Heat to Announce Head Coach and Logo Friday-update it's Playfair

[Reggie Dunlop]

There's a vast, untapped market in Canucks hatred that the Flames are banking on exploiting.

[C.F]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

There's a vast, untapped market in Canucks hatred that the Flames are banking on exploiting.

They're called Albertans.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by C.F

They're called Albertans.

No, it's a core constituency of folks desiring an alternative. The Canucks are far from being universally beloved.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by C.F

Silly bias as in being a Canucks fan? LOL, too funny Mel. Why would Bob Smith from Maple Ridge drive 40 minutes to watch an AHL affiliate of a team he hates when there are plenty of other options(including the Giants and Bruins) for a cheaper price? There's enough civic pride in Abbotsford to make it work, but I doubt the rest of the Fraser Valley will catch on.

Depends what level of hockey they are content watching. If they want to watch some of the best players outside the NHL then they will want to watch the AHL. If they want to watch pro players playing a stronger, faster game than junior, they'll watch the AHL. If they want to watch a higher level of hockey, they'll watch the AHL.

I like junior hockey, I've had Hitmen season tickets in the past. But if I could afford it I'd much rather watch the AHL even if was the Oilers or Canucks affiliate.

I think you underestimate the ability of people to separate things. Cheering for the Flames affiliate isn't the same as cheering for the Flames. Fans can come to identify with a team and with players even if it isn't their own farm team. They may become conflicted later on when one of their favourite players on Abbotsford gets called up and plays against the Canucks but other than that, I'm not sure I see an issue.

The Vancouver Giants don't have only Canucks players. Most of their players are drafted by teams that a Canucks fan might hate. Does that impede their ability to cheer for the team? Of course not. They like the Giants because they are hockey fans and the Giants are their team. For the same reason I can see a lot of people in the Fraser Valley coming to cheer for the Heat because they are hockey fans and the Heat is the highest level hockey team in the Fraser Valley outside of the Canucks. For someone who doesn't want to drive into Vancouver or wants pro hockey but not the NHL price, the Heat will be a perfect team to cheer for.

Its not like players suddenly become despicable solely due to the fact they are Flames picks. There will be fan favourites, players that if you watch them for a while you can't help but cheer for them.

Its almost paralleled by the amount of Habs/Leafs fans that own Calgary Flames season tickets. They'll cheer for the Flames when the Habs/Leafs aren't in town but when those teams come they'll throw on their Habs/Leafs jerseys and take up 1/3 of the Saddledome. Why would they bother having season tickets to a team that is a rival of their favourite team? Because they like high level hockey.

In the same way someone who likes high level hockey and can't afford or doesn't want to drive all the way into Vancouver will have the option of watching the 2nd best league in the world. And they'll end up cheering for the Heat except when the Manitoba Moose are in town. I'd expect that based on everything I've seen from watching sports fans at hockey games.

Also lets not discount the possibility that less than 100% of the people in the Fraser Valley are Canucks fans. There are some transplanted Albertans, Ontarians, etc. There are fresh immigrants who may not have a die-hard, lifelong, bleed Canucks, type of loyalty.

[awildermode]

Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby

geez to lazy to read the thread?

i read through most of the thread, then googled "abbotsford heat logo"...went to the lame official site, and ahl site. still could not find it.

apparently, the heat is NOT on.

but yeah, i got a little lazy

[Reggie Dunlop]

In much the same way the Hamilton Bulldogs are successful in Leafs territory despite being the farm team of the Montreal Canadiens.

I'd venture a Flames affiliate would easily outdraw a Canucks affiliate in Abbotsford. Folks don't want familiarity.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by C.F

LOL! Is that how you look at it?

Personally, I think it's a damn shame that a great hockey market like the Fraser Valley will never reach it's full potential with its new AHL team due to its affiliation with the Flames. There's enough people in Abbotsford that the team won't have troubles surviving, but there's zero chance of there being a large contingent of support for the Heat throughout the entire region. If they were affiliated with almost any other team I think people from all over the Fraser Valley would be going to the games.

It will definitely be interesting when the Moose come to town. At the very least, I expect 50-60% of the fans at the arena to be cheering for Manitoba.

