what exactly killed the Bruins- still a mystery to me!!!
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what exactly killed the Bruins- still a mystery to me!!!
Two words...Burke and Porter!
Well...Porter alienating the fans who didn't want to kiss his ass...Burke being his usual pompous self where he feels he has an "aire of entitlement", and Robison lying to this city and its fans claiming that the WHL wanted the Bruins here, and that there was no letter of intent or even discussion about the Bruins moving in May...yet he and Porter discussed this back in December/January.
Not to mention, mistakes that Darrell May did in years 2 and 3 that set this club backwards in season 3 and 4, and the bad coaching style that Hiller was allowed to use (work and develop Santorelli and Moller to their breaking point, and the other 3 lines where just to allow the top line to take a break...and when they went pro...throw Howse and the rookie Sundher into that position...as he couldn't develop anyone else.
The fall of the Bruins wasn't on the shoulders of the fans. Marc Habscheid was finally getting this club on the right direction on the ice...and its too bad that the league had to go to this extreme in order to get rid of a bad owner who seemed to go out of his way to piss the paying public and sponsors off. If the WHL allowed Keith and Bond to buy out POrter, Burke and Sather...you would have seen a re-juvinated fan base who wanted a change in ownership, in direction in the public who all they asked for was to be provided an entertaining on ice product and respect from the club leadership for everything this city did to embrace the club and the kids we all had a hand in shaping into great young men.
The WHL desperately wanted a franchise in Victoria, and Porter eventually just wanted to get out of Chilliwack. It really was a perfect storm/unperfect storm for Victoria and Chilliwack.
While the fans supported the team, the WHL let them down.
What slowly killed the Bruins was Porter's attitude towards the town and the fact that the one ice product was never any good and really showed no progress.
The final nail in the coffin was when Keith and Bond wanted to fire Porter as the team president and Porter turned around told Burke and Sather that they should all sell. And it just so happened that Robison, Hamilton and RG Properties were itching to get a team in Victoria.
R.I.P Bruins
it's not one of the leagues finest moments for sure. Robinson is our version of Betttman its all about $$$$$$ not fans or the loyalty the league should show them. maybe fans around the league are getting tired of Robinson and his Bettman inspired version of hockey boring most nights. A quick look at attendance so far and its down in 10 markets and has been down or flat for 10 years . With all the changes to big markets one would think the ave would go up just proves no one likes the current style of hockey. PG you and Kootenay could be next . Never trust a wolf in Bettmans clothing
Marc Habscheid.
The team had little or no success in Chilliwack. One man called the shots.
A decent, albeit old style, coach - but very poor manager. His success in Kelowna was a result of the stellar work of Lorne Frey and Bruce Hamilton, he only coached there. His lack of success continues in Victoria.
The word through the media was that a group had the money in place to buy the team and keep it in Chilliwack. But the league would not even consider it. That is what you call an inside job.
They were bulldozed out of the area because the Abbotsford Heat will not survive much longer in this region. The fact that they are the Flames farm team is making the local market not embrace the team.
When they leave, my guess is the PG Cougars will move into Abbotsford, a move that could not happen with the Bruins that close. Abby has a brand new 7000 seat arena compared to just over 4000 in Chillwack.
The WHL, in my opinion, has a long history of playing God with other peoples franchises. I have been watching my hometown team in Brandon since 1973, and watched them through the 80's try and try again to take our team away. My opinion is they will never know when to leave things alone.
Agree that Abbotsford will not accept their team. But, they will have to find a way out of their ten year deal to the city to get out. The people there really don't deserve to get another team. PG will be on the move before then. Sad thing is the WHL and Ron Robison, as well as Burke and Porter, will not allow WHL back in Chilliwack for a long while as to not look bad.
Abbotsford has bailed on their team but Chilliwack did not. We were just crapped on by the league.
It's not just a media report, it's 100% true.
Moray Keith and Jim Bond who owned 25% of the Bruins, along with Justin Morneau were trying to buy the team and keep them in Chilliwack. Their offer was for more money than Victoria was offering but they were turned down.
