Oklahoma City Blazers possibly to return in 2016

[GoOKC1991]

Tend The Farm ~OKC Blazers "Interested" In Return, Joining ECHL in 2016

This is great!!!

[borchard]

Very excited. Just hope Bob Funk Jr and his ass hat minions have nothing to do with it

[kwhey]

Read the story.

[borchard]

AS long as those gentlemen mentioned are in charge, they will have my support.

[dcsooner]

C

Tend The Farm ~OKC Blazers "Interested" In Return, Joining ECHL in 2016

This is great!!!

Not great, OKC continues to settle for bush league, second rate hockey. Not a hockey fan so really do not care, but, not a big league city move

[bradh]

If the Barons weren't so expensive they'd still be here. Shoulda just made every game general admission and charge $10 a seat. Then you get more people sitting low and arena appears more full. Too many $30+ seats for AHL hockey was a bad deal.

If this reincarnation of the Blazers has cheap tickets, it'll already have fights and bad hockey, so there is the trifecta of luring Oklahoma hockey fans.

[Dave Cook]

If the Barons weren't so expensive they'd still be here. Shoulda just made every game general admission and charge $10 a seat. Then you get more people sitting low and arena appears more full. Too many $30+ seats for AHL hockey was a bad deal.

I always got a kick out of the casual fan knuckleheads that I got stuck behind at the ticket window asking 'How much are your tickets near the glass?'

All they had to do was buy a $10 ticket and move down. I don't remember ever paying more than $10 for a ticket in years.

[Dave Cook]

If this reincarnation of the Blazers has cheap tickets, it'll already have fights and bad hockey, so there is the trifecta of luring Oklahoma hockey fans.

It's amazing how many 'hockey fans' in Oklahoma City were bored with guys like Eberle, Hall, Cheechoo and others. Says a lot about the Okie hockey IQ.

Two of the four goaltenders in the Stanley Cup Finals played against the Barons at the Myriad.....Ben Bishop (Peoria) and Scott Darling (Rockford). Yeah, the AHL sucked.....bring in the 17-year old junior players.

[Jersey Boss]

It's amazing how many 'hockey fans' in Oklahoma City were bored with guys like Eberle, Hall, Cheechoo and others. Says a lot about the Okie hockey IQ.

Two of the four goaltenders in the Stanley Cup Finals played against the Barons at the Myriad.....Ben Bishop (Peoria) and Scott Darling (Rockford). Yeah, the AHL sucked.....bring in the 17-year old junior players.

If you grow up a fan, and follow the NHL, the idea of going to a minor league event is "meh". This is particularly true of the leagues inferior to the AHL. Kinda like those who grew up watching OU football, the thought of watching NAIA in person is not an attraction.

[borchard]

Tend The Farm ~OKC Blazers "Interested" In Return, Joining ECHL in 2016
Lund says honestly. “In 1999 I said something that got me in a lot of trouble, but it is true – Oklahoma City is not a hockey town, it’s a Blazers town. We even had people cancel season tickets because I said that. I’m not trying to be a know-it-all, but I think the last five years have proven that. I do believe this is a Blazers town."

Seriously, I wouldn't know Eberle, Hall, Cheechoo, or Chong if they hit me with their cars. But if I ever saw;
Joe Burton
Hardy Sauter
Tyler Fleck
Marty Standish
Steve Simoni
Guy Girard
Alan Perry
Simon Olivier
etc...
I'd gladly buy them a drink and thank them for playing here for the Blazers

[Dave Cook]

Yeah, there was actually a news story a couple of years ago during the NHL shutdown about Hall, Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle playing in Oklahoma City. These guys are huge celebrities in Canada and they were saying they could go anywhere in Oklahoma City and no one had any clue who they were. Total anonymity. It was as if they were playing on the moon.

Hockey town USA.

[okatty]

I personally wouldn't walk across the street to watch if I was given a ticket. BUT, I know there are lots of very passionate hockey fans in OKC and I hope whatever happens in terms of a hockey team that it is good for the true fans and the City going forward.

[Jersey Boss]

Tend The Farm ~OKC Blazers "Interested" In Return, Joining ECHL in 2016
Lund says honestly. “In 1999 I said something that got me in a lot of trouble, but it is true – Oklahoma City is not a hockey town, it’s a Blazers town. We even had people cancel season tickets because I said that. I’m not trying to be a know-it-all, but I think the last five years have proven that. I do believe this is a Blazers town."

