2013-2014 Hartford Wolf Pack/Greenville Road Warriors Thread

[iamitter]

Any chance NYR move to Bridgeport now since Ratner won the bid. Sound Tigers to Uniondale and once the lease ends in 2016 the Whale move down to Harbor yards in Bridgeport?

It's not unlikely. It depends on how fast Ratner renovates (the MSG plan was expected to take 2 years).

Isles vacate in 2015. XL Center lease ends in 2016 with 2 one-year options available. It's pretty clear they don't expect to stay there. They got handed the largest affiliation fee in the AHL by Global Spectrum (1.4 million!) to stay there.

The Isles would have to sell their lease to MSG though cause they have a long term lease in Bridgeport iirc.


The Rangers already explored moving earlier (to Glens Falls NY).

 

[iamitter]

That def sucks. I was hoping to get to some Pack games in the future. I can't see MSG working out a deal w/Ratner.

Not a chance. This was basically a decision on whether the Whale and Liberty go to Nassau or Bridgeport goes to Nassau.

Ratner's proposal offered ~4 mil in guaranteed tax revenue a year, while the MSG plan only guaranteed about 2.5ish. It all comes down to money.

 

[Jarkko Immonen]

I think the Wolf Pack are just fine in Hartford

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Any chance NYR move to Bridgeport now since Ratner won the bid. Sound Tigers to Uniondale and once the lease ends in 2016 the Whale move down to Harbor yards in Bridgeport?

Hopefully. Anything to get the club closer.

 

[iamitter]

I think the Wolf Pack are just fine in Hartford

XL center is too old, the city won't sink much money into it, there's 5 AHL teams within 2 hours of each other there and there's no easy way to get there from NYC.

I know it sucks to hear, but the options were either Nassau or Bridgeport.

Look at the structure on the lease they signed. It's very, very obvious we'll be moving.

 

[Tackla]

XL center is too old, the city won't sink much money into it, there's 5 AHL teams within 2 hours of each other there and there's no easy way to get there from NYC.

I know it sucks to hear, but the options were either Nassau or Bridgeport.

Look at the structure on the lease they signed. It's very, very obvious we'll be moving.

If the Sound Tigers want to go to Nassau, the Rangers would be happy to go down to Bridgeport. It's closer to New York and a much newer building, but also Hartford is really outside of the Rangers fandom realm.

 

[Jarkko Immonen]

XL center is too old, the city won't sink much money into it, there's 5 AHL teams within 2 hours of each other there and there's no easy way to get there from NYC.

I know it sucks to hear, but the options were either Nassau or Bridgeport.

Look at the structure on the lease they signed. It's very, very obvious we'll be moving.

It's not obvious at all. Sure, it's a possibility, but let's not act like it's a given. Could a three year deal with two one-year options have been made in case MSG did win the Nassau bid? Absolutely. With that out the window, Hartford still remains an option.

And local legislation recently just approved $35 million in XL Center upgrades. Global Spectrum was selected because they promise to use some of their own funds to improve the XL Center.

I don't understand what having five teams in the area has to do with anything. And Amtrak runs from Hartford to New York City. It's pretty easy to get there.

Like I said, the AHL is rather unpredictable. I wouldn't call anything a given. They could move, but it's not insane to believe they could also stay.

 

[Jarkko Immonen]

If the Sound Tigers want to go to Nassau, the Rangers would be happy to go down to Bridgeport. It's closer to New York and a much newer building, but also Hartford is really outside of the Rangers fandom realm.

There are plenty of Rangers fans in the area because of the Wolf Pack. They've been here since 1997 and have created Ranger fan after Ranger fan to go along with a mix of Bruins fans. Same goes for Bridgeport and the Islanders.

 

[Tackla]

There are plenty of Rangers fans in the area because of the Wolf Pack. They've been here since 1997 and have created Ranger fan after Ranger fan to go along with a mix of Bruins fans. Same goes for Bridgeport and the Islanders.

I hear people in Hartford don't even get MSG. The team should be closer to New York in a more "True Blue" area in my opinion.

 

[iamitter]

There are plenty of Rangers fans in the area because of the Wolf Pack. They've been here since 1997 and have created Ranger fan after Ranger fan to go along with a mix of Bruins fans. Same goes for Bridgeport and the Islanders.

In Hartford/Western CT, Rangers fans, yeah. Rest of CT goes Whalers, Bruins, Rangers. Outside South and West CT, the NHL is pretty much irrelevant.

Attendance matters not from a money from tickets standpoint, but a marketing one. Providence and Bridgeport attract well but Connecticut, Springfield and Worcester are right there at the bottom of league attendance. Bridgeport is a 60 mile, 70 minute drive from Manhattan. Nassau worked very well because they could have a Liberty/Whale arena, but Bridgeport works well just for the Whale. With a closer farm club, you could do a LOT more. Give out free tickets to employees (similar to how they do that with the Liberty). Toss in some for season ticket holders. You establish ties with players before they make the big league. They aren't looking for immediate monetary gain - they're looking to grow and expand, much as they have in the past. With MSG, it's always going to be more, more, more. They want to have the best facilities and arenas and lots of them. They're ok with losing money in the short run. Over half of the cash flow in the company comes from the Media side anyway. The synergistic way everything works here means that they're going to pump money into stuff like this, fuse, the Liberty, etc.

