Date Posted: July 13, 2011
Print Edition: July 8, 2011
By Joel Smart (The Cascade) – Email
I was excited when I heard we’d be getting AHL hockey in our new arena. I consider myself a hockey fan, and watching highly-skilled athletes battle it out on the ice is a concept that absolutely appeals to me. Yet the news that the team we were receiving was the farm team of our rivals, the Calgary Flames, left an intolerably bitter taste in my mouth. Furthering the pain was the fact that they chose a name to constantly remind us of their affiliation – the Heat. Not even hockey-stupid cities do that. The only thing that made me feel better about the situation was a theory my friend shared with me; one day, the contracts would be swapped, and the Vancouver Canucks would have their farm team play in Abbotsford.
It was an abstract concept that seemed plausible enough, but it soon dawned on me that if the campaign to bring back the Winnipeg Jets could go through, it would mean the Canucks farm team would be looking for a new home, considering they currently played in Manitoba. At first it seemed to be the struggling Phoenix Coyotes who would sell their team to Winnipeg, but when that deal fell through, the Atlanta Thrashers buckled. Winnipeg rejoiced and so did I. Not just because another Canadian city would have an NHL team, but because the Canucks farm team would be looking for a new home.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t thought out the next part of the plan. I just figured some men with deep pockets would convince Alberta to bring their team closer to home. Unfortunately, the Flames have a 10-year contract with Abbotsford, and it’s one they don’t plan to surrender. That bitter taste of having the farm team of the Flames turned to vile contempt when I realized their presence was the only thing keeping my dream of the Canucks in Abbotsford away.
As proud as I am to call myself a hockey fan, I care about the players I watch, and as a fan of the NHL, I cannot separate the fact that I am watching prospects for specific NHL teams play. This becomes pretty obvious when an Abbotsford Heat star player is called up before a big game against the Canucks or when a Calgary Flames player is moved down to play in the AHL due to poor play or injury.
Abbotsford is Canucks territory. If we could watch the Canucks best prospects play and grow on a daily basis, we would sell out every seat in the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre (AESC) the way Rogers Arena has done with the Canucks for the last handful of years. With the Canucks farm team now in Chicago instead of Abbotsford, there is no way we’re going to see the newly-drafted Canuck Nicklas Jensen play in the AHL until the Chicago Wolves come to town.
What would have really sweetened the deal for the Canucks is the knowledge that calling up a player from the minors would have meant an hour-drive from Abbotsford. Compare that to the several-hour flight from Chicago.
To say that the AHL farm team situation in Abbotsford is a shame is putting it lightly. Not only does the city of Abbotsford fund the prospects of our rival team, our new farm team is further away than ever and in the city of arguably an even larger rival to the Canucks, the Chicago Blackhawks. Yet, with the deal in Chicago for two seasons, my dream is not dead – just delayed.
