So what does the NAHL do this year with the alignment of the divisions. Stick with 3 or switch to 4 divisions. Either way, it shouldn't affect the Express very much, unless the league gets really wacky. There's been some discussion over on the glassrattler board, and I thought I would take a stab at it.
Currently, according to the NAHL website, there are 3 divisions:
North: Alpena, Mahoning Valley, Marquette, Motor City, St. Louis, Traverse City, and USNTDP
Central: Owatonna, North Iowa, Alexandria, Albert Lea, Bismarck, and Springfield
South: Alaska, Fairbanks, Kenai River, Topeka, Wenatchee, and Wichita Falls
Possible 4 Division set-up:
Northwest: Alaska, Fairbanks, Kenai River, Wenatchee
South: Wichita Falls, Topeka, St. Louis, Springfield, Texas(dormant for 08/09)
Central: Owatonna, Bismarck, Alexandria, Albert Lea, North Iowa
Northeast: Marquette, Traverse City, Alpena, Motor City, Mahoning Valley, USNTDP
--The only difference for the Express would be the loss of Springfield to the South Division.
My take: I am happy that our favorite team is located where they are. Yes, the bus ride to Bismarck is long, but at least its a bus ride and not an expensive flight. The close proximity to our division rivals, make it easy for us to follow our favorite team on the road.
What do you think??
Side note: I really wonder how the new Wenatchee franchise thinks they can stay afloat financially with no other teams within driving distance of them (lots of frequent flyer miles for those boys). Everybody thinks it makes sense to throw Wenatchee in with the Alaska teams, but Wenatchee is closer to Detroit than to the Alaska teams. I hope they make it work, but I'm sure it will be an uphill battle.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Question: Does anyone know when the Nahl will decide? Will our team need to play in Alaska this season?
I would guess the league already knows what the divisions are going to be. They would have to know, to make the schedule, and hopefully that is made public fairly soon.
As far as going to Alaska this year, it was my understanding that it was "out turn" to go to Alaska this year. However, that was the rumor going around last season, and with the departure to Michigan, and the rebirth of the Express, who knows what the deal is?
The NAHL posted the divisional lineup on their website this morning. They went with the 4 Division plan, so Springfield is no longer in our division.
My quick take: In my opinion, Springfield was the early favorite to win the Central Division this year, so this makes it a little easier for the Express to hang another banner in the home rink.
No way ! Its gonna be AL
I know we don't have to go to Alaska this year, which is huge. The league is making N Iowa and (I think) Alaxandria go. Having North Iowa and Albert Lea is going to be a tremendous help at cutting costs and I think it will be a boost for revenue for all involved
Thanks for filling us in Pete. That's good news.
Did anyone else pick up the line that said "Each team will play a 58-game regular-season schedule, with the top four teams in each of the four divisions qualifying for the Robertson Cup Playoffs?"
So the top four teams in each division? Two of the divisions only HAVE four teams.
Also, I'm betting there will be five teams at the Robertson Cup again, which means back to that weird format from 05-06 (possibly). That year (and I'm guessing based on brackets), two teams (the host and the best record) were guaranteed spots in the semifinals, while two of the other three had to earn spots. It was different, but I can't really think of a better way to do it.
I would like to know the league's reasoning for using the current playoff format. Why not get rid of the single location championship and continue to play best of 5 series? Every other league does it that way. Fairbanks was the host site 2 years ago, does it seem fair that a team that finished 3rd in their division gets to host the Robertson Cup? The 3 or 4 teams that battled all year for home ice advantage, and then through 2 playoff series had to travel all the way to Alaska.
Anyways, I could go on all night on this topic. At least we won't have to go very far to watch the Express win this year's Robertson Cup.
Its funny to hear people complain when they are ignorant about the issues. You guys are all owners. Call the commish and ask him about the playoff format. Or if you are not an owner I am sure you know one. That would be better than just hypothesizing and stirring up negativity. More negativity in O-town than nativity scenes in Bethlehem.
Post a Comment