OHL PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS, AND OTHER ASSORTED THOUGHTS

So much to talk about over the past couple of weeks.  Honestly, if I put hands to keyboard on some of the percolating things, I would have something reminiscent to Homer's Odyssey, if Homer had a blog and used random, funny to only a few dated pop culture references.   Brevity is the soul of wit, so I will try and touch on a couple of issues after delving into OHL playoff predictions, the main reason for this blog. 

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

So happy that the regular season is over.  I loathe those in the media who play the "If the season ended today, this would be the playoff match up"   It is irrelevant while the season goes on.  Now we know the playoff match ups, lets have at it! 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

ICEDOGS OVER OTTAWA IN 6 . I like Ottawa, I really do.  The IceDogs 2nd half juggernaut is too tough to resist and they can get scoring from three lines and at least four defensemen.  Ottawa is not quite as explosive but has some dependable players, and great coaching.   I will say though, if this goes 7, I'm not as much of a fan of the IceDogs on the road....

OSHAWA OVER PETERBOROUGH IN 6

I said on the air that this series reminded me of the battle that the 8th seeded Oshawa team that gave the 1st seeded IceDogs team fits a few years back.  Oshawa is the runaway favourite, but Peterborough has some vets who underperformed, but formed the large part of the core that came back against Kingston last year

BARRIE OVER BELLEVILLE in 5

One nostalgia victory for the Bulls at the soon to be vacated Yardman Arena, but Belleville has been trending downwards for the better part of the 2nd half.  Barrie has the ability to beat themselves with undisciplined play, but not in this series. 

NORTH BAY OVER KINGSTON IN 7

This represents a flip on what I said on air a week ago.  That is how close this one will be.  Sam Bennett X factor aside, North Bay has enough depth and home ice advantage for a game 7 to squeak this one out. 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

SOO OVER SAGINAW IN 4

Saginaw just squeaked in.  Soo is a juggernaut.  This one should be over quickly. 

ERIE OVER SARNIA IN 4

Well, at least the Sting will get two home dates with Connor McDavid in town.   Sarnia is a team with a lot of talent, but has been uneven this year.   Erie's young team has come together wonderfully. 

LONDON OVER KITCHENER IN 6

Two awfully inconsistent teams.  Both have looked terrible at times this year, and traded off significant assets.  I will take Domi, Marner and Dvorak, even though goaltending has been spotty . 

OWEN SOUND OVER GUELPH in 6

Some of these Guelph holdovers have played an awful lot of hockey over the past couple of years, plus they will not have Zack Leslie.  Owen Sound, on the whole, has been more consistent than Guelph.  

BULLDOGS AHL --OUT.   BULLDOGS-OHL IN. 

Honestly, even after a couple of weeks, including a week in sunny Florida I have not been able to fully wrap my head around this one.  While it was not an Art Modell, moving trucks in the middle of the night approach to shifting franchises, it was awfully sudden and out of blue.  One thing I will say is that I feel for the community of Belleville.  I have friends there, and have been there quite a few times.   Attendance had dwindled, but that city lost a centrepiece to its core.  As for Hamilton and the OHL, those predicting doom and gloom should realize that this is not the Hamilton Dukes.  That was 25 years ago.  New owners.  New era.  Lets see what transpires.   It is a real shame that the Bulldogs do not get to commemorate 20 years of AHL hockey next year in Hamilton.  I think that would have been a lot of fun with a twist of nostalgia.   

There, that is out of the way.  Likely will have more thoughts, as things get crystallized as the spring and summer approach. 

LEAF TANK NATION

 I'm just sickened by the constant references to "Tank Nation" and the goal of the Leafs drafting very high as they lurch and stumble their way down the stretch.  Fans are tuning out (I don't blame them), but others, including Leaf fans, are revelling in the piling up losses because it gets them closer to Connor McDavid.   I'm wired to cheer for the success and winning of a team, regardless of how it impacts their draft status.  That's why I have been so impressed with Leafs reporter Paul Hendrick.  He blocks out the negativity and turmoil of the team and focuses on what is happening on the ice, and telling those stories.  He does not ignore the turmoil, but instead chooses to rise above it.  That's a true pro.  Selfishly, I hope that the team gets Dylan Strome in the draft (if they don't hit the draft lottery jackpot).   Man, what a talent.  Great bloodlines with brother Ryan on the Islanders, and yep, there is another Strome gaining notoriety.  Matty Strome, who scored the GWG  in OT in the OHL Cup is tagged to be a first round pick in the OHL draft.  He's the captain of his Toronto Marlboro's. Future IceDog anyone?   That would be nice

Thats all for now. 

HAMILTON BULLDOGS LONG AND SHORT TERM SURVIVAL: A NEW TWIST?

