't seem to be a downside (other than cost but I don't care about how rich Aqua is, I want the Canucks to win...which will in turn make Aqua richer...hmmm)

Agreed, I don't see the downside of having an ECHL affiliation. And the cost is low -- peanuts compared to the overall Canuck budget. Hard to see cost as an issue compared to what the Canucks are paying to expand the staff.

 

Until recently, the cost of an entire franchise was $450,000. However, apparently the current price for a new ECHL franchise is $1 million. That is the total one-time-only price, not an annual fee. So the Canucks could buy a franchise and locate it closer to Vancouver (and, more importantly, closer to Abby). The operating costs are not high and you would hope the team would come pretty close to breaking even on an operating cost basis.  Costs are not a big issue.

 

Or the Canucks could affiliate with an existing team, which is very low cost. 

 

I can understand why the Benning regime let the ECHL affiliation with Kalamazoo lapse (which they did in 2020). My read is that he just couldn't be bothered (and, in fairness, Covid obviously played a role). 

 

I take the point that teams can always loan a player to an ECHL team, but I think there is a small benefit to having an affiliation agreement. (And apparently most NHL GMs agree, as most teams have an affiliate.)

 

I am kind of surprised that JR has not set up an ECHL affiliation yet and I would expect it to happen sooner or later. They are probably reviewing the options. The question of whether to set up a new franchise located closer to Vancouver of affiliate with one of the existing teams is probably one of the issues. RIght now the lack of western-based teams reduces the value of an ECHL affiliation.   It would make more sense for the Canucks if a group of western-based ECHL teams existed, as has happened with the AHL. 

Edited August 2, 2022 by JamesB

[King Heffy]

2 minutes ago, JamesB said:

 

Agreed, I don't see the downside of having an ECHL affiliation. And the cost is low -- peanuts compared to the overall Canuck budget. Hard to see cost as an issue compared to what the Canucks are paying to expand the staff.

 

Until recently, the cost of an entire franchise was $450,000. However, apparently the current price for a new ECHL franchise is $1 million. That is the total one-time-only price, not an annual fee. So the Canucks could buy a franchise and locate it closer to Vancouver (and, more importantly, closer to Abby). The operating costs are not high and you would hope the team would come pretty close to breaking even on an operating cost basis.  Costs are not a big issue.

 

Or the Canucks could affiliate with an existing team, which is very low cost. 

 

I can understand why the Benning regime let the ECHL affiliation with Kalamazoo lapse (which they did in 2020). My read is that he just couldn't be bothered. 

 

I take the point that teams can always loan a player to an ECHL team, but I think there is a small benefit to having an affiliation agreement. (And apparently most NHL GMs agree, as most teams have an affiliate.)

 

I am kind of surprised that JR has not set up an ECHL affiliation yet and I would expect it to happen sooner or later. They are probably reviewing the options. The question of whether to set up a new franchise located closer to Vancouver of affiliate with one of the existing teams is probably one of the issues. RIght now the lack of western-based teams reduces the value of an ECHL affiliation.   

Moving a team out west would make operating costs skyrocket.  I'd much prefer buying the team if the investment is as reasonable as you're suggesting. It seems a weird area to try to cut corners.

[CanuckleHorse]

I would love to see this league become a 4 on 4 league be great for their players to get a lot of puck time and goalies would get a good workload.

[flat land fish]

55 minutes ago, CanuckleHorse said:

I would love to see this league become a 4 on 4 league be great for their players to get a lot of puck time and goalies would get a good workload.

I think they run small rosters ie 3 lines so lots of action.  A more legitimate echl to develop new graduates from chl before progressing to the ahl might help North American prospects