Alec Hagaman won an SPHL title with Pensacola. Following the 201718 season, the Mississippi RiverKings suspended operations while the league searched for new owners. Date Players Videos. Chest bumps and celly's all around! Lets take a look at where we could see the leagues next team come from: Weve already heard rumblings of potential expansion to Motor City, although under the potential ownership of someone wed rather not think about right now. Hired in October of 2022, Westerholt comes from a long sports background that has included stops in the NBA, MiLB, and Collegiate Athletics. In November 2014, Shannon Szabados became the first female goaltender to win an SPHL game, when the Columbus Cottonmouths defeated the Fayetteville FireAntz 54 in overtime. The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) ann. Its hard to predict exactly where their next team would go. 2 overall selection in this summers coming entry draft. Coralvilles team recently announced themselves as the Iowa Heartlanders and is expected to formally announce its affiliations until July. One of the inaugural SPHL teams, the Columbus Cottonmouths, suspended operations in 2017 after failing to find a buyer while an expansion team called the Birmingham Bullswere accepted into the league as the tenth team. "I'll be happy if six or seven of our 13 play in the fall. How strong is SPHL? I just want to know your opinion on these future possible sphl expansions New Orleans Tallahassee Mobile Iowa city Memphis Downtown Atlanta Louisville Lexington Savannah Jackson, Lex is trying for echl right now. Southaven dropped the Riverkings and they're basically in Memphis so that's a no. 3 Pd 11:32. 2020-21 season with only five teams, the league returned with all ten clubs from the 2019-20 season and added an expansion team, the Vermilion County Bobcats. The 11th team is an expansion entry in Danville which the league is referring to as Vermillion County. As an FSU fan, I'd love it but I just don't see Tally working out. Obviously this was going to come up if we were going to mention the Midwest. Cha c sn phm trong gi hng. Big changes could be coming in the next 24 hours to the footprint of the SPHL. Dont expect Bettman to rush anything out of impulse, however. "I didn't want to try a 10-hour drive and run out of gas somewhere along the way with the President's Cup in my trunk." As the Vermillion County Bobcats, the team will take to the ice for the upcoming 2021-2022 SPHL season. The success of the Golden Knights might convince the NHL to consider other out-of-the-box markets. Then in 2016, the dormant Mississippi Surge franchise was relocated to Southwest Virginia to become the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs. Minnesota is the furthest of the six PHF teams and thus has to spend the most just to travel to play the rest of the league. North Carolina is also right next door. Fayetteville, N.C- The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) on Tuesday announced the results of the expansion draft held for the Birmingham Bulls. Franchise relocation is a bit more commonplace in the ECHL and AHL relative to its parent league, which last saw such a change occur a decade ago with the Atlanta Thrashers relocating to Canada to recreate the former Winnipeg Jets. Players not covered on the. The IceGators' franchise was sold and reactivated as the Quad City Storm in 2018. Like basically everything else about this investment, it shows the Board of Governors has the confidence in the league to really give it more than just a passing thought; instead, theyre looking to build it to last. A formal press conference to introduce the team will be held in the upcoming weeks. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. I could see a team coming back to Atlanta five the average attendance at the Macon Mayhem game is around 2k. Besides that, I dont have enough info to know which cities have the correct infrastructure to host a team. The NHL isnt going to stay at 32 teams forever, so when will the next wave of teams come? I believe Atlanta would promote an SPHL team well I just dont know where they would play. It's such a weird season. I have heard from someone (dont know how reputable) that people from Tallahassee, Tupelo, and Florence (2019) had expressed interest in the SP and Biloxi had a whole bunch of renovations done. (More on that in a column later this week.) Contact Us; History; Job Opportunities; League Staff; Official SPHL Rule Book; Player Development; President's Cup Playoffs; SPHL Media Guide and Record Book; SPHL Team Map; Wanda Amos Community Service Award; League Partners; SPHL TV; DASH I hope whichever city/ownership group it is can bring along an arena with more than 2,350 seating capacity. Pac-12 media rights: Predictions for revenue, media partners, expansion decisions and more . If a lockout does happen, expect the NHL to shelve any ideas of expanding to new cities. Today at 4:18 AM. In 1988, the East Coast Hockey League was formed from five teams coming out of the defunct Atlantic Coast Hockey League and All-American Hockey League. Replies 36 Views 2K. Id love to see hockey back in Lexington! The long-awaited Montreal franchise will reportedly make its debut next season, along with a not-yet-mentioned U.S. team reported to be in the Eastern time zone, according to an article by Marisa Ingemi for the Seattle Times on Jan. 27. Cons: With Buffalo and Toronto almost directly to the north, could make this corridor a bit cluttered but at least travel would be easy! One of those teams was placed in the very non-traditional hockey market of Las Vegas. Bill Foley and the other owners of the Golden Knights paid an outstanding $500 million dollar expansion fee for their new team. David Nippard vs. Mathieu Newcomb Watch. We have hock. New Orleans, is ALSO a no, population is down since Katrina and there honestly is little to no interest. You could possibly move the Atlanta Gladiators to Statefarm Arena and the new team to Infinite Energy Center. 