The post-game show was brief, with hopes that this would not be our final AHL broadcast of the year.   Hand shakes were even quicker between the great on-air crew I work with.  A hustling hand shake to Norm Miller, my outstanding colour commentator.  Host John Letherby, and his reverberating and distinctive bass closed the broadcast, and now we wait.  The Hamilton Bulldogs sit in a precarious playoff spot and play 12 out of their last 16 games on the road, none of them on our normal Friday night broadcasting night.   We figured it would be a tenuous three week awaiting the fate of the Bulldogs.  The team had proven to be unbeatable at times, fashioning a 6 game winning streak to vault themselves into the post-season conversation.  Other times they seemed all too mortal, as they were tonight losing 3-1 to a severely depleted Rochester Americans.  Still it was a very unsteady 7th place occupied by a team that had not sniffed a playoff berth in three years. While Hamilton's playoff position was precarious, Hamilton's grip on a pro hockey team was proving to be beyond precarious.  Those in the know would sniff and say that Hamilton's grip on professional hockey was year to year to say the least.  Then sometime early Saturday the pipe bomb was lit.  

Saturday morning would begin like they normally would.  Peering through the haze of the early morning to the Keurig machine (don't judge me environmentalists), for a morning caffeine boost and then some surfing of the main headlines.  An email from John Letherby the next day was nothing out of the ordinary .  With potential furnace issues looming at the rolling Clark estates, I had hustled out without saying good bye.   I figured he wanted to exchange pleasantries about the season that was with a hope that there would be more season to talk about in the very near future.   

His article contained an article from the Winnipeg Free Press about the fate of the St John's IceCaps, a franchise long rumored to be on the move to a location more amenable to the Winnipeg Jets, the IceCaps parent club.   My eyes were drawn to the bolded type: 

  

 The St. John’s group is believed to have struck an arrangement with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, who currently operate their AHL affiliate in Hamilton, Ont.

The AHL’s board of governors could approve the new St. John’s deal and the shift of the IceCaps back to Winnipeg at a governors meeting later next week.

I thought I had a pretty good handle on the politics and on going drama with the Bulldogs and their relationship with the city.  In the past overtures had been made by Laval to house Montreal's farm , but they had barely put a shovel in the ground for their brand new arena, and despite a groundbreaking ceremony full of bravado that guaranteed the Montreal farm team as primary tenants, no one was backing up the moving trucks..  Besides, the lease at First Ontario Centre had one more year to run, with an option for two.  I knew some wording did not guarantee that it had to be an AHL franchise in Hamilton, but I figured that Laval was 2, 3 years away.  Next year would mark 20 years of AHL hockey in Hamilton under the Bulldogs brand, and even if the franchise left after next year, it would be a nice way to leave and it would give the city a year to see if there were any new suitors. I had tracked the OHL, specifically Erie's interest a couple of years back in this market and knew that they were on the block.  I did not think Hamilton would be on the radar for anything remotely connected to the OHL.   

The Hamilton Spectator's Scott Radley would follow up with an article that added little to the narrative.  The article itself acknowledged the Free Press article and offered up a little speculation but few key people would put anything on the record and Michael Andelauer, Bulldogs owner was in Florida.  As the day developed the story would pick up a little more steam.  Radley, and Bulldog beat reporter Terrie Pecoskie would team up for a more in-depth article: 

Hamilton Spectator: Bulldogs Leaving Town

Two key things had been added to the story.   First was a statement hastily released by the Hamilton Bulldogs website acknowledging the story, but nothing further.  The second was the quote by Michael Andelauer saying that it was a "fair comment".  The lack of strong denial permeated the air.  

Have the Bulldogs, due to factors beyond their control, been cast as the sacrificial lamb to appease both the city of St John's  and the Winnipeg Jets?  Is this mere speculation, with little to no merit?    Batman TV show cliff hanger aside, unrest and lack of stability are potentially fatal to any franchise.  Check the Arizona Coyotes for proof of that.  Their newspaper articles had been filled with impending bankruptcy and bail out stories more than hockey stories.   The silver lining, and potential white night in this is Bulldog owner Michael Andelauer who has banged the drum for Hamilton as a viable hockey market for years now and has remained steadfastly committed to Steeltown.   The lease has one more year left on it and the betting is that there will be a Hamilton Bulldogs franchise at First Ontario Centre next year.   The Erie Otters remain with a For Sale sign, and owner Sherrie Bassin has a hefty 4.5M dollar bill to pay the Edmonton Oilers for a a loan that would have, in a convoluted way perhaps would have landed the Otters in Hamilton.   

Right now the story, and the franchise remain fluid.   A board of governors meeting has been rumored this week, and this may address the situation and start unraveling the long trail that may or may not lead to the AHL leaving Hamilton.  All I can say right now is that it sucks to be an employee of the Bulldogs.   As I said on Twitter, real people with real bills to pay face uncertainty, which I suppose is nothing new in pro sports, but still is daunting.   

As for me, I love broadcasting AHL hockey, and having the chance to see and broadcast the level of hockey directly below the NHL.  I get to work with great people at Cable 14 and the Hamilton Bulldogs and get to follow a lot of OHL'ers who I got to see and broadcast before as they now navigate the pro level.   

I am always up for a good old fashioned cliff hanger, and I love sports business stories.  However, as a proud Hamiltonian, I am not a fan of this one.   It hits too close to home.  Lets keep the best level of hockey in Hamilton at First Ontario Centre and lets let the great fans of Hamilton properly salute their team if an when they decide to leave in a proper manner on the ice and not somewhere in a boardroom.  

Do not roll the credits on this one.   There likely is a lot more layers to this story. 

Steve Clark Hamilton Bulldogs and Niagara IceDogs TV Play by Play Voice