Blazers to AAA??

[Dave Cook]

Nothing official yet....but look for an announcement to come soon from the Oklahoma City hockey world.

Edmonton Oilers officials in town looking to purchase the Blazers and move the organization up to the AAA level.

Major changes this week as well within the Blazers front office with Brad Lund and a few others moving on.

[metro]

Interesting...... So what league would that put us in instead of the CHL? AHL?

[betts]

I must say I don't know enough about the Blazers management to comment on whether Brad Lund moving on is a good thing. But I do think it's ridiculous that we're playing teams in cities like Odessa and Shreveport, and would like to see them move up.

[El Gato Pollo Loco!!!]

If it is the AHL, then I can't wait to be able to see the Griffins come to town.

[Laramie]

SweetNSourPork:

Tell me you're just messing with my head and that this is not so?

What? I just saw where Brad Lund is leaving the Blazers--what on own earth could have happened?

Does this possibly stem from Brad helping the NBA into OKC when the Hornets were accommodated?

Brad Lund was "Mr. Blazertown." What a blow to this organization to lose such a talented individual.

The Springfield Falcons are the Edmonton Oiles AAA affiliate in the American Hockey League.

Has anyone heard anything coming out of Springfield for this season or next?

Springfield's largest crowd topped 6,400 this season. Could this team be relocating to Oklahoma City next season?

Link: http://www.masslive.com/falcons/

American Hockey League Attendance Link: http://stats.theahl.com/stats/schedu...iew=attendance

[betts]

Here is confirmation of Lund leaving in the DOK:

Brad Lund out as Oklahoma City Blazers executive

Published: November 24, 2008
Brad Lund, a key figure in the success of the Oklahoma City Blazers since the minor-league hockey franchise's inception, has left the team, multiple sources confirmed. Lund declined comment when contacted Monday evening.Lund had been chief executive officer with Express Sports, which owns the Blazers and stages three Professional Bull Riding events in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Nashville. He has been with the Blazers in some capacity since the Central Hockey League returned to Oklahoma City in 1992.

[El Gato Pollo Loco!!!]

...The Springfield Falcons are the Edmonton Oiles AAA affiliate in the American Hockey League.

Has anyone heard anything coming out of Springfield for this season or next?...

Since their agreement is up in 2010 with Springfield, it's possible that the Oilers are looking to get a AAA team close to home. Seems like a wait-and-see situation.

[Slivermoon]

SweetNSourPork:

Tell me you're just messing with my head and that this is not so?

What? I just saw where Brad Lund is leaving the Blazers--what on own earth could have happened?

Does this possibly stem from Brad helping the NBA into OKC when the Hornets were accommodated?

Brad Lund was "Mr. Blazertown." What a blow to this organization to lose such a talented individual.

The Springfield Falcons are the Edmonton Oiles AAA affiliate in the American Hockey League.

Has anyone heard anything coming out of Springfield for this season or next?

Springfield's largest crowd topped 6,400 this season. Could this team be relocating to Oklahoma City next season?

Link: Springfield Falcons Hockey News - MassLive.com

American Hockey League Attendance Link: theahl.com : Stats

Who besides Brad Lund ever said anything about him having anything to do about bringing the NBA Hornets to Oklahoma City?

[betts]

Sure enough. From the DOK:

Edmonton Oilers officials visit Ford Center; Triple-A farm team a possibility

BY ROBERT PRZYBYLO
Published: November 24, 2008
Executives from the Edmonton Oilers’ National Hockey League organization visited Oklahoma City last weekend and visited the Ford Center and the Blazers Ice Centre, sources confirmed Monday.

The Oilers’ executives reportedly met with city officials about the possibility of Oklahoma City becoming the NHL team’s top farm team in the Triple-A American Hockey League franchise in the near future.

“We've had multiple and consistent inquiries from NHL teams about our market through the years, and those inquiries have included different levels of interest involving their farm teams,” Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett said Monday night.

Edmonton's current AHL franchise, the Springfield Falcons, is based in Massachusetts. That franchise has a contract with Edmonton through 2010.

“The NHL recognizes several things about our market. That it’s big, that the Blazers have been a success and that we have a good fan base,” Cornett said. “If you think of those things, it’s only natural that when they think about where they are going to put their teams they think about Oklahoma City.”

Oklahoma City, which has been in the Double-A Central Hockey League since 1992, has been a constant leader in minor-pro hockey attendance. Oklahoma City often ranks in the top five among all minor-pro teams in North America.

The Blazers are averaging 6,227 fans through nine games this season, which ranks No. 1 in the 16-team CHL. The Blazers’ current attendance number would rate sixth in the 29-team AHL, behind Hershey, Pa.; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Chicago; Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Pa.; and Grand Rapids, Mich.