Seriously, I wouldn't know Eberle, Hall, Cheechoo, or Chong if they hit me with their cars. But if I ever saw;
Joe Burton
Hardy Sauter
Tyler Fleck
Marty Standish
Steve Simoni
Guy Girard
Alan Perry
Simon Olivier
etc...
I'd gladly buy them a drink and thank them for playing here for the Blazers

Well then, I guess Brad and myself would agree that the Blazers and hockey are mutually exclusive terms.

[OkieHornet]

Yeah, there was actually a news story a couple of years ago during the NHL shutdown about Hall, Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle playing in Oklahoma City. These guys are huge celebrities in Canada and they were saying they could go anywhere in Oklahoma City and no one had any clue who they were. Total anonymity. It was as if they were playing on the moon.

Hockey town USA.

the games they played for the barons were really good - you could tell the difference in playing level pretty easily between them and "regular" ahl players. i think justin schultz was playing with them also.

[Jersey Boss]

Yeah, there was actually a news story a couple of years ago during the NHL shutdown about Hall, Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle playing in Oklahoma City. These guys are huge celebrities in Canada and they were saying they could go anywhere in Oklahoma City and no one had any clue who they were. Total anonymity. It was as if they were playing on the moon.

Hockey town USA.

The local media certainly provided little if any coverage as well. Talking about clueless.

[Dave Cook]

the games they played for the barons were really good - you could tell the difference in playing level pretty easily between them and "regular" ahl players. i think justin schultz was playing with them also.

Schultz was indeed on that team. What a great player.

The two best d-men we saw in OKC were Schultzy and Darnell Nurse. Both are gonna be in the show a long, long time.

Notice I didn't include Hardy Sauter in that group.

[White Peacock]

I personally wouldn't walk across the street to watch if I was given a ticket. BUT, I know there are lots of very passionate hockey fans in OKC and I hope whatever happens in terms of a hockey team that it is good for the true fans and the City going forward.

In the dark season between the Blazers folding and the Barons arriving, I went to OU and OCU hockey games. I'm alright with having an ECHL team here if the only other option is low-level college hockey and low-level juniors.

ECHL is still gonna be a better on-ice performance than the CHL was, by a considerable margin. ECHL dudes are typically part of the call-up/send-down pipeline, as their ECHL team is generally affiliated with an AHL team and that AHL team's affiliate. Old CHL Blazers dudes? They were, for the most part, beer league for life. Some CHL teams would get an affiliation with an NHL team, but you never saw much come of it. And that's because those guys really sucked at hockey. That's just an objective observation. I always loved going to Blazers games, but it was not good hockey; it was just a fun experience overall.

I agree that Funk Jr. and Prodigal had the wrong attitude toward the city's past hockey enthusiasm, and they should have embraced Blazers fans, instead of being all hipster about the brand being higher caliber.

I have Blazers memorabilia from the 60s...I'm all for having our local brand back in action, if indeed it does happen. All real hockey fans will always lament the loss of AHL in OKC, but recharging hockey with a familiar logo is better than a kick in the pants.

[Dave Cook]

You know, I'm really kind of surprised Lund wants back in on this thing, if that is indeed the case. I like Lund and applaud his efforts with the CHL Blazers.

Having said that, this isn't 1992 Oklahoma anymore. The landscape has certainly changed with Thunder basketball, OU/OCU hockey, Jr. Blazers and a vastly improved Oklahoma City in terms of nightlife and entertainment.

Who is going to invest in this thing? The city of Oklahoma City? The Edmonton Oilers pumped $5 million dollars into new ice equipment at the Myriad. Aren't they tearing that barn down now? The Chesapeake isn't going to be cheap and certainly didn't want the old Blazers around. Who's going to pony up the money for new ice equipment at the Fairgrounds or a new arena in OKC that seats 6,500?

It will be nice to see the ECHL come to town but expecting a crowd of over 2,500 is probably not realistic. The good ol days are over.

[borchard]

You know, I'm really kind of surprised Lund wants back in on this thing, if that is indeed the case. I like Lund and applaud his efforts with the CHL Blazers.

Having said that, this isn't 1992 Oklahoma anymore. The landscape has certainly changed with Thunder basketball, OU/OCU hockey, Jr. Blazers and a vastly improved Oklahoma City in terms of nightlife and entertainment.

