Cincinnati hockey at a crossroads

by Chris Meiman
April 29, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Cincinnati RailRaiders


It's a difficult pickle the fans of hockey in Cincinnati find themselves in. As the Mighty Ducks fight for their playoff lives, it seems their lives in Cincinnati will end as quickly as the Baby Ducks are eliminated. The forward looking hockey fan asks the obvious question, where does Cincinnati hockey go from here? Let's start with the AHL, the league our nearly departed Ducks belong. The Ducks' move was prompted by a change in ownership of the Ducks' parent club in Anaheim as well as the usual shuffle of minor league affiliates. The Ducks will be moving to Portland, Maine, whose Pirates used to serve the Washington Capitals. The Caps moved their team to Hershey, Pennsylvania who used to serve the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche are the only NHL team who does not have its own AHL affiliate, but has signed a one year agreement to send its top players to Lowell, Massachusetts, whose Lock Monsters are the primary farm club for the Carolina Hurricanes.

The long and the short of it is that there are no NHL teams still looking for AHL affiliates. The Robinsons, who own the Gardens and the rights to any AHL team in Cincinnati, might be out of luck on landing another AHL team in 2005-2006. Rumors about the Columbus Blue Jackets relocating their top affiliate from Syracuse, New York to Cincinnati are just that, rumors. The Jackets have one year left on that agreement and it's not without some hope that the Jackets might bring their top young players to the Gardens for the 2006-2007 season. The Jackets' lower level minor league team is located in Dayton and having both farm teams in driving distance is a bonus for all teams involved. Remember just two years ago, the fans of Cincinnati hockey had two options, the Ducks and the Cyclones of the East Coast Hockey League. The Cyclones ownership, tied up with the ownership of the US Bank Arena on the riverfront filed for and was granted a voluntary suspension for the 2004-2005 season and was recently granted a similar suspension for the 2005-2006 season. What that means is that no ECHL team, the primary "AA" level league for minor league hockey, will be playing in Cincinnati either.

There are other low-level hockey leagues that would love to be in larger markets. The United Hockey League does not have direct affiliates to the NHL like the AHL and the ECHL do. The UHL does however have a Midwestern fan base and some of the toughest hockey going. The UHL has teams in larger markets like Detroit, Saint Louis, Kansas City, and Richmond, Virginia; as well as smaller, regional markets like Fort Wayne, Quad Cities, and Flint, Michigan. The UHL was the primary beneficiary from the NHL lockout. UHL are not directly tied to the NHL's individual teams and could sign locked out stars. Detroit's team signed several Red Wings like Chris Chelios, Derian Hatcher, and former Mighty Duck favorite, Sean Avery.

The Central Hockey League focuses on the South and the West and seems to have less of a solid footing as the UHL. The CHL has tried to make some inroads into larger markets like Memphis and Denver/Fort Collins. There is some precedent for Ohio teams in the CHL; the league will expand to Youngstown, Ohio for the 2005-2006.

The most fun option exists with the possible reformation of the World Hockey Association. Yes, this would be the same WHA that the Cincinnati Stingers played in from 1975-1979. The WHA is trying to get its act together quickly enough to capitalize on the lost NHL season. It's not clear if the WHA owns the Stingers trademarks and colors, but they are featured on the league's website. The new WHA was supposed to be playing this season, but missed its own deadlines. The cancellation of the NHL draft allowed for some more hope because the undisputed #1 draft pick would have been Canadian phenom Sidney Crosby. Crosby said he would consider playing in the WHA if the NHL did not get itself together. Furthermore, the WHA is staging a six-team tournament in Vancouver next month and the WHA claims several NHL stars are interested in participating. If things go well for the WHA in attendance and television coverage, a rival major hockey league could be reborn. The league claims it wants to place franchises in Europe, Russia and Japan as well as the US and Canada. Imagine major league hockey back in Cincinnati with that kind of international exposure. Probably a pipe dream, but for a town about to be without a hockey team for the first time since the Reds won the World Series, maybe a little dreaming isn't a bad thing.

There are significant problems with trying to bring in professional hockey for next season. If the goal is to have another AHL team in Cincinnati, preferably affiliated with the Blue Jackets, a new team next year would be just that, a one year phenomenon. Even low level leagues like the UHL and CHL would be skittish about a one year team. The most reasonable and likely scenario for Cincinnati hockey seems to be one year in the dark followed by a real push to move the Syracuse team here in 2005-2006. If the WHA doesn't work out, or is not interested in returning to Cincinnati, perhaps the Jackets farm team could be called the Stingers. All are possibilities, but we'll sure miss Chuck-A-Duck, "Ducks Like Rain" and our Baby Ducks.

Chris Meiman is an historian and freelance writer based in Covington, Kentucky. He is currently working on a comprehensive history of hockey in Cincinnati and can be reached at chrismeiman@yahoo.com . Editors may use any or all of this article at their discretion, as long as the contact information appears with the article.



American Hockey League Stories from April 29, 2005


The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central