OT: Plymouth Whalers moving to Flint
Multiple outlets are reporting that the Whalers have been sold and will be moving to Flint. Doesn't necessarily impact Michigan Hockey much if at all other than that
a) it's not as easy to walk out of Yost and into the OHL (though I only recall that happening with Czarnik)
b) the USNDTP is apparently planning to move to Plymouth now which means they're slightly further away and the players probably won't be attending Pioneer anymore
January 14th, 2015 at 12:33 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 12:42 PM ^
And have short shorts and afros.
January 14th, 2015 at 1:57 PM ^
Flint hockey fans
January 14th, 2015 at 12:39 PM ^
FLINT. MICHIGAN. MEGA BOWL.
January 14th, 2015 at 12:40 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 12:41 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 12:46 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 3:02 PM ^
What you mean what men's sport would we add?
Men's Rowing. They have won 7 straight national championships at the club level.
The department is building an indoor rowing facility. It's really a no-brainer.
January 14th, 2015 at 3:44 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 5:49 PM ^
Is it really a no-brainer, though? There is no men's rowing championship in the Big Ten, nor is there a men's rowing championship in the NCAA. I would wonder what the point would be of making men's rowing a varsity program.
I know several Ivy Group schools have men's rowing as a varsity sport, but at least they are competing for a conference championship.
January 14th, 2015 at 1:14 PM ^
The Ann Arbor Ice Cube is far from vacant with the NTDP move. The youth hockey association there was and still is the biggest tenant. The figure skating association is also a big tenant as well.
January 14th, 2015 at 1:38 PM ^
not to mention the ridiculously large rec league system (6 tiers, ~15 teams per tier). they easily have over 1000 people involved.
January 14th, 2015 at 4:41 PM ^
That is true and I believe they still have 3 high school teams as well (Pioneer, Huron & Saline).
January 14th, 2015 at 1:15 PM ^
No reason Yost can't host women's hockey. The issue is taking the effort to build a program, which can be quite an undertaking. Now, there is a good coach on the market--UMD's women's coach, Shannon Miller, has won multiple national titles up here and will not have her contract renewed. She might be a candidate to start a program, though the resulting acrimony and the lingering possibility that she may sue probably make that situation too sticky for Michigan to bother with.
January 14th, 2015 at 12:44 PM ^
Yeah these rumors have been out there for a long time, but today was the day of Plymouth's official press conference to announce it. Consider it more information from the Re-Confirmation Department
January 14th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^
The news of the sale initially broke in late November, I think, but as I recall at the time - and I could be misremembering - Karmanos was saying that he would continue to own the Whalers and that the Whalers would continue to be tennants in the arena. However, he also mentioned in the same release that there were issues still remaining with the transition even though the sale was proceeding. If that's true, something drastically changed in the last nine weeks or so - maybe it was driven by primarily by attendance, but it might be a more dynamic problem than that.
January 14th, 2015 at 1:20 PM ^
The USA Hockey Foundation will be buying Compuware Arena. I'd expect they have other plans for the rink than just USNTDP.
January 14th, 2015 at 12:41 PM ^
What encouraged the move?
January 14th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^
Not sure why anyone thinks that will change in Flint but hey, it's not my money
January 14th, 2015 at 1:20 PM ^
Saginaw's OHL team, as I understand it, does quite well. There's a market in that area for this type of team that is a lot harder to carve out in a Detroit Suburb with plentiful college and NHL hockey close by. OHL teams tend to work in small-to-midlevel communities where the combination of good on-ice action and the absence of better, higher-level options close by makes it an attractive ticket.
OHL teams have done terribly in close proximity to Toronto for years; no reason to believe it's any better here. But some teams flourish in spaces where they find a niche. I don't think the Whalers ever had a niche.
January 14th, 2015 at 1:41 PM ^
Being from Duluth, I would imagine you have some experience with being a bit distant from big-city action. Duluth is a place I'd like to one day visit ... just to say I'd been there. That and Thunder Bay, Ontario. No particularly reason, just because.
January 14th, 2015 at 1:52 PM ^
It's a great place with lots of outdoor stuff to do. Really sparkles in July and August, and if you like winter sports it's fantastic.
