Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
The Saskatoon team existed for 7 seasons in the 1950s. Even Brandon Manitoba had a team in the 50s. Seattle had like 4 teams. I would hardly call that on the same level as the AHL at that point.
Saskatoon is now the fastest growing city in Canada (grew more than 10% in the last 4 years - this is new) and as people move there from other places, the demand for better entertainment value is going to go up.
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The old WHL was easily on par with the AHL and in those days not all the best players did or wanted to play in the NHL. They could often earn as much or more playing in the minor leagues and many remained to play in the WHL. Some had been blackballed by the NHL and in those days had no unions or rights. If you go over the rosters of some of these teams, you'll find some great players. The league wasn't as much of a development league as the AHL but this allowed the WHL to pick up players that would now be playing in the KHL or other Euro leagues.