2006-Present FloSports, Inc. All rights reserved. By Darragh McDonald | February 27, 2023 at 5:42pm CDT. Pros: Like the next city on this list, Detroit is able to provide a nice stopping point on the way to Minnesota should we ever get an expanded schedule that includes back-to-back games like that. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. After one season the SEHL and WHA2 disbanded, with their surviving teams rejoining with two expansion teams to form the SPHL, commencing with the 200405 season. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Both Knights teams have rewritten what it means to be an expansion team in professional hockey. Ten teams, two years from now is ambitious for any league, but especially one like the PHF that has a lot to consider with regard to not only finances, but player representation, communications, and transparency. The Iowa Wild of the AHL already hold an affiliation with the NHLs Minnesota Wild, add in the locale and recent relocations to make shorter trips for call-ups between the three leagues and evidence leans toward Minnesota. The lucky news for prospective expansion franchise owners is that after the success of the Golden Knights, the NHL is riding an expansion high. With the announcement on Jan. 18 of the Board of Governors' $25 million investment in the PHF came a bit of a buried lede: that being the expansion of the league to 10 teams come the 2023-24 season. The PHF (then NWHL) has been here before, holding its second-ever All-Star Game at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, the Penguins practice rink. I live in mobile and go to most of the home games in Pensacola and I think theres a decent following in the surrounding areas I know a lot of people who would go to games there. [12] In that same game Erin Blair and Katie Guay became the first female officials to referee an SPHL game.[12]. Im optimistic, yet still so very, very cautious. x indicates team has clinched a playoff spot Mobile has a horrendous arena but they are trying to replace it or renovate it. Accounting for inflation, that would be about $18 million today. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 201920 season was curtailed and no champion was named. By submitting my information, I agree to the, NHL Trade Analysis: Kings Acquire Michigan Goalie Erik Portillo, Replay: Home - 2023 Newfoundland vs Maine | Mar 1 @ 10 AM, Replay: Away - 2023 Newfoundland vs Maine | Mar 1 @ 10 AM, Replay: Home - 2023 Wichita vs Kansas City | Feb 28 @ 7 PM, Replay: Away - 2023 Wichita vs Kansas City | Feb 28 @ 7 PM, Pavel Gogolev Reacts To Trade To Blackhawks, Leaving Newfoundland Growlers, Replay: Home - 2023 Kalamazoo vs Indy | Feb 28 @ 10 AM, Replay: Away - 2023 Kalamazoo vs Indy | Feb 28 @ 10 AM, Cookie Preferences / Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Amazinmets73. You are using an out of date browser. Updated as of April 10, 2022. The 2019 All-Star Game took place in Nashville. After five different players have made an attempt, teams may reuse anyone including those who have previously attempted in later rounds, even using the same player in consecutive rounds if desired. Wait are you serious? The season has been abbreviated to 56 games. Even if a lockout is avoided, how the issue of future expansion is addressed if it even is addressed in discussions for a new CBA will give us a better idea of how much of a priority both the league and players consider it. We're not an expansion team, but it's going to be challenging, a tough year recruiting.". Ellens combined passion for hockey and the community is unmatched and I look forward to her contributions to the SPHL. Now, he wants one for Peoria. With the construction of Videotron Centre and its long history, Quebec City already has a leg up on any other potential Canadian market. Do you have a link to this release? None of the existing 10 teams can lose more than one player from among their unprotected players. Snchez, 26 . Monday afternoon water cooler talk "Is it Wednes. A team may dress eighteen regular players to a game. "No one else called us, really. That, and the European leagues opening back up will draw away some players, too. Thats also what derailed Quebecs most recent expansion bid. Zach . It may not display this or other websites correctly. Voted winner: Draw (50%) - Voted rating: 0 Vote / Details . [6][7] In 2010, the league added an expansion team in Augusta, Georgia, another former long time ECHL market. I don't think it's Biloxi - the arena renovated the home hockey locker room into a VIP bar area. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. HUNTERSVILLE, NC The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) today announced that it will be expanding to Danville, IL following a unanimous vote of approval by the board of the David S. Palmer Arena and the SPHL Board of Governors. There's no other space for a hockey team to operate out of for home games in that building. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. May 13, 2013 6:21 PM. Shootouts are five players. Though Danville's. So maybe not directly to Atlanta but to the outskirts. Subscribers help us in telling those stories. ", Eminian:Sports are more about people than scores. It was a sign-of-the-times situation. Vegas and Seattle are considered the same wave of expansion, as the NHL committed to two teams. Press J to jump to the feed. Even if Seattle seemed like a possible location for decades, the thought of a hockey team in Las Vegas would have sounded crazy only a decade ago. