IIHL

[hockeyguru]

Have you seen the IIHL Web Site? This appears on their "News" (http://www.theiihl.com/News.html) page:

"Listing of Players Signed, Traded, Sold & Released"

Since when can someone sell you???? I though slavery was outlawed? :-P

On a serious note .... I think this "professional" league would be taken A LOT more serious if it would actually have a professionally designed web site for itself and its member teams. Additionally, the IIHL needs to release information about its playing rules, officiating, suspensions, and game information such as box scores, etc. We're still waiting for a league schedule too.

[REVVED]

Their Franchise Rights were sold, not the players themselves.

It's looking more and more like it's not going to happen in our lifetime. Maybe serious owners, if they still have any money left, will join the NEHL and the SEHL (a league needs more than just 4 teams in it!).

Better yet, combine the two leagues and the CHL, expand and have a serious A-class league to feed the UHL & ECHL.

[Big Chris]

I think the iihl, considering the shady character running it is looking like a scam. Expect him to threaten lawsuits and try to shut down every website that doesn't kiss his ass. Stick a fork in them, (since the season was to start after the weekend,) the iihl is DONE!

[hockeyguru]

what are you talking about???? the CHL IS WAY BETTER THAN THE WHA2, IIHL, AND SEHL. The Central League is better organized than the UHL too

[tidalshark]

what are you talking about???? the CHL IS WAY BETTER THAN THE WHA2, IIHL, AND SEHL. The Central League is better organized than the UHL too

I think maybe he was talking about the CHL as in Canadian Hockey League, not the Central Hockey League. At least, I hope he was...

[hockeyguru]

the canadian major junior leagues are way better too, i would rather watch their games than any of the minor pro leagues.

[REVVED]

The point I was making is the NHL has 30 teams, the AHL 28 and the ECHL 31. "Smaller" leagues like the Central (17), SEHL (4), NEHL (4), etc., should join forces (obviously the garage-league teams joining the better organized establishments) and form a true developmental structure, much like professional baseball.

One of the stumbling blocks would be participation. All AHL teams have affiliations to NHL teams (2 have 2 each). Less than half of the ECHL teams are linked to the AHL and the "independents" have a player from one team, another player from another team, and so on. The UHL and the other leagues have little to no backing at all!

For the betterment of the sport, I would like to see ALL of the U.S. and Canadien-based leagues be affiliated from top to bottom. I have no problem with Independent Leagues, but I would like to see young players, drafted from Juniors, move onto Class-A to learn skills, jump to Class-AA to sharpen them, and then hone them in the AHL before moving onto the NHL and becoming an All-Star. There have been a lot of "can't miss" rookies in the NHL that should have never been there and now are barnstorming in the minors or back on their parents' farm.

I grew up in an NHL city. I was so naive that I didn't even know there was minor leagues for hockey until I moved here to the sticks! Now, I support 2 local minor league teams, a Junior B team and teams in Dayton (ECHL) and Columbus (UHL). The difference is noticable, but refreshing! You actually get a chance to know the players and their families. When our captain was released Monday, it felt like a death in the family. My 3-year-old son was playing with Casselman's son after Saturday's game-now they're moving on. We go to see the Stars in Columbus and visit with the players and coach that were on last season's Cyclones' team and they are happy to see us-joking and talking like old times.

My son, my wife and I all have a passion for this sport and only want to see it thrive. Too bad we are in such a minority south of the 48th parallel.

[REVVED]

From TheIIHL@aol.com (12/2/03 @ 4:30 PM EST):
PRESS CONFERENCE ALERT

The Ohio Valley Ice Cats will be holding a press conference Thursday at 10 am to make an important announcement regarding leadership of the new pro club in the International Independent Hockey League.

Season tickets can be purchased by any hockey fans who want to attend the press conference. The location will be revealed in a media alert tomorrow morning.

The team's General Manager will be introduced, along with an introduction of the Head Coach and Assistant Coach. Training camp opens on Monday, December 8, 2003.

