Mighty Ducks to Change Name – A Team to Follow?

by Chris Meiman
Published on June 10, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Cincinnati RailRaiders


Reports out of Cincinnati have it that the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks will change their name following the severing of ties with the NHL's Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The new, as yet unknown name will be announced at a press conference on June 23, according to the report posted on a Cincinnati hockey message board, Heckler's Grove. Names from Cincinnati's hockey past are the names being bantered about most often, particularly the Stingers and the Swords. The Stingers was the name of the only major league hockey team in Cincinnati history who played in the 70s era World Hockey Association at the Cincinnati Coliseum. The Swords were Cincinnati's other AHL team, playing in the early 1970s and winning the Calder Cup in 1973. The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks have been running fan polls on their website over the past month to help determine a new name. It appears the Mighty Ducks name will disappear from the AHL all together as Anaheim's new affiliate in Portland, Maine will keep its Pirates name.

While a new name is afoot for Cincinnati hockey, a new affiliation and a new team might be as well. The San Antonio Express-News reported today on its website that negotiations between the Florida Panthers and the Phoenix Coyotes have broken off and that the AHL San Antonio Rampage will fold in short order to be replaced with a Central Hockey League team to play in San Antonio. The relationship between the Panthers and the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA, who co-own the Rampage, appeared to take a downward turn this season with poor attendance and the Panthers decision to send some of their best players to playoff caliber teams. An imminent demise of the Rampage was denied by Rampage GM Rick Carden, who claimed that "nothing had changed" in their affiliation agreement with the Panthers, according to the Express-News. The Rampage have two years left on their agreement with the Panthers. The conclusion of the drama might come after the NBA finals, in which the Spurs are playing. The Express-News goes on to report that Florida officials are already speaking to two other cities looking for a place for their players. It is possible that Cincinnati might be one of those cities, though it appears the Panthers are interested in maintaining a 50-50 relationship with a local owner. Cincinnati's Robinson family owns an AHL franchise outright. Worcester, Massachusetts just lost its AHL franchise to Peoria, Illinois and might be amenable to such an agreement. Saint Johns, Newfoundland also just lost its franchise to Toronto, but has replaced the Baby Leafs with a new team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The demise of the Rampage would leave both the Panthers and the Coyotes without AHL affiliates. Phoenix's AHL team, the Utah Grizzlies left the AHL for the East Coast Hockey League, citing high travel costs. Earlier in the week, the Arizona Republic reported that the Coyotes were in negotiations with two cities, one for a full affiliation. Cincinnati currently has the only dormant AHL franchise. Panthers officials had looked into the possibility of moving their AHL team to Orlando for the upcoming season, though it appears those talks have stalled with the Panthers unable to sell their stake in the Rampage. While it is possible for an Orlando move to occur, it will be tough for a new team in Florida. Travel costs will be high, as the nearest teams in the AHL will be Houston, Cincinnati, and Norfolk. Both incidents, as well as the folding of the Edmonton Road Runners, have angered AHL officials, who have tried to make their league 30 teams strong, each with independent affiliations with NHL teams. AHL officials might push either the Panthers or the Coyotes to Cincinnati to ease the drop-off of teams. Cincinnati Gardens President and CEO Pete Robinson had some talks with NHL clubs before filing for a voluntary suspension for the upcoming season in May. Reports had it that those clubs already included Phoenix and Florida.

Chris Meiman covers Florence Freedom baseball and Cincinnati minor league hockey. He can be reached at chrismeiman@yahoo.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from June 10, 2005


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