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. "The (national) gas shortage hit our area hard, and was impacting Pensacola, too," Price said, laughing. In the meantime, lets hope we see one or more of these cities welcome the PHF into the fold. PHF to increase salary cap, expand next season, The Ice Gardens NCAA Poll: Queens of Beans, Ebba Berglund Enjoying Her Time in the PHF, The Ice Gardens NCAA Poll: Raiders on the rise, Gasparics a Shining Star Amid Another Tough Riveters Season. sphl expansion rumors sphl expansion rumors. February 28, 2023 - HUNTERSVILLE, NC. With the Canadian dollar weaker than the United States dollar, its not the optimal business situation for the NHL to expand north of the border. Hold on to your hats, Snakes fans. He is on the Rivermen protected list, too. I reckon Greensboro, NC could host a team. JMCx4; May 5, 2022; 7 8 9. JDogindy. SPHL Fight Logs Date Players Videos. Two players dressed for the game will be goaltenders. In a just few short years, the NHL has grown from 30 to 32 teams. Pros: As with almost all of the teams on this list, theres an NHL presence and potential for partnership; its also close enough to the existing teams to make travel decent enough to be worth it, plus again, built-in fanbase. In a series of interviews with Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN, Manfred addressed future MLB expansion and shared that his goal is to have a 32-team league. Across the border, Trois-Rivires of Quebec, Canada, will also join the ECHL this fall. When they consider expansion again, who knows what that fee will climb to. . "I was going to go with this crew no matter what," Trudel said. Some of them are a bit more obvious than others, but I think each of these has its pros and cons when it comes to rounding out a full-fledged league. The Heartland is our home, and we are its people. Assume the NHL wants to stay stateside for the foreseeable future. The last of the four major North American sports to expand before the Golden Knights were the National Football League whose Houston Texans became official in 2002 and the National Basketball Association whose New Orleans Pelicans began that same year. All players eligible for the Columbus Cottonmouths' protected list were also available for the draft . Pros: Obviously, built-in rivalry and ease of travel for the Whitecaps, plus can help provide a place for even more NCAAers to play after college, which is always a good thing. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. With the announcement on Jan. 18 of the Board of Governors $25 million investment in the PHF came a bit of a buried lede: that being the expansion of the league to 10 teams come the 2023-24 season. The 202122 SPHL season was the 18th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). Cons: Of course, even further for the Whitecaps and Canadian teams to travel to. State of the Fed: Wolves capture FHL Commissioner's Cup; wild off-season set to begin. As of 2022, the Knoxville Ice Bears are the most successful team in SPHL history, having won five William B. Coffey Trophies as the regular season champions and four President's Cup playoff championships. Its unclear whether or not theyre still active, but if they are well, hello. Despite voluntary suspensions in 2020-21 for 12 teams due to pandemic concerns, the league should return to normalcy in 2021-22 plus the addition of Coralville and Trois-Rivires of Iowa and Quebec, respectively. From U12 to U19 teams, college club teams in nearby Maryland, and the Mid-Atlantic Womens Hockey League, its a safe bet youll get some instant fans and also be able to cultivate some homegrown talent. "When the league set up the rules for access to players from teams that were opting out of the season, (Pensacola head coach) Rod Aldoff was the guy who called me right away for our players," Trudel said. [14] During the season, the league approved of the Vermilion County Bobcats as a 202122 expansion team based in Danville, Illinois.[15]. You got it and its full of girls and womens hockey at all levels. Remember, it was similar situations that led to the relocation of the original Winnipeg Jets franchise and the Quebec Nordiques. "I was really happy for them. Also, there isnt really an established market for womens hockey above youth teams, which would make it stand out, but marketing likely a bit more difficult without some help from (maybe) the Red Wings. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Updated hourly, with analysis, commentary and features from hundreds writers worldwide, our articles are read over 5 million times every month. preston magistrates' court todays listings; norfolk county police scanner. So the IceBears put out a release saying theres another expansion team coming this summer. But part of me hopes they walk back juuust a bit and try to look at the bigger picture when it comes to sustainability. On October 20th, 2015 the Southern Professional Hockey League announced the move of the Mississippi Surge to Roanoke, VA, who will return to the ice for the 2016-2017. Remember that the "S" stands for . Still, the strength and interest in professional hockey have been evident across all three professional North American leagues and are causing a wave of growth. Tag: SPHL Expansion Rumors. JMCx4; Nov 22, 2022; Replies 22 Views 544. [6], GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout loss, For 2022, the format returned to the top eight teams at the end of the regular season qualifying for the playoffs. At the end of the 201516 season, the Louisiana IceGators announced a one-year leave of absence for renovations to their arena but never returned. So this is the most far-flung of the locations I thought of, but not without reason; after all, the 2019 All-Star Game was held right in Music City. The rights to the four Rivermen players who were made temporary free agents by the league for the just-completed season were returned to Peoria. Because the same NCAA rules that granted college basketball players an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic, applied to college hockey as well. They just didnt have an arena to play in. The Vermilion County Bobcats of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) have officially selected 10 players in the 2021 Expansion Draft. [13] With the acceptance of the Quad City Storm, the league was able to remain at ten teams for the 201819 season. 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And was impacting Pensacola, too measurement, audience insights and product development fan I...