Making good

Waaaaay back when I started on this, one of the things I wanted to do was put up interview transcripts and similar goodies. Unfortunately, those plans fell by the wayside--until now. Today I found the discs with the interview chunks on them, and I am FINALLY going to start transcribing those for you guys to read.

Our map

One of the towns that I figured would potentially play a role in where a prospective Huntington franchise--Evansville--will end up in the I/CHL now. Surprisingly, this is effective this season, as opposed to upon the completion of their new arena in 2011, which means for the 2010-11 season the Icemen will still play in the miniscule Swonder Ice Arena.

Evansville I always figured was a key point because it's just a 5 hour drive west on I-64 from Huntington. If you could line up Evansville, Huntington, Lexington, and Louisville, that would be a fantastic road swing--perhaps a southeast division in the USHL, a northern leg of the SPHL, or some extra meat on the CHL's new northern division (aka the old IHL).

Other cities that I think would make great travel partners with a hypothetical Huntington franchise:

• Roanoke, VA: former Southern hockey hotbed, currently host to a number of collegiate club teams since the last minor league effort, the old Roanoke Valley Vipers in the UHL
• Richmond, VA: last hosted the SPHL's Renegades; they're considering a replacement for the old Coliseum
• Dayton/Troy, OH: I include Dayton and Troy because A--both cities at different times were rivals to Huntington, B--both cities are fairly close to each other, and C--I think both cities could be available. Dayton has been shaky in the last few years, with the Bombers bombing and with the Gems struggling; meanwhile Troy seems to be the best-run franchise in Barry Soskin's NJHL
• Cincinnati, OH: while the ECHL's Cyclones play downtown in US Bank Arena, I don't think Huntington is a good fit at present for the ECHL. However, the Cincinnati Gardens are vacant, and Cincinnati was able to sustain two hockey teams (the Cyclones and the AHL's Mighty Ducks) from 1997-2004. I don't see that being too feasible unless the Gardens team is in juniors.
• Indianapolis, IN: if Huntington ends up in the USHL, they would probably--barring other expansion--be in a division with the Ice, as well as...
• Youngstown, OH: the Phantoms.
• Wheeling, WV: currently still hosting the ECHL's Nailers; there has been much mumbling over the last few years about dissatisfaction with the Brooks Brothers, who own the team, and WesBanco Arena. They're playing a few games next season in...
• Johnstown, PA: who just lost the ECHL's last original team, the Chiefs, to Greenville, SC. I see any future movement with Wheeling bringing Johnstown with them, or vice versa.
• Pikeville, KY: this is really just a pipe dream on my end, and probably a bad idea given that it would potentially suck some fans away in Eastern Kentucky and Southern WV that would otherwise go to Huntington. That said, it would be a pretty kick-ass rivalry I think. Kinda like...
• Charleston, WV: if only the Civic Center had an ice plant, or...
• South Charleston, WV: had a few thousand more seats!

Any others you guys think I missed? (And while I'm at it, what do you think of the new look?)

Reading between the lines

Wedged in the agenda for last week's City Council meeting was this little item:

1st Reading of an Ordinance re: AN ORDINANCE OF COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH ROSS, SINCLAIR & ASSOCIATES, LLC

Looking at their website, the firm of Ross, Sinclaire, and Associates specialize in municipal finance, including "programs specifically designed to aid in the purchase/lease of equipment". Remember that financial advisor Steve Williams was talking about earlier? This could be it. Second reading--and possible passage--is next meeting, on the 28th. Happy birthday to me?

Bednar keeps moving along the coaching ladder

Ex-Blizzard defenseman Jared Bednar, who had been an assistant at Abbotsford in the AHL, is now a head coach again, still in the AHL, with Peoria. You may recall his last head coaching gig ended with a Kelly Cup--here's to similar success with the Rivermen!

Maybe I was hasty about the CHL?

The CHL has merged--well more like absorbed--the IHL, creating what they call a "super-league", but in reality is about the same size as the ECHL (now if the CHL and ECHL combine, THAT would be a super-league). Fort Wayne, Bloomington, and Quad City are in, Flint and Dayton are questionable, as is Port Huron--allegedly Port Huron may end up moving into Evansville's new arena, which would make things interesting as far as our fate, since previously the USHL was the top prospect for the new arena just a little ways down I-64.

It's amazing what a trip to Home Depot will get you

While we wait on hockey, Huntington this past week added ANOTHER indoor football team. This one will be in the brand-new Ultimate Indoor Football League, run by the founders of the AIFA that the old Heroes were in; presently the league ranks include just Huntington and Johnstown, but they still have a ways to the season opener (early next year, to be precise).

This--the West Virginia Wild joke nonwithstanding--would be the third indoor football team in Huntington in a decade. Needless to say the cost factors are significantly lower in this sport than in hockey, but how much so? Former Heroes GM Chip Rossetti went into hockey after leaving the AIFA, taking the GM reins for the Evansville Icemen; he says the annual budget for indoor football and low-level-A hockey is about the same--$300,000 per season. For comparison's sake, the SPHL (high-A) strives to keep its budgets in the $1,000,000/season neighborhood.

Then there's equipment. AJ Boleski, who will be landlord (or super I guess would be more accurate) for this newest endeavor at the BSSA, puts the cost of turf at $50,000 new, boards and pads for the boards (the pads basically go over conventional hockey boards) totalling a shade under $100,000, and the goalposts--well, THIS explains everything--$400 of PVC pipe and yellow paint. Total. For both of them. No, really.

All this is dwarfed by the cost of an ice surface, not counting upkeep. Sucks to say it, but hockey is a rather expensive sport.

"Time is of the essence"

Had a productive email session with Steve Williams, head of Huntington City Council's finance committee--while the tax boondoggle continues, they are in fact working on things with the Big Sandy Superstore Arena:

The City has requested proposals for Financial Advisors to assess the Arena
project and make recommendations as to how we should structure the bond issue,
determine the revenue source to pay for the bonds issued, and identify the
appropriate governmental entity to issue the bonds.

The city must pick one of these proposals to put forward to the Finance Committee, and things get rolling from there... important thing to note is that the bonds must be taken care of by September 1.

All-Blizzard Team

I just noticed in my Blogger dashboard that I made my 100th post the other day. This calls for a celebration, and as luck would have it, I had a nice little bit of inspiration pop into my head: what would an all-time Blizzard team look like? I admittedly am a poor judge, having become interested about two years too late to be of any use; thusly I am enlisting the help of you fine fellows out there.

What's your All-Blizzard Team? 3 forwards, 2 defensemen, 1 goalie, 1 coach. Only limit is that they have played, at some point, for the Huntington Blizzard. I'm taking votes here and at the Facebook page for the rest of the month starting... now.

Some press for the Herd on Wheels

Apologies for not catching this sooner, but my old buddies at WMUL did a package on the Marshall roller hockey club (direct link!). Whoo publicity!

A killer roster move

The Facebook group had a discussion going the other day trying to find the whereabouts of a female hockey player who briefly suited up for the Blizzard. Bill Sawyers says her name was Susan Williams, and through visual identification from him and a couple other people, this is apparently what she's been up to lately. If anyone would like to chime in and confirm/deny, go right ahead. This seems too screwy to be true, but then in the world of minor league hockey I don't think anything is beyond the realm of possibility...