I disagree.

There are a lot of people in Winnipeg that go to Moose games because of tickets from work, or because they like watching hockey in general.

Not everyone is a diehard fan.

And if the team is successful on the ice, they could get a crazy like following.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

I used to work for the Moose and a lot of days it never even crossed my mind that they were an affiliate of the Canucks. The only days it would were when the Canucks would send someone down or call someone up. Fans felt the same way, and it actually creates an interesting antagonism, say when the Flames might call up a player before an important game and that sort of thing. It's not hard to separate the two.

Also, the Toronto Roadrunners had a higher average attendance than the Marlies have currently to further that statement.

[jtfrogger]

I am an avid Flames fan. I really dislike the Canucks. However, I am cheering for the Manitoba Moose to win the Calder Cup this year. I even have a Manitoba Moose jersey.

I grew up in Winnipeg, and was a fan before I moved to Calgary. I can easily separate the affiliation with the Canucks. After all, players like Krog, Baumgartner, Keane, Cullen, & Jaffray are key players for this playoff drive but aren't significant prospects for the Canucks.

[PIMking]

Krog isnt a prospect. Keane isn't a prospect either.

The moose are this years Chicago wolves due to the signing of career AHLers or washed up NHLers to get a better winning team. Unlike Calgary the Nucks really dont have the same attitude about prospects. Calgary puts making the farm players ready for the NHL and the Nucks have some prospects but really can care less about development like calgary does.

If calgary does the same thing that they did in qc by just having their own prospects and get off to a very slow start like they did here I have a feeling that they will have a hard time getting people to spend money. I do say its exciting seeing a guy like Irving or Pelech get their first pro experience and watching them grow through out the year.

Then getting a guy like Bubba who is a complete dud thinking that His NHL resume would be head and shoulders better than everyone else when I felt more comfortable with palin or Pelech being back there.

I'm not rooting for abby to fail but I'm not expecting them to be there long. I actually might order a abby jersey and I will probably watch alot of games on the computer.

[Flamesguy_SJ]

^^I would think a lot of the win-now attitude for the Moose stems back from their days in the IHL, where they were an entity unto themselves, much like the Chicago Wolves and Milwaukee Admirals and Houston Aeroes, or any of the other IHL teams that merged in 2001.

ETA: Do they still have the "veteran" rule in the AHL? I can remember something about teams only being able to dress 4-6 players with more than 200 pro games experience.

[browna]

Originally Posted by PIMking

Then getting a guy like Bubba who is a complete dud thinking that His NHL resume would be head and shoulders better than everyone else when I felt more comfortable with palin or Pelech being back there.

4 goals, 45 assists and a +8 is a dud?
Palin and Pelech between them were a -4 and 24 points, each with roughly the same number of games as Eriksson.

Crap on the Flames all you want (and you have) for not giving you what you want in a farm team, when you start misdirecting those pot shots, it starts to eat away at the credibility of your other statements.

[OzSome]

Playfair is one of the most underrated coach in the NHL. I don't think we could have blame him for the Flames demise in the First Round playoff in his first year as a head coach. As I suspected Keenan didn't do any good when he took over. The problem with the Flames is everyone was thinking they will repeat the 2004 and when they couldn't, the fans and the media gives them the heat.
I think Playfair will do well and I think the Flames farm team will improve tremendously this season providing they can get the players they needed. I will give Playfair a couple of season to shape up the farm team and might even win the Calder Cup in his 2nd or season after. I am glad he stayed with the organization.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by Azure

IAnd if the team is successful on the ice, they could get a crazy like following.

Well it works for the NHL team in the area, so why not the AHL team?

[Reggie Dunlop]

It's an excellent opportunity for the Flames to build on their already solid foothold in the territory. Just think -- the opportunity to see future superstars like Leland Irving and John Negrin and follow them to the NHL.

[Jetsfan]

Seems that there is some excitement building in Abbotsford.

As Lane Sweeting surveyed the scene at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre on Saturday morning, he couldn’t help but smile.
Season ticket holders were flooding into the new arena to personally select their seats to watch the Abbotsford Heat, the city’s new American Hockey League franchise, and the excitement was palpable. For Sweeting, the frontman for the Heat’s local ownership group, more than a year of behind-the-scenes legwork was beginning to pay off.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/sports/47243712.html

[snowdude]

From the article below:

Sweeting said that between 1,200 and 1,300 season tickets had been sold thus far.