And you're quite right. I took some guys from my youth group to a UMD basketball game (division 2) last weekend because it was close and cheap. It was... not crowded. But we sat right behind the bench and heard everything the coach said in timeouts. It's a tradeoff, but it's nice.
The distance is a big reason why UMD's hockey team does well here; while they don't sell out every game, there is a solid fanbase that always attends and the arena is terrific.
January 14th, 2015 at 1:04 PM ^
Flint is booming these days and Plymouth/Northville are really in a nosedive. Smart move.
January 14th, 2015 at 1:12 PM ^
Northville is especially bad...somone didn't waive to me as I was going through the neighborhood today! :(
January 14th, 2015 at 1:20 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 1:39 PM ^
I miss Plymouth.
We walked by our old townhome (Daisy Square off N.Union) and around Kellogg Park over Christmas.
Our dog loves Plymouth, especially when the Farmer's Market is in season.
January 14th, 2015 at 1:48 PM ^
And if so, you had it coming - you can't pull that Ypsi crap in Plymouth and get away with it.
January 14th, 2015 at 1:24 PM ^
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January 14th, 2015 at 2:15 PM ^
So, if I piece things together, I assume that you were responding to a deleted post trolling Flint.
In all seriousness, is Flint not as bad as the image? I'm curious, as I've never been, and it is pretty obviously a target for crime jokes.
January 14th, 2015 at 2:20 PM ^
Flint is bad as a whole, but where the arena is isn't bad at all and also has a large secure parking lot. Add to it the fact that most of the fans will be coming from the suburbs, many of which are doing quite well, and this has a chance to succeed.
January 14th, 2015 at 9:40 PM ^
Flint has problems, but it also is showing signs of life. The U of M campus has built dorms and expanded its footprint. Kettering (former GMI), a respected engineering school, is partnering with U of M to buy up the land between the two schools. GM recently invested 125 million in a new paint facility. MSU is putting part of its medical school downtown. None of these things will eliminate the poverty and other issues the city faces but they are all positive steps.
January 14th, 2015 at 9:48 PM ^
Went to the Generals games a lot. Cheap tickets, easy parking, games were good, crowds were enthusiastic. One of my best memories. I lived in Flushing though. Brother still lives there.
January 14th, 2015 at 6:56 PM ^
Amen. Flint booms all day and night, what with all the gun shots and such.
January 14th, 2015 at 12:42 PM ^
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January 14th, 2015 at 12:44 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 1:25 PM ^
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January 14th, 2015 at 12:51 PM ^
Perfect team name: The Flint Stones.
Yebba-debba, a yebba-debba-do, y'all...
January 14th, 2015 at 1:06 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 12:52 PM ^
Sucks that the Whalers are moving. But for USA Hockey it will be a massive upgrade moving from the Cube over to Compuware.
January 14th, 2015 at 12:53 PM ^
I said it before when they announced the USANTDP was moving to Plymouth, but I think this really stinks for Ann Arbor high schools more than anything. Going to Huron in my younger years, having those guys around in classes and hanging out socially outside of school was honestly a pretty big deal at the time, and it was always awesome to follow their hockey career afterwards to see where it ended up going from there. Additionally, for a lot of the host families, it was a way of life and they lived to welcome those kids into their homes year after year. Everyone will get over it, but it kinda stinks.
January 14th, 2015 at 12:57 PM ^
they'll bring back the Flint Generals.
January 14th, 2015 at 1:02 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 1:19 PM ^
My thoughts exactly. Spent a lot of time growing up at IMA (still can't call it Perani. sounds so weird).
January 14th, 2015 at 1:58 PM ^
I can't see it be any other name than the Flint Generals. Calling the new team the Flint Generals will automatically put some butts in the seats.
It will be nice to have a rivalry with Saginaw again. The Spirits/Hawks games were outstanding when I was younger.
January 14th, 2015 at 2:30 PM ^
Spent a lot of time at the Gears' games. Wish they would have used that name again instead of the Spirits.
January 14th, 2015 at 12:59 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 1:16 PM ^
Not trying to be negative, but why did they select Flint? Is there really that big of an untapped market for hockey there? I'm not a Flint native, but I was under the impression that the city was in pretty dire straits.
January 14th, 2015 at 1:26 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 2:03 PM ^