Who is going to invest in this thing?

Lund quickly gets to the point, “We have a business opportunity in the sports marketplace to put together an ownership for the return of the Blazers for 2016. I would establish the level of interest from perspective ownership groups as average to good. Never great until you have someone sign on the dotted line.” He continues, “We’ve had two existing ECHL franchise owners show interest in the market. There’s a reputable minor league sports broker out there that has a handful of clients interested. I’ve met with local business leaders in town, there’s even one former Blazer living in Canada now interested in owning the team. It’s out there.”

The city of Oklahoma City? The Edmonton Oilers pumped $5 million dollars into new ice equipment at the Myriad. Aren't they tearing that barn down now? The Chesapeake isn't going to be cheap and certainly didn't want the old Blazers around. Who's going to pony up the money for new ice equipment at the Fairgrounds or a new arena in OKC that seats 6,500?

Lund has discussed this matter both with the city and SMG (managing entity of the Cox Convention Center) with whom he gets weekly updates on the matter.

It will be nice to see the ECHL come to town but expecting a crowd of over 2,500 is probably not realistic. The good ol days are over.

[Robert_M]

ECHL dudes are typically part of the call-up/send-down pipeline, as their ECHL team is generally affiliated with an AHL team and that AHL team's affiliate.

This would appear to be still part of the problem as well as I have seen post on here and had conversations with people that the inconsistent line up turned them off. There will be some that just don't have what it takes to move on for one reason or another but the best of them will be up and gone to better things.

[White Peacock]

This would appear to be still part of the problem as well as I have seen post on here and had conversations with people that the inconsistent line up turned them off. There will be some that just don't have what it takes to move on for one reason or another but the best of them will be up and gone to better things.

Consistent lineup is good for community reasons, but only non-hockey people would use that as a reason to forgo the whole thing altogether. And while the lineup can change almost entirely over the course of a few seasons, they're consistent enough that you know who you're cheering for if you go to games now and then.

[borchard]

Interview With Brad Lund - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

[kwhey]

It's amazing how many 'hockey fans' in Oklahoma City were bored with guys like Eberle, Hall, Cheechoo and others. Says a lot about the Okie hockey IQ.

Two of the four goaltenders in the Stanley Cup Finals played against the Barons at the Myriad.....Ben Bishop (Peoria) and Scott Darling (Rockford). Yeah, the AHL sucked.....bring in the 17-year old junior players.

Absolutely agree with you. These people that think a new Blazers franchise going to be like the old days will be sorely mistaken. You won't have have the same roster consistency, no bench clearing brawls, and multiple fights every game. They will stop going and this team will leave too.

[kwhey]

Tend The Farm ~OKC Blazers "Interested" In Return, Joining ECHL in 2016
Lund says honestly. “In 1999 I said something that got me in a lot of trouble, but it is true – Oklahoma City is not a hockey town, it’s a Blazers town. We even had people cancel season tickets because I said that. I’m not trying to be a know-it-all, but I think the last five years have proven that. I do believe this is a Blazers town."

Seriously, I wouldn't know Eberle, Hall, Cheechoo, or Chong if they hit me with their cars. But if I ever saw;
Joe Burton
Hardy Sauter
Tyler Fleck
Marty Standish
Steve Simoni
Guy Girard
Alan Perry
Simon Olivier
etc...
I'd gladly buy them a drink and thank them for playing here for the Blazers

Olivier was a dirty player. Plain and simple. He intentionally buttended a player with his stick. As for Fleck, he liked to throw elbows to faces. Yesh, great ambassadors of hockey.

[borchard]

Piece of History Returned - Oklahoma City Blazers Hockey

“I went back to get the sign after the game and I asked the lady working there if I could grab it. She said “That’s Your’s?” and I said yes and I’m taking it home,”Comes explained. “The worker said “You’re taking it to your house?” and I said not exactly, I’m taking it to it’s HOME. It’s going back to the Blazers where it belongs.”

“This is a logo that guys fought for, bled for and cried for. The Blazer brand is something that is etched into the hearts of Oklahoman’s everywhere. Everyone recognizes it and it’s become a part of who we are,” said Fleck. “We are damn proud to be Blazers. There were hundred’s of players that tapped that sign for a little extra luck on their way by. When someone recognizes that and goes out of their way to bring back a piece of history like this to where it rightfully belongs, it’s unreal. It just means a lot.”