Wow. Considering the short turn around time since the team was announced, the fact that until last month the arena hadn't even hosted a single event and that of course this team is the farm club for the Flames (which no one in BC ever would pay to watch) that's a pretty nice number. It'll be very interesting to see what it hits when the season kicks off.

EDIT:

Doing some basic math, if we take 1,200 (the lower bound) as the number of season tickets sold and according to the website they range for season tickets is $650-$1300 per seat. So if we take them all as $650 seats (an very unlikely proposition) then already the team has sold at least $780 000 in seats for the upcoming season. A very good number considering the time so far and that that doesn't include walk up at all.

For comparison, according to AHL.com, QC averaged 3,035 people per game and the league average was 5,115 per game. So the Heat are starting off from a strong position

Originally Posted by Jetsfan

Seems that there is some excitement building in Abbotsford.

As Lane Sweeting surveyed the scene at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre on Saturday morning, he couldn’t help but smile.
Season ticket holders were flooding into the new arena to personally select their seats to watch the Abbotsford Heat, the city’s new American Hockey League franchise, and the excitement was palpable. For Sweeting, the frontman for the Heat’s local ownership group, more than a year of behind-the-scenes legwork was beginning to pay off.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/sports/47243712.html

[icarus]

Originally Posted by PIMking

If calgary does the same thing that they did in qc by just having their own prospects and get off to a very slow start like they did here I have a feeling that they will have a hard time getting people to spend money. I do say its exciting seeing a guy like Irving or Pelech get their first pro experience and watching them grow through out the year.

I would argue there might be a different attitude in the lower mainland of BC, where a lot of kids play hockey and have gone on to play in the NHL. People may be more patient with the idea of development versus results. I think the fact that the World Junior Championship every year gets some of the highest sports ratings in Canada is a testament to Canadians willingness to support developmental leagues. The CHL is strictly a developmental league and massively popular in Canada, and there are no career-CHLers to bolster a playoff run.

I could be wrong but as the QC region has fewer kids playing hockey and going on to pro success, the prevalent attitude might be less patient towards a development-first farm mentality as Abbottsford will be.

Who knows, I could be completely wrong. In any case I think the Heat will be quite a strong team next year in any case with Backlund, Aulie and Negrin joining the likes of the ever-developing Pelech and Irving--assuming none of these guys makes the full-time NHL jump.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by browna

4 goals, 45 assists and a +8 is a dud?
Palin and Pelech between them were a -4 and 24 points, each with roughly the same number of games as Eriksson.

Crap on the Flames all you want (and you have) for not giving you what you want in a farm team, when you start misdirecting those pot shots, it starts to eat away at the credibility of your other statements.

Yeah I guess I was wrong..

I guess his awesome missed checks on a pp that cause a short handed goals dont get old either. Or his wanna be sidney crosby stick handling that causes a turnover is just something we should be happy to see.

And for crapping on the flames I'm sure in one of the PANIC threads I could find a post of yours calling out players like you were coach keenan behind the bench. So dont cast stones when you live in a glass house.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by snowdude

From the article below:

Wow. Considering the short turn around time since the team was announced, the fact that until last month the arena hadn't even hosted a single event and that of course this team is the farm club for the Flames (which no one in BC ever would pay to watch) that's a pretty nice number. It'll be very interesting to see what it hits when the season kicks off.

EDIT:

Doing some basic math, if we take 1,200 (the lower bound) as the number of season tickets sold and according to the website they range for season tickets is $650-$1300 per seat. So if we take them all as $650 seats (an very unlikely proposition) then already the team has sold at least $780 000 in seats for the upcoming season. A very good number considering the time so far and that that doesn't include walk up at all.

For comparison, according to AHL.com, QC averaged 3,035 people per game and the league average was 5,115 per game. So the Heat are starting off from a strong position

Out problem in the qc wasn't STH's we had something like 1200 or so its the fact that no one else cared about hockey here