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  #1  
Old Posted Mar 12, 2009, 6:25 PM
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Abbotsford Flames: One Step Closer?

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Calgary Flames seek to move AHL team to Abbotsford

League’s board of governors will need convincing because of long-distance travel to the West Coast

By Vicki Hall, Canwest News Service March 12, 2009 11:02 AM

‘We intend to file for relocation to Abbotsford,’ Calgary Flames president Ken King said of moving the NHL’s team’s American Hockey League affiliate to the Fraser Valley. ‘We’ve got a lot of critical, key prospects in our system, and we need a great home for them to prepare for the NHL. We’ve had substantial discussions with Abbotsford.’

DETROIT — The Abbotsford Flames? That’s what the National Hockey League’s Calgary Flames are planning for the next home of their American Hockey League affiliate, the team’s president said today.

The Flames’ American Hockey League farm team in Quad Cities, Ill., is set to flicker into oblivion at the end of the season. After months of speculation, the Flames released the Quad City ownership group Thursday from the remaining three years of their minor-league affiliate agreement with the NHL club.

Flames president Ken King confirmed his intention today of signing a 10-year affiliation agreement with a group of investors in Abbotsford.

“We intend to file for relocation to Abbotsford,” King said. “We’ve got a lot of critical, key prospects in our system, and we need a great home for them to prepare for the NHL.

“We’ve had substantial discussions with Abbotsford. We’re in a situation where we’re completely comfortable with the terms of an arrangement.”

The move to Abbotsford requires approval of the AHL board of governors, and there could be resistance from teams opposed to the travel.


Abbotsford is a community of 130,000 about 75 kilometres east of Vancouver on the Trans-Canada Highway. The nearest AHL city is Winnipeg, a 24-hour bus ride away in good weather.

“I don’t know if I would term it resistance, but I think they’re going to need to be convinced because of the geography,” King said. “They’re going to need to be convinced things like travel subsidies are nailed down.”

The potential Abbotsford ownership group has agreed to pay travel subsidies to help alleviate the cost of cross-country flights for the opposition.

The Abbotsford group envisions itself as the first AHL team to set up shop on the West Coast to serve teams in the Pacific time zone.

“It’s a bold move,” King said. “And I think it’s a smart move. It’s a Canadian market. They know hockey. They understand hockey. They appreciate hockey. And they’ve been years in the making.

“They’ve been courting us and other teams for a long time.”

With no potential tenant nailed down, Abbotsford built a spiffy $65-million, 7,018-seat building set for completion at the end of March.

In Quad Cities, with an average attendance of 2,810, the Flames rank 28th in the 29-team AHL. The local ownership estimates losses this season at $1.3 million US.

“We like Quad Cities, and we thought we were building something,” King said. “But we also appreciate, in the face of a worsening economy and two very difficult years, and respect the effort they put in. They’re wonderful people. They tried very hard, and I think it’s going to be necessary for us to look at other options.”
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Source: The Vancouver Sun -- http://www.vancouversun.com/Sports/C...011/story.html
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  #2  
Old Posted Mar 12, 2009, 6:46 PM
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its about damn time BC gotta pro hockey team!

go Flames go!
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  #3  
Old Posted Mar 12, 2009, 6:50 PM
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I might pay for a ticket just to go boo.
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  #4  
Old Posted Mar 12, 2009, 6:53 PM
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When Manitoba comes, it's gonna be a massive sellout

So much for home team support
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  #5  
Old Posted Mar 12, 2009, 7:09 PM
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the travel is going to kill the players.

the two teams in canada are Winnipeg, Hamilton and TO and the rest of the teams are in basically on the east coast USA and around the great lakes except for texas.

unless, the AHL is planning a major expansion west.... why abbostford and not something in quebec (as an example)?
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  #6  
Old Posted Mar 12, 2009, 8:38 PM
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^Probably because people in Abbotsford actively sought to bring the team here, and did an extremely good job
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  #7  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2009, 12:43 AM
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It only takes 24 hours to bus from Abbotsford to Winnipeg? Is this a jet powered bus with a police escort?
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  #8  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2009, 12:47 AM
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you could do Winnipeg to Abbotsford in under 24 hours easy.
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  #9  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2009, 1:19 AM
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Really? It takes 7.5 hours just to drive from here to van or to calgary alone. You can cross three and a half provinces in 24 hours? In the winter during hockey season? Ok, i'll take your word for it.
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  #10  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2009, 1:21 AM
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you could do Winnipeg to Abbotsford in under 24 hours easy.
Yea, but that is a direct haul, which is illegal. And what a shitty bus trip for hockey players.
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  #11  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2009, 1:27 AM
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illegal?

Please enlighten me.
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  #12  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2009, 1:35 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Denscity View Post
Really? It takes 7.5 hours just to drive from here to van or to calgary alone. You can cross three and a half provinces in 24 hours? In the winter during hockey season? Ok, i'll take your word for it.
Vancouver-Calgary would be the longest portion (at ~10-12hr?) simply because of the mountains and winding roads. Calgary through to Winnipeg is pretty boring/flat/direct. 24 hours did sound really odd to me though.
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  #13  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2009, 2:04 AM
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Im sure there will be long road trips and home stands.

Google says it takes 23.5 hours to drive Abbotsford to Winnipeg, but that is non-stop.
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  #14  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2009, 3:19 AM
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Ive done it in 22 with snow.
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  #15  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2009, 3:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by East Van View Post
Ive done it in 22 with snow.
Yah that's doable.

An AHL team in Abby would be awesome but I didn't realize that there were geographic concerns.
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  #16  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2009, 4:26 AM
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What should they call the new Abbotsford team?
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  #17  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2009, 4:28 AM
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Wow, the topic must be very important to you

They'd probably stick with Abbotsford Flames (considering Quad City Flames), but it'd be nice to change it up maybe to hide the fact that they are actually Calgary Flames affiliated
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  #18  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2009, 4:44 AM
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Abbotsford Abbots?
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  #19  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2009, 4:53 AM
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I think thats almost as bad as the St. Georges Saints
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  #20  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2009, 5:20 AM
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So if the Manitoba Moose played the Abbotsford "Flames", who would you cheer for?

Too bad we couldn't do a swap with Winnipeg so that we get the Canuck's farm team.
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