[Rumour] Are the Flames moving on from Stockton?

[Gugstanley]

I vote for Salt Lake City and bringing back the Salt Lake Golden Eagles.

[PeteMoss]

San Fran/Oakland not an option? Its close to San Jose but doubt there's a ton of travel to AHL games.

Would think California would be the preferred option. Colorado Spings is a good hike from all but the one team.

[troutman]

El Rancho Cucamonga Fuego

[Reggie Dunlop]

The AHL is basically set up as four regional loops with no interdivisional play until playoffs. All to minimize travel costs. Their Pacific Division is California-based with the furthest-flung outposts being Colorado and Arizona. Sacramento and Salt Lake fall within easy distance (SLC less so). Colorado Springs is interesting as well. Longtime home base of USA Hockey. Suitable AHL arena. Is it far enough away from Denver and Loveland? Would make some sense from a scheduling basis. Enough interest, though?

Is Boise out of contention? They're a bit outside the ECHL geographical orbit.

[getbak]

I'd think the problem with Boise would be the difficulty of recalling players on short notice.

There are no direct flights between Boise and Calgary. Every time they needed to recall a player, he'd need to connect through somewhere like Salt Lake, Seattle, or Denver.

With Stockton, a player can get to SFO in about 90 minutes to catch one of the multiple daily flights to Calgary. Sacramento would be about the same driving time to SFO.

SLC and DEN both also have multiple direct flights to Calgary. SFO, SLC, and DEN are also major US hubs, so it would be relatively easy to get a player to any city the Flames might be visiting.

[Canada 02]

since 2015, the California teams have played just 68 games compared to 76 for the rest of the league. The Heat will play those 68 games against just 7 teams this season.

I would think for player development, a move out of the west coast so players play a longer and more balanced season would be good for the prospects. If I were a Heat fan, I'd be bored silly watching the same 7 teams all season

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

since 2015, the California teams have played just 68 games compared to 76 for the rest of the league. The Heat will play those 68 games against just 7 teams this season.

I would think for player development, a move out of the west coast so players play a longer and more balanced season would be good for the prospects. If I were a Heat fan, I'd be bored silly watching the same 7 teams all season

If you were a Stockton Heat fan, you probably wouldn’t be that bored, considering the alternative to 7 teams is 0 teams because the Heat have moved.

[GullFoss]

Id vote for Airdrie. Its close the big team so could allow for better development by having them close to flames coaches and trainers and scouts

The city is full of young families. And the city is growing like crazy

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by GullFoss

Id vote for Airdrie. Its close the big team so could allow for better development by having them close to flames coaches and trainers and scouts

The city is full of young families. And the city is growing like crazy

a) Where would they play?
b) How would they rationalize the travel, considering that basically all their opponents would be in California?
c) Is Airdrie anywhere near big enough to support a team?

[powderjunkie]

This year's Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game is being played in Colorado Springs, which is kind of interesting considering Denver has two stadiums, one of which is called 'Coors Field'.

If the Heat are moving to Colorado Springs, it would be really smart for them to try to get a game scheduled against Loveland during the outdoor weekend...

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Gugstanley

I vote for Salt Lake City and bringing back the Salt Lake Golden Eagles.

Plus how much trouble could the prospects get into in Mormon country?

[Boreal]

Originally Posted by Locke

Plus how much trouble could the prospects get into in Mormon country?

They could drink one too many from Wasatch brewery & end up with multiple wives.

[slcrocket]

Sacramento is now getting an MLS franchise as well it appears - don't know if there are enough discretional income dollars to go around.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by slcrocket

Sacramento is now getting an MLS franchise as well it appears - don't know if there are enough discretional income dollars to go around.

This is so cool, I did not know that! Just looked that up... St. Louis and Sacramento will be the next new MLS franchises. I wonder if they keep the Sacramento Republic FC name? They should, it's awesome.

[Reggie Dunlop]

I always wondered why Vancouver re-upped with Utica as their affiliate. That's like 4,800 kms away. They could be reasonably successful in Abbotsford, you'd think. Travel wouldn't be unduly prohibitive if say, there were another team in Washington or Oregon (granted, Junior hockey is pretty popular).

[Vinny01]

I wish we had the farm team here but that could really hurt the Hitmen.

Red Deer, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, Regina are all decent options as well. I have always thought the Flames AHL team should be in Saskatoon and the Oilers in Regina. Setup another provincial rivalry.

[Resolute 14]

There is no chance the Flames are putting their AHL team into a market occupied by a WHL team.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

There is no chance the Flames are putting their AHL team into a market occupied by a WHL team.

Doesn’t Winnipeg have all 3 leagues in their city?

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

I always wondered why Vancouver re-upped with Utica as their affiliate. That's like 4,800 kms away. They could be reasonably successful in Abbotsford, you'd think. Travel wouldn't be unduly prohibitive if say, there were another team in Washington or Oregon (granted, Junior hockey is pretty popular).

I believe the Aquilinis have no interest in owning an AHL team.

If someone else were to buy a franchise and put it in Abbotsford, then they would probably consider making it an affiliate.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Doesn’t Winnipeg have all 3 leagues in their city?

Yes, but that was a case of the WHL moving in against the bigger leagues. And AHL attendance in Winnipeg was plummeting before that too. I don't see both the Moose and the Ice co-existing long term.

Generally, NHL teams won't want to undermine the juniors - who develop much of their talent. But more importantly, the Flames have already gone through the whole problem of having an AHL affiliate located as an isolated outpost. They are going to want to stay close to the rest of the AHL Pacific teams.