AHL California move proves ‘what we needed’ for western NHL teams
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Shea Theodore has been the most notable test case of how the AHL’s move to the West Coast has helped NHL player development and team personnel movement.
From October through most of December, Theodore often found himself on a proverbial shuttle between the AHL’s San Diego Gulls and Anaheim. If the Gulls didn’t have any games, Theodore would come to the Ducks, take part in some NHL-level practices then get sent back down.
This gave Theodore a taste of the NHL, while still being able to develop in the minors.
When injuries hit the Ducks in late December with Cam Fowler hurting his knee, Theodore was ready to make that jump. Since then he’s looked less like a raw junior and more like a professional in 13 games with Anaheim.
“At that time, we wanted to give Shea a chance to practice with the NHL guys and be around the team,” Anaheim general manager Bob Murray said. “That’s beneficial. And obviously we could have used him in a game if an injury/illness had come up. But I’m glad he got that chance to practice, as it helped him when he returned and got into our lineup.”
Theodore isn’t the only situation where a player from an NHL Pacific Division team has reaped the benefits of the newly-formed AHL Pacific Division. From a player perspective, they can be more easily sent between Anaheim and San Diego, the Los Angeles Kings and Ontario Reign, the San Jose Sharks and San Jose Barracuda, the Calgary Flames and Stockton Heat and the Edmonton Oilers and Bakersfield Condors.
Management types have been able to get better access to watching their players. Instead of flying across North America, they can quickly get to their AHL affiliates on closer flights or even drives.
“The ultimate goal here was to have the ultimate development league or division and that’s really what unfolded here,” Oilers president Kevin Lowe said. “That’s why we have the American League. It’s the ultimate development league for the NHL, and the less travel and more time to train and prepare for their NHL lives for these young fellas is the best thing for the NHL teams.”
Around one year ago, the AHL announced that Anaheim’s affiliate would move from Norfolk, Virginia to San Diego. Calgary’s would go from Glens Falls, New York to Stockton, Edmonton’s would moved from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Bakersfield, LA’s would moved from Manchester, New Hampshire to Ontario and San Jose’s would go from Worcester, Massachusetts to sharing the SAP Center with the Sharks.
At the time, the parent clubs had a vision and a strategy of how it would work out and so far it has played out exactly as they foresaw it – with robust attendance, easier player movements, better visibility with management and a generally happier player population.
“We’ve used the term ‘it’s not what we wanted, it’s what we needed,’” San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said. “On a hockey front it has been everything we hoped it would be. To have the players know that they’re right there and being seen every day, the travel, the ability to go up and down – we don’t want young players sitting. We want them playing. The geography of it all, it’s worked out as well as we wanted.”
Last season the Manchester Monarchs played to an average 5,621 home attendance. The Worcester Sharks drew 3,847, the Adirondack Flames brought in 3,642 on average, the Oklahoma City Barons at 3,262 and the Norfolk Admirals played to 4,752 on average
This season the Gulls rank second in average AHL attendance at 8,830 per-game. The Reign have brought in 8,147, the Condors at 5,147, the Heat at 4,754 and the Barracuda at 4,225.
If those numbers hold, the California teams will draw near 2,000 more fans per-game than last year’s affiliates. This is important for the NHL parent clubs that reap the financial benefits of the teams.
“You want to have the fan support because the fan support and winning and having a good environment for success is part of player development as well,” Calgary assistant GM Brad Pascall said. “You take those things into consideration for sure. And owning the team, you want your brand and your loyalty and your environment to be a positive one. I think a product of that is growing the game and growing the game in the market we’re in and the Pacific Division is only going to help the business model of things.”
There is some level of newness to the AHL in California that’s bound to wear off at some point. But it doesn’t seem like a downturn is nearing. With teams like the Kings, Barracuda and Gulls, fans can see the future of their favorite NHL teams one night and then the present the following night. The Condors and Heat have seen a flux of fans from Canada who want to get out of the cold in the winter time and take a hockey trip to see prospects in California. For example, they can go watch the Oilers one night in Los Angeles and then the Condors the next evening in Bakersfield.
“They’re going to see guys in the Kings’ lineup. They’re going to flip on the TV at night and see them and they’re also going to see them in the Ontario lineup,” Kings assistant general manager Rob Blake said. “I think that similarity and growing the sport of hockey around here for the LA Kings brand has been terrific.”
Also, travel costs have been reduced for players, who don’t have to take a cross country flight for a divisional game or a home game.
“It’s a short drive or a train,” Murray said. “So yes, travel cost is reduced. And that’s a plus, but just one of many benefits of having the team there.”
Hockey players are conditioned to play at a certain level wherever they are. But being in California has at least given them an outlet when they’re away from the rink. The cost of living is more expensive, but for a lot of them it’s worth the extra money for less living space.
Before a recent game in Ontario, Reign players were kicking around a soccer ball outdoors in 65-degree weather.
“It’s nice to just come to the rink every day in the sunlight,” Stockton Heat forward Hunter Smith said. “The dog days, in December and January and February where it’s cold and snowy you have a different mindset coming to the rink every day. It’s easy when you have bad days for the weather to pick you up like that. My place has a nice sunset view. It kind of keeps me positive all the time when things aren’t going well.”
It also gives management an easier way to look at players. Recently the Sharks and Barracuda played a back-to-back at SAP Center. When the Kings were hit with some issues earlier in the season, they had a better idea of if defenseman Jamie McBain was ready for a recall, rather than just relying on word of coaches in Manchester.
“We went into San Jose with 16 (skaters) after morning skate. One of our D came down with the flu,” Blake said. “We were able to get a defenseman in there to play that game. Never would have happened in Manchester.”
There are still some kinks to work out. California Pacific Division teams play 68 games in comparison to the 76 for the rest of the league. Because of this, the AHL has gone to a points percentage system to determine how teams qualify for the postseason. This hasn’t created an alarming amount of confusion, but it has taken some getting used to.
“Our board of governors approved it,” AHL vice president of hockey operations Mike Murray said. “While it may look funny in the traditional sense in that you don’t look at the standings online and see points standings and it’s something different to get accustomed to, in terms of the competitive balance at the end of the day, the deserving teams qualify for the playoffs deserve to whether it’s points percentage or regular points system.”
There’s also a difference of opinion on the game total – as to whether fewer games or more games help development. It gives players more practice time with their team to work on skills, but less of an ability to actually use those tools in game action.
“You want to have that right kind of balance for rest and training and also competition so they can get the ultimate development model,” Lowe said. “The managers of the NHL parent clubs of the California division AHL teams will get together and talk about the magic number for games.”
But it also lessens the wear and tear on a young player as they enter a professional league. California teams have fewer ‘three games in three days’ scenarios like other AHL squads, something that no NHL player will ever face in his career.
“We’ve only had one instance where we’ve had to play three games in three nights,” Blake said. “It’s very unusual because in the NHL you never have that situation, You play three in four or four in six. Last year I think we had 17 of them. That’s where the shorter schedule and less games comes in handy.”
There is also a sense of abandonment with those markets the AHL left. Losing a professional hockey team is never a fun experience. But with the exception of Oklahoma City and Worcester, the ECHL has moved into all places.
Also, the goal of the AHL is to produce players who will eventually make the NHL. If this makes their path easier, then it truly makes the most sense.
“Most importantly our NHL partners have been happy,” Murray said. “This is something they’ve wanted for a while and it’s nice it came to fruition for this season. They have their AHL affiliates where they want and it’s worked from a partnership aspect as well as the five markets have been great additions.”
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