Ticket sales to the general public will then go on sale Friday for opening night, which will be on Friday, December 12, 2003. Tickets to the general public for all remaining home game dates will go on sale immediately after the Ice Cats play their second home contest on Saturday, December 13, 2003.

Further information can be obtained by contacting the IIHL office at (810) 249-7351. Names of the General Manager and his coaching staff won't be revealed until 10 am on Thursday at the press conference.

[Big Chris]

By all accounts that I have seen and how they have been run it is going to be Mike Killbreath announcing that he has named himself for all positions. He did this in Port Huron, (another team that never played a game,) and with the Hurricanes of the CEHL, ( a franchise that was seized from him.)

Season tickets on sale less then a week before opening night? Fools!

[tidalshark]

The point I was making is the NHL has 30 teams, the AHL 28 and the ECHL 31. "Smaller" leagues like the Central (17), SEHL (4), NEHL (4), etc., should join forces (obviously the garage-league teams joining the better organized establishments) and form a true developmental structure, much like professional baseball.

So you're basing how good a league is by how many teams they have playing for them?

While I agree that the SEHL and WHA2 should be one league, saying that they could merge with the CHL is just wrong. The CHL has a much larger economical footprint then the SEHL/WHA2 and towns that can't support CHL teams can probably do well with an SEHL/WHA2 team.

The problem with developing a feeder system as it stands now is that the lower down you get, the smaller the rosters are. The ECHL carries a twenty man roster, the CHL and 18-man roster and the SEHL/WHA2 a 16 man roster. So basically when you start doing call ups, the lower down on the feeding chain a team is, the more hurt they are going to be by losing a player.

You'd have to revamp the whole major/minor league structure and start with NHL clubs retaining the rights of players in the minor leagues that aren't on their 40-man rosters, much like MLB does. You'd also have the major league teams paying the salaries for their minor league players just like they do in MLB. In that case the NHL would control all transactions, signings and releasings.

[peetie12]

the canadian major junior leagues are way better too, i would rather watch their games than any of the minor pro leagues.

I played in the OHL a few years back so here's the not-so-inside scoop on why they are so successful:

1) They pay their players nearly nothing. They can do this because there are lots of kids that would love to take their place. I was paid $50 weekly (CDN), my landparents were paid $70 weekly (barely enough for the food I ate), and the team took care of any costs for schooling (as one of the few players attending university in the OHL, those costs were a bit higher than for most). But clearly the advantage lies in the hands of the OHL management who have an endless supply of talent at their disposal and therefore don't have to pay them very much.
2) Given the abundant talent available, they put a great product on the ice.
3) The cost of entry into an OHL game is a huge value ($7-$10), but that's ONLY a steal if there is a high-price NHL or AHL ticket in the area. In Ontario, that high-price ticket is available to pretty much anybody.
4) Since tickets are cheap, they pack the place. Most teams average over 2000 every single night. I played in front of 10,000 in Ottawa on two occasions. For playoffs, every single seat will be filled, no matter how big the arena (I remember the 50/50 winnings in one of our playoff games in Sudbury was over $4,000 - the place was packed.)
5) There are teams all over the place. This reduces travel expenses for all the teams. This also produces natural geographical rivalries. This also means that they play alot of games BUT they are almost always playing a different opponent (much more interesting than playing the same team 20 times).

OHL owners make tons and tons of money every year. Obviously they are doing something right, and perhaps every minor pro league that forms should look at their model.

This is a bit off subject, but oh well:

One other change that should be made one of these days is the NCAA's rules regarding professionalism. Minor pro teams should be able to employ the services of high schoolers without that having a bearing on that person's college eligibility. That way good young players can play at a level that develops their skills without having to consider how that will affect their next 10 years. Most players, like me, have to make that decision at age 15 - whether to play the best hockey possible or to get an education. You cannot have both and that needs to be changed.

[Big Chris]

To the newer posters here, take some time and add your votes to the poll, the only one we have on the hockey board!