American Hockey League: Who will get there first?

Who do you think will make it to AAA first?

Oklahoma City or Tulsa?

I personally think that Tulsa will get there first.

Bob Funk, owner of the Blazers doesn't want to move up to the American Hockey League because of the rivalry we have with Tulsa--so he says!

The American Hockey League (AAA) is seriously thinking of moving toward the Midwest.

With new arenas in Omaha, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and one getting ready to go up in Wichita, the midwest looks very juicy.

I believe that Des Moines and Quad Cities (Moline) currently have teams in the AHL.

AHL Site:
American Hockey League (AHL) Minor League Hockey on OurSports Central

I hope neither city does. AHL, imo, is just another minor league team. Moving "up" would likely lead to higher ticket prices, longer drives to road games, rivalries that may or may not be as exciting, and a lot of other issues. And for what benefit? So that we can say that we have something "as good as" Des Moines?
I can see the argument for wanting the NHL to come (though I don't know that there's a fan base here to support it), but... minor league is minor league and I think we should just stick with what works. We have a reputation as one of the top CHL cities, there's a lot of fan support, players at that level seem to love it here... Why isn't that good enough?

The AHL has some pretty good quality hockey, and you will see some future (and previous) NHLers on the ice at an AHL game. And OKC getting an AHL team might be considered progress, whereas keeping a CHL team would just be status quo.

So, OKC is now a "big league" city because of the NBA. Getting an AHL team won't make it any more of one. As great as it would be for hockey fans to have an increase in the caliber of play, I doubt if OKC would support a new hockey team in the same way it does the Blazers.

It'd be nice to have, but not a requirement for OKC's status, in my opinion.


Just my two cents...

What should we call our new AAA hockey team? I know we don't have one yet, but it's never to early to start thinking up names for sports teams. I think we should call them the Central Oklahoma Blazer-Oilers, that way Tulsa can be part of our team.

How about the


Oklahoma City Stealth


...or if Funk owns the team (Divorce pending) just keep it the Oklahoma City Blazers!

The real question is.....do you reckon we'll ever land quality AA hockey first?

I don't know anything about hockey. I've heard from a friend who is a big hockey fan that the CHL is a minor-minor league of the real minor leagues. Good high school/college quality and not much more. Apparently, it wasn't always that way, but the league using the name now is nothing like the CHL of the 60's and 70's. In fact, he told me, not long ago all the CHL teams were owned by one person or at least one company. Is that all true? Is the CHL really that much of a non-entity in professional hockey?

Yes.

When the CHL re-formed in the early 90s, the teams were all owned by Ray Miron. They ran all the teams the same and spent an equal amount on them, etc.

The CHL is a joke. I'd love to see the AHL because we'd get to see better talent and better hockey, but I think this market is happy with the dead-end players and fights and don't really go to see good hockey.

Horn Chen, a Chicago businessman funded the original franchises of the rebirth of the CHL in 1992.

is coach sauter(sp) an employee on funks ranch? i just don't see funk changing anything.

Sauter would make a good coach for an OKC-AHL experience; however, I thought he was close to retiring.

the blazers just won't be the same without sauter.