A report on TSN.ca Thursday rekindled a long-simmering rumor that the American Hockey League is heading to the West Coast. Here was the crux of the news, as reported by Darren Dreger:
Sources tell TSN several NHL western conference teams are involved in
ongoing discussions to improve the geographic challenges some teams face
in trying to develop their players from afar.
Los Angeles,
Anaheim, San Jose, Phoenix, Colorado, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary
attended a private meeting with NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly
earlier this month, where the group conceptually talked about the
introduction of a western wing to the American Hockey League to ease the
burden of travel on prospect players, as well as provide NHL teams with
a more hands on approach in day to day development.
Most in
that group are content with their existing AHL partnerships; however,
there are some who who like to see change and are considering a more
extreme approach if necessary.
Citing sources, Dreger says the next step for the interested NHL clubs is “to get a clear view of how realistic such a drastic move is, within the next 2-3 years.”
How does this affect Ontario? Right this second, it doesn’t.
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