Friday, September 28, 2012

The Pros and Cons of the 2012-13 AHL “Supercharged” Season


As training camps get underway around the league for the “supercharged AHL season”, I have very mixed feelings about the impact that NHL lockout is having on the American Hockey League.

Part of me is really excited about the prospects of seeing so many of the NHL’s youngest stars donning AHL jerseys because it highlights the fact that in many markets in Canada and the US, the American Hockey League represents an opportunity to see quality pro hockey. The AHL brings some of the NHL’s future stars to town in less hockey-oriented markets like Austin and Oklahoma City (who wouldn’t want to watch Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins play for the Barons?) and is an affordable alternative for fans in prohibitively expensive hockey markets like Toronto and Chicago.

Many say that Toronto is a Leafs town and not a hockey town. I tend to disagree and for the new owners of MLSE, now is a golden opportunity to further develop the Marlies brand around the city and prove that Toronto is a hockey, not just a Leafs town. For an organization consisting of an NBA basketball that was locked out last season, an NHL hockey team locked out this season, and an MLS soccer team dead last in the standings with the one common theme deep in the playoff wilderness, the AHL Marlies have to be a silver lining on a dark cloud for Rogers and Bell.

The Marlies are no longer the best-kept hockey secret in Toronto and as the boys head back to camp, there is an excitement about 2012-13 in the dressing room, among their fans, and in the media about the team’s prospects. If we learned anything from last season, it is much more likely to see a Calder hoisted in the city than a Lord Stanley’s mug in the near future. In short, it is a great time to be a Marlies season seat holder and I’m excited about the prospects of who could be playing in this year’s All-Star Game in Providence.

Then there is the down side of the lockout and all these stars lacing up for the farm teams of their regular club; the regular roster of AHL players are going to be sent down to the ECHL, and then, where do the ECHL players go?

As a feeder league, the American Hockey League cannot fulfill its mandate as a development system during the NHL lockout. If the AHL teams aren’t developing the next generation of hockey talent for their NHL affiliates, we risk the next few years of draft picks not having the impact on their big clubs they could simply because of congestion in the farm system, particularly in places like Toronto that have a plethora of young talent being developed.
As you will notice, I’m being careful not to take a side in the lockout debate (although I have my own very strong opinions on the subject). It is my hope now that both the NHL and NHLPA are finally talking, they remember those who are impacted by their squabbles at the bargaining table.
The first group impacted are the fans. We pay the ticket prices. We buy the merchandise and without us, there are no television revenues or money to pay the expenses for the teams we cheer for in the league we love.
The second group includes all the players in the farm systems of these teams. The longer we have NHLers playing in the feeder leagues, the less development that the future stars of the league receive.
Now is the time to get back to the table, negotiating a deal both sides can live with, and get the new CBA signed, sealed and delivered.