Where will the K-Wings go?

[Minor League Man]

http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3833494

1. Wings Stadium is a bit small for the AHL.
2. I doubt the ECHL would be looking at K-Zoo.
3. Ditto for the Central Hockey League.
4. Maybe they'd want total dominion over the MWHL, AAHL, or EPHL?
5. USHL or NAHL could be another alternative...then again, would they be willing to add a team so late?

Where do you think the K-Wings will be headed? (Personally, I thought the IHL was their only option)

[Primis]

http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3833494

1. Wings Stadium is a bit small for the AHL.
2. I doubt the ECHL would be looking at K-Zoo.
3. Ditto for the Central Hockey League.
4. Maybe they'd want total dominion over the MWHL, AAHL, or EPHL?
5. USHL or NAHL could be another alternative...then again, would they be willing to add a team so late?

Where do you think the K-Wings will be headed? (Personally, I thought the IHL was their only option)

I've been hearing the ECHL for some time now since the rumor first broke this weekend on the K-Wings official message board (and was removed yesterday), and they may be (maybe... we'll see) taking Muskegon with them after this first salvo.

The ECHL needs all the teams it can get, and the Kalamazoo owners apparently have some deeper pockets than people realize.

I'm sad though... I a K-Wings fan but an IHL guy. And 'm not sure I like this road they're heading down.

[mrsummitcitypigskin]

What in the hell are they thinking??? This league is growing.
Dayton announced today, they're coming into the league in
2009-2010. 2 or 3 more additions in the coming weeks...

[braddaman1]

I don't think the AHL is a good fit for the K-wings. Quad City tried it and died. I really want to know how Peoria and Rockford are surviving. All 3 of them have averaged under 4000 fans.
I think the best thing the IHL could do is merge with either the CHL or the ECHL. Preferably the CHL, so there is more stability with the players. Yes the AHL is better quality hockey, but since the NHL, AHL, and ECHL are all affiliated there is too much trading of players between the leagues.

[kwingshockey]

The CHL would be to costly on the team, as they would have to travel across country alot. The ECHL would be ok. Many teams are close by.

I heard that Muskegon might be leaving the IHL as well. So might be a package deal with the other league. So its going to be neat to see whats going to happen in the comming weeks or months.

Also with the new stadium in the thinking stages, this might be something the owners are looking at too. New stadium should be done by 2011 or 2012.

[chdahs]

I don't think the AHL is a good fit for the K-wings. Quad City tried it and died. I really want to know how Peoria and Rockford are surviving. All 3 of them have averaged under 4000 fans.
I think the best thing the IHL could do is merge with either the CHL or the ECHL. Preferably the CHL, so there is more stability with the players. Yes the AHL is better quality hockey, but since the NHL, AHL, and ECHL are all affiliated there is too much trading of players between the leagues.

K-Zoo would need an affiliation from the NHL, AND FRANKLY, there isn't one available.

[braddaman1]

K-Zoo would need an affiliation from the NHL, AND FRANKLY, there isn't one available.

That is why I think the CHL would be the best move. However for this to happen I think the IHL and CHL need to merge.

[mrsummitcitypigskin]

Merger will not happen. IHL is a non-union player league. All other
leagues mentioned use union players. I think it needs to be stated
here, that in the IHL bylaws, a team must 3 years to amicably
withdraw. This may be the glue that holds the Wings and for that
matter, the Lumberjacks, to the IHL. K-zoo's Pickard and the
Muskegon owners are meeting late this week or early next week
with the Board of Governors to discuss the entire situation and
to discuss further expansion.

[Minor League Man]

Well, I saw the PR saying that the Lumberjacks would be staying...

Then again, are we really supposed to believe them?

[zcientist]

That is why I think the CHL would be the best move. However for this to happen I think the IHL and CHL need to merge.

And the Youngstown Steelhounds franchise of the 2007-08 CHL would have to be revived, as well.

I like the present geographic model of the IHL very much. Saves on travel costs and I like close rivalries.

Dayton is an excellent addition as a sixth team in 2009-10, and should make out fine financially as preferred to the rising costs of being in the ECHL.

But what if the K-Wings can't play anywhere this year, because of IHL bylaws? The notice was short and for that matter, it is likely too late for a K-Wings team to play in the ECHL THIS YEAR. Maybe they will play in a non-IHL league this season, but not without a suitcase full of cash to the IHL. Thus, the IHL's financial stability certainly won't be in doubt!

[mrsummitcitypigskin]

There are alot of possibilities in the Midwest for the IHL. The league meetings
are in a couple weeks. You may see Quad Cities, Madison, Wi., maybe even
Cincinnati and Youngstown. There is another Chicago group that has been
weighing an IHL franchise as well. I think after having time to summerize the
situation, K-zoo may re-think their move. Muskegon is staying put...

