What will happen to New York Rangers prospects destined to develop in the minor leagues?
While the NHL is aiming for a January 1 start date, there are many question marks surrounding the American Hockey League and the ECHL, home of the two minor league development teams for the New York Rangers. Minor league hockey is much more dependent on gate-driven revenue and with all of the uncertainties surrounding the pandemic, getting those leagues re-started is a huge challenge.
The AHL
The American Hockey League established a task force in June to determine how to get the season started. During the summer they announced a target date for resumption of play to be December 4, but that date is looking more and more impractical.
Just this week, AHL President Scott Howson told ESPN ”The virus seems to be getting worse right now. The borders are still closed. We’ll probably be going to our Board in the next two to three weeks with another plan.”
With the NHL delaying their season to January 1, it is inevitable that the AHL will do the same with a start date sometime in January or even later.
One issue facing AHL teams is that the majority are owned by NHL franchises and NHL owner are facing financial issues of their own. Without a lucrative television contract and mostly dependent on ticket and concession sales, how many NHL owners can afford to foot the bill for a team with limited or no revenue? Madison Square Garden Inc. owns the Hartford Wolf Pack and has deep pockets, but how about the other teams? About a dozen of the 31 AHL teams are independently owned and they are in real trouble.
Unlike the NHL, when the AHL cancelled its season last year in May after halting play on March 12, it also cancelled the Calder Cup Playoffs. There have been no AHL games since March and it appears the halt in play will last at least ten months.
ECHL schedule announced
There’s no uncertainty when it comes to the ECHL, they are moving ahead with a full schedule with some of the teams starting in December and the rest in January. With a split schedule, standings will be determined by winning percentage.
13 teams will begin play on December 11 and will play 72 games. The Maine Mariners are the Rangers’ ECHL affiliate and they will start their season on January 15, 2021 and will play a 62 game season.
Two teams, the Norfolk Admirals and the Atlanta Gladiators have suspended operations and won’t play this season.
24 teams are planning to compete in the 2020-21 season that will conclude on June 6. A postseason format and the full schedule will be announced at a later date.
Why it matters
While the ECHL is moving ahead, there has been some speculation that the AHL will be unable to get their season going again. It’s all COVID-19 related. No fans means no revenue and the league just cannot afford that. With restrictions on travel between the United States and Canada, the NHL has discussed establishing a Canadian division with seven teams. The AHL cannot do that with only three Canadian teams based in Toronto, Laval and Manitoba.
Traditionally, the two leagues have been in sync with the NHL when it comes to scheduling. That allows NHL teams to move players within their organization. There’s no way of knowing if the NHL will expand rosters for the regular season, but with the issues surrounding the pandemic, it will be more important than ever for teams to be able to move players quickly between leagues when they face illness issues.
The most important role for a minor league team is to develop young talent. For a player like K’Andre Miller, he needs seasoning in professional hockey before he is ready to make the leap to the NHL. It is vital for his development that he play in a competitive environment in a system that mirrors the Rangers’ philosophy. It’ snot just Miller, that goes for every player in the organization on the development path such as Justin Richards, Austin Reuschhoff, Patrick Khodorenko, Morgan Barron, Yegor Rekov, Tyler Wall and Adam Huska.
Possible solutions
The idea of the NHL carrying taxi squads during the regular season has been raised. Instead of the standard 23 active man rosters, they could expand it to 30 and those additional seven players would practice with the major league squad.
With more players in the NHL, the AHL could reduce the number of teams playing the 2020-21 season. Two NHL teams could combine their AHL rosters on one team in a city where it is possible to have fans in the arenas.
Despite the uncertainties surrounding the immediate future of the AHL, the fact that the ECHL is moving forward means that the Rangers will have the Maine Mariners as a feeder team.
Perhaps the biggest reasons that there will be a future for the AHL is that every NHL team has players under contract who need to play. The question is what for the AHL will take in the 2020-21 season.