Moray and Jim now own the BCHL Chiefs in Chilliwack (as they did before the Bruins came to town). They believe in the market here.
The move had nothing to do with new owners or attendance . Robison wanted a team in Victoria without expansion plain & simple . He wants teams in all the major markets in the west. Wpg may be next with the success of the Jets possibly an ownership situation like Calgary's. It also gives Brandon an instant rival.
I don't know the ins and outs and don't really follow or care too much about Abby. But I suspect the 10 yr deal could remain in place and do quite well if Calgary were to see the writing on the wall and move their affiliation elsewhere leaving the team open for a different club to move in. If it were possible to get the 'nucks affiliation to move in I'd bet the attraction of the Abby team would change drastically overnight. I don't know if it would be in the 'nucks interest, desire or ability with whatever contract they have. I guess I'm just saying there is a huge hurdle for a Lower Mainland team or one just on the perimeter to overcome when they put Calgary in the mix. I would have guess Toronto would be in the same boat here but I guess AA baseball must be the exception to the rule.
Having gone to a couple of the Heat's games and Chilli's games I'm surprised that the Heat didn't beat Chilli outa Dodge but I guess that's the backroom deals and contracts coming into play. 'Cause I certainly did not find the product even on par with the marketing of the WHL product. My opinion of course and mileage may vary.
Cheers
People have to get over that idea of the Canucks getting their affiliate in Abbotsford (or Victoria). RG Properties wanted the WHL, bluffed Robison and the B0G's by leading them to believe that the AHL and Canucks were sniffing around with Victoria when the truth was, Aquilini owned not a single dime of the Moose Franchise, had NO say in ANY relocation ideas, and the Moose would no longer be the Canuck's minor league team, but become the AHL team of the Jets.
2nd, the Canucks, because of the AHL Format, wanted their minor league team in the central/eastern time zone, and not on the island. Yes you have 41 home games, so a ferry ride or a helichopper ride away...but if you needed a call up when in Victoria, you need to either fly Victoria to Seattle or Vancouver, to Dallas or Chicago to Nashville. To bring them to Abbotsford will cause the same problems as Victoria.
Besides, why would Calgary want to alter their agreement or change their AHL Affiliation? They have a sweet deal where Abbotsford PAYS THEM for the Heat to stay. And I believe that if the Abby team was affiliated with anyone not a Northwest Division rival, you would have seen the people of Abbotsford embrace them more.
The Heat coming to town had less of an impact against the Bruins than the bad majority Bruins ownership. Porter alienated more people away than the Heat attracted. If Robison didn't have his backdoor dealings, and Jim/Moray were allowed like in the real business world, to buy out the other partners, the Bruins would be viable mid-market team. Jim, Moray and Glen (the President of the new Chiefs) have done more in the 6 months of their new team in the community, than the previous management team did in the last 3 seasons. Now that's a huge shame.
could abbotsford support a whl franchise, alot of whl fans in the valley must miss going to games , or still support the whl giants
is state of the art, and would be perfect for a WHL team. But it would have to be them and only them. The AHL is not selling as well as they hoped in Abby. Lease or no lease, if they can't make money in that market, they'll find a way out of their lease and they'll move out. There has been talk that this is the only thing keeping the Cougars in PG right now. This apparently is the reason why the WHL would not allow the local group to buy the Bruins and keep them in Chilliwack.
I don't believe that having a team in Abby is keeping the WHL out of Chilliwack.
If the WHL and the Brodskys had their way the Cougars would be in Chilliwack right now. They tried almost as soon as the Bruins left. One of the reasons Toigo was so on board with the Bruins moving to Victoria was because he believed the Cougars would move to Chilliwack. However, Brodsky doesn't want to sell and Moray wants to own the team in his rink so it didn't happen.
Can't say I'm too disappointed. Would Brodsky really be any better than Porter? I don't think so.
Someone mentioned the "failure" of the Victoria team. Not sure how this group is a failure. Plenty of good, young players. A couple first year 18 yr olds in Nelson and Walker have worked out well. I expect next season, the Royals should be one of the more competitive teams in the BC Division.