Many of those upgrades on XL center have more to do with UConn than the Wolf Pack.

Unless they get handed another exorbitant affiliation fee, I don't see how MSG doesn't move the Wolf Pack at the end of this lease. They could stay yes. But they've been making effort to try and move for 6 years now.

 

[NYR Viper]

NHL Transactionist ‏@NHLTransactions 3m
WASHINGTON CAPITALS: Signed forward Brandon Segal to a one-year, two-way
contract. http://j.mp/1cXusUn

Segal signed with Caps

 

[RangerBoy]

Wolf Pack general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Wolf Pack has signed defenseman Brendon Nash to an American Hockey League contract.

http://www.hartfordwolfpack.com/news/detail/wolf-pack-sign-defenseman-brendon-nash

McIlrath
Syvret
Allen
Noreau
Hughes
Bickel
Dodero(AHL)
Nash(AHL)

Very young blue line. Nash has pro experience.

 

[Jarkko Immonen]

http://www.hartfordwolfpack.com/news/detail/wolf-pack-sign-defenseman-brendon-nash

More depth, I love it. Here's his player page on TheAHL.

 

[RangerBoy]

They also signed Mike Marcou

McIlrath
Syvret
Allen
Noreau
Hughes
Bickel
Dodero(AHL)
Nash(AHL)
Marcou(AHL)

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

Johnson will provide a veteran presence, unless Falk falls flat on his face.

 

[I Eat Crow]

The good news with all of the defensive depth signings like Falk, Johnson, and Syrvet is that Stu Bickel will likely never wear a Rangers sweater ever again

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

The good news with all of the defensive depth signings like Falk, Johnson, and Syrvet is that Stu Bickel will likely never wear a Rangers sweater ever again

Good news indeed.

 

[BBKers]

The good news with all of the defensive depth signings like Falk, Johnson, and Syrvet is that Stu Bickel will likely never wear a Rangers sweater ever again

Most likely correct
He could be an additional chip in a future trade though

 

[hartfordyourmyhome]

There are plenty of Rangers fans in the area because of the Wolf Pack. They've been here since 1997 and have created Ranger fan after Ranger fan to go along with a mix of Bruins fans. Same goes for Bridgeport and the Islanders.

Exactly, the amount of grumbling coming about this move of the Rangers leaving is coming from a small group of Whaler fans. I can assure you the majority of people and businesses in Hartford are fine with the Rangers in Hartford.

 

[hartfordyourmyhome]

I hear people in Hartford don't even get MSG. The team should be closer to New York in a more "True Blue" area in my opinion.

Ignore Tackla, he is one of a small group of disgruntled Whaler fans who continue to be the only ones who ***** and moan about the Rangers having an AHL team in Hartford.

 

[hartfordyourmyhome]

It's not obvious at all. Sure, it's a possibility, but let's not act like it's a given. Could a three year deal with two one-year options have been made in case MSG did win the Nassau bid? Absolutely. With that out the window, Hartford still remains an option.

And local legislation recently just approved $35 million in XL Center upgrades. Global Spectrum was selected because they promise to use some of their own funds to improve the XL Center.

I don't understand what having five teams in the area has to do with anything. And Amtrak runs from Hartford to New York City. It's pretty easy to get there.

Like I said, the AHL is rather unpredictable. I wouldn't call anything a given. They could move, but it's not insane to believe they could also stay.

Exactly, this is all speculation. The most likely scenario of who moves to Bridgeport if the Sound Tigers leave is the ECHL hockey team they just affiliated with this season. The Stockton Thunder are the most likely candidate to move to Bridgeport IF the Sound Tigers do in fact move to LI.

 

[gary laser eyes]

The good news with all of the defensive depth signings like Falk, Johnson, and Syrvet is that Stu Bickel will likely never wear a Rangers sweater ever again

 

[cwede]

another rookie forward (besides Tyler Gjurich ) reportedly invited to Wolfpack camp:
Brandon Hynes
Right Wing -- shoots R Born Sep 14 1992 Height 5.08 -- Weight 170
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=115930

http://www.thetelegram.com/Sports/H...-3351145/Brandon-Hynes-signs-with-ECHL-team/1
Brandon Hynes signs with ECHL team Published on August 15, 2013
Brendan McCarthy RSS Feed
According to a report in Le Nouvelle Union ... Brandon Hynes will has agreed to a deal with the Greenville (South Carolina) Road Warriors of the ECHL. ...The report also says the deal includes an invitation to the training camp of the Hartford Wolf Pack...

Last season, the five-foot-nine, 175-pound Hynes had 36 goals and 40 assists in 63 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League games split between he Acadie-Bathurst Titan and Val d'Or Foreurs. Prior to that, Hynes had spent four years with the QMJHL's Victoriaville Tigres. In his five seasons in the Q, Hynes averaged just better than a point per game, with 160 goals and 163 assists in a total of 318 contests.

 

[Kokoschka]

Question here: is there any sort of AHL-streaming package available? Thinking about buying one...

 

[nyr2k2]

Question here: is there any sort of AHL-streaming package available? Thinking about buying one...

Yes, there is. It's as expensive as the NHL package, if not more, and the quality isn't great.

For less money you can get a Hockey Streams account, which allows you to watch NHL, AHL, Canadian Junior, KHL and some other games. All in one subscription. I went that way last season and didn't regret it.