[Minor League Man]

1. I would LOVE to see a team in Madison! My favorite cousin lives over there, and we always enjoy visiting him...Maybe a game could be a good excuse to drop by!

2. Quad Cities sounds like a great idea too...Hopefully they'll have the good sense to be called the MALLARDS.

3. Cincinnati...How would an expansion IHL team at the Cincinnati Gardens do against a perennial ECHL contender (Cyclones) at the US Bank Arena?

4. Youngstown-No go. Covelli Centre already home to USHL Phantoms, and I doubt a UHL team could succeed at the Boardman Ice Zone.

5. Chicago-Hopefully the Sears Centre is willing to put together a good lease for them, because I don't see any other available arena being viable for an IHL team (I know the ice rink at the former Santa's Village theme park was discussed, but it would take some serious renovations to make it work)

And I hope K-Zoo decides to change their mind...it's not gonna feel right not having that rivalry with Muskegon anymore...

[Primis]

K-zoo has no firm destination, though the ECHL still looks like a good possibility.

I'm also hearing some USHL rumblings...

I see no chance the Wings go back to the "I". If they wanted to stay, they would have found a way.

[PigOut]

I don't think the AHL is a good fit for the K-wings. Quad City tried it and died. I really want to know how Peoria and Rockford are surviving. All 3 of them have averaged under 4000 fans.

http://www.ahlboards.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15278

[bluecatsguy]

[QUOTE=kwingshockey;117058]The CHL would be to costly on the team, as they would have to travel across country alot.QUOTE]

Not exactly. There is nothing to say that the existing IHL teams couldn't be a Northern Division of the CHL and that the league could fill in the gaps between the Southern division and the Northern.

[nksports]

3. Cincinnati...How would an expansion IHL team at the Cincinnati Gardens do against a perennial ECHL contender (Cyclones) at the US Bank Arena?

The Ducks actually did better head-to-head against the Cyclones in the Cincy hockey wars. It was the Anaheim ownership group that killed the team by pulling their affiliation.
The Gardens is old, ugly and on a not-so-great side of town, but it reeks of history and old-timey atmosphere.
The US Bank Arena was built during a time when big, old concrete barns were de jure. And many of them have since been blown up. The place is best known for the ill-fated Who concert in 1979, where 11 people were killed. It never landed the NBA or NHL team hoped for. (The Cincinnati Stingers were paid to go away to the old CHL when the WHA and NHL came together.)
With good marketing, the Gardens could again win the war. On the other hand, the Ducks were the more successful franchise because it was perceived as a higher level of hockey. The town still aint big enough for the both of them, and it could hurt or kill both teams.
Now, for my marketing genius: If Cincy were to join the IHL fold, could the IHL introduce rules similar to what the WNBA now allows (and the NFL is allowing on its practice jerseys).
The team should be named the Chili Kings. If Skyline signs as the jersey sponsor, make the team colors blue and white. If Gold Star is picked as the sponsor, make the team colors gold and red. The team logo should be a hockey puck in team colors with a plate of Cincy-Style chili on top.
The Cyclones could be renamed the Suds (if anyone out there remembers an old pro softball team that played there). The colors could be the green and gold of Little Kings or the maroon and gold of Christian Moerlein. (I understand, Hudepohl and Burger may be making a comeback, so those colors could be used.)

[Primis]

The rest of the IHL is *not* moving to the ECHL. There was a chance Muskegon might follow Kalamazoo, but that's now out the window. Muskegon could move down the road to the ECHL I suppose, but Fort Wayne and the ECHL is not a marriage that will happen unless ownership changes in Fort Wayne.

The IHL will go with 5 or 6 teams this next season and it could be scary season for them. *IF* Flint plays it will likely be a poor product on the ice and there will likely be more financial problems and they might even fold midseason I suppose. Port Huron will likely continue to draw poorly and even with the new arena lease it sounds like the owners aren't thrilled with staying in Port Huron, which won't do them any favors with the fans. Nobody knows what the Dayton team will be like or how they'll actually draw at Hara (or how financially stable they will be with these Fort Wayne jokers as owners). Bloomington now lost one of the "closer" road trips for them in Kzoo and you have to wonder what their attendance will be like going forward anyways. Muskegon now has lost its closest rival and was drawing less fans than the KWings this last season. And Fort Wayne now has lost its closest road trip and some of their own fans are really starting to question the Frankes and the league.

Spin it all they want... but it's bad, bad news for the IHL, and it's going to be an ugly 09-10 campaign if they can even pull one off.