AHL presence in California?
The Ducks are searching for an AHL affiliate, and one person seems to think the answer is even closer than Iowa.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Ron Hahn, who once ran the San Diego Gulls on behalf of the San Diego Sports Arena, is talking to the Ducks about becoming their affiliate in the American Hockey League a year from now. Writes Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton: "As the AHL expands further west, want to bet we have AHL hockey here next winter? My bet is that it would be a hit."
Justin Kemp, who runs the ECHL's Ontario Reign with his father, Barry, also mentioned the possibility of an AHL presence in San Diego recently. If anything, Kemp suggested the 2010-11 season would be too early, but at least there are rumblings. San Antonio, Texas, is host to the nearest AHL team to California. Its territory is decidedly in the American Northeast, though the league has been expanding gradually westward in recent years.
Speaking of the ECHL, a TV report out of Bakersfield tonight suggested that the Ducks might not be partners with the local Condors in 2009-10.
About J.P.
J.P. Hoornstra has been covering the Anaheim Ducks since 2007. Eight months after the University of Wisconsin won its third NCAA hockey championship, he was born in a frigid Madison winter. He betrayed his blue-blooded beginnings by graduating from UCLA in 2003, and welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
Leave a comment