The Kansas City Blades of the old International Hockey League considered a move to Oklahoma City in 2000. The original, Triple-A IHL folded in 2001, and a new, six-team league was formed in 2007. The current IHL is of Double-A caliber, which is the same level as the Blazers and CHL.

Sports editor Mike Sherman contributed to this report.

[NativeOkie]

The Tulsa whining should start shortly.....
wait for it.....
Here it comes like a tornado down the turnpike.....
Waaaaa!...Not fair!.....OKC always cheat us........Waaaaaa!

[SoonerDave]

Now, I know next to nothing about hockey, but wouldn't a move from the CHL to the AAA level turn the Blazers into a bit of a Redhawks-on-ice franchise? That is, the CHL is a league unto itself with its own championship, but the Redhawks in baseball are a developmental team feeding its MLB counterpart, and league play is more or less incidental, and half your team could be called up at a moment's notice.

Maybe I'm not making a good comparison, just wondering. Considering the hue and cry that went up when there were efforts to snag the KC hockey franchise a few years back, its interesting to me that this seems to be flying under the radar a bit. If the team is truly for sale, does that suggest Express is getting out of the sports business? If Lund didn't agree with the move, would certainly explain why he got out...

Just seems to create lots of questions....

[El Gato Pollo Loco!!!]

Now, I know next to nothing about hockey, but wouldn't a move from the CHL to the AAA level turn the Blazers into a bit of a Redhawks-on-ice franchise? That is, the CHL is a league unto itself with its own championship, but the Redhawks in baseball are a developmental team feeding its MLB counterpart, and league play is more or less incidental, and half your team could be called up at a moment's notice.....

I guess in theory you could be correct, if say half the parent club were to get injured. I wouldn't go as far as say that league play is incidental. They would still play for a championship, like the Redhawks do currently (if they had good teams year in and out).

[bluedogok]

The problem is the CHL has been in a downward slide since picking up many of the smaller market teams like the Odessa, Laredo, etc. When the league started out I think Wichita may have been the smallest market (OKC Blazers, Tulsa Oilers, Dallas Freeze, Fort Worth Fire, Wichita Thunder, Memphis River Kings). Then the Stars moved to Dallas which ended the Freeze but the league picked up San Antonio. The Austin Ice Bats here folded up this season because the Dallas Stars are placing an AHL team here in the Austin area (Cedar Park) soon.

I think the Blazers (and Oilers) need to be in a league where there are comparable market sizes which Odessa, Laredo, McAllen, Corpus Christi aren't. When you average double (or more) of the attendance of the rest of your league consistently and play in buildings that are double to triple the capacity, it generally means you are playing in the wrong level.

[Dave Cook]

Just read this thread for further info.

okcslackers.com -- View topic - Front Office Change?

[OkieHornet]

people seem to always bring up the issue of a AAA team being a bad thing, with less stability of a team and players constantly being moved up and down... seems like it happens much less than in MLB... and is it really a bad thing to see one of "your guys" make it to the bigs? if i remember right, there were 6 former Redhawks in the MLB All-Star game this year, which i thought was pretty cool...

[bretthexum]

I hope it happens. I think calling the CHL "double A" is a stretch. I've seen more talent in high school (not around here obviously)

[lasomeday]

The AHL will bring more talent! I am excited about it. I also think if we do a good job with the AHL team that Tulsa would get a team in 2 to 5 years.

[jbrown84]

I say bring it on. We are definitely out of Odessa's league. What a joke.

[SoonerBent]

Now, I know next to nothing about hockey, but wouldn't a move from the CHL to the AAA level turn the Blazers into a bit of a Redhawks-on-ice franchise? That is, the CHL is a league unto itself with its own championship, but the Redhawks in baseball are a developmental team feeding its MLB counterpart, and league play is more or less incidental, and half your team could be called up at a moment's notice.......

I'm a pretty big hockey fan. The NHL doesn't usually move players up and down nearly as much as MLB. Barring massive injury numbers on the NHL team you might see a couple moves per season in the NHL vs. a move every few weeks in MLB. The AAA NHL teams are more of a place for rookies who aren't ready for the NHL to play until someone retires on the NHL team and the moves are then done in the off season.

While I don't think OKC is even in the ballpark of being able to support a NHL team I would love to see a AAA level team be placed here. That I would have season tickets for.

[metro]

Any new news yet?

[venture]

Story on NewsOK.com a few days ago that said they are passing on OKC for the AAA level due to too many internal issues with the organization.

[metro]

bummer

[Brandon Rush]

evidently it will come after next season....

[theparkman81]

this is awesome, It is about time that OKC moves up to Triple A Hockey. I am really excited about this, and yes I hope that they keep the Blazers name.

[Insider]

This may be a stupid question, but what happens to the Blazers if we get a AAA team? Do the players move elsewhere and we get to keep the name? Do the players stay and belong to the AAA team?