Delany's Injury

[canonball]

It has . I think that Ivan has done everything he can to get this off the ground this year . I also think that he asked for some delay in the season to try and get players , I do know that I would be long gone if I had to put up with what he has ... he has done a great job my hat is surely off to him

[titan]

Agreed...

[royalcat]

Yes i congratulate Ivan for his hard work.But looking around the rinks the fans are saying something else.Not that much interest these last few years or this year.Not many season passes sold this year and fans are not showing up in the seats.Hopefully fans will start coming in the new year.

[canonball]

Don’t count on it .i think that what fans you see there is what will be there the rest of the season .4 to 5 hundred fans a game .Also the fans are dwindling in both Gander and Grand Falls Windsor.I cannot see the fans showing up to watch both teams play each other all season .. Too bad this had to happen ,we had some good hockey for a few years

[Hockey Eyes]

Don’t count on it .i think that what fans you see there is what will be there the rest of the season .4 to 5 hundred fans a game .Also the fans are dwindling in both Gander and Grand Falls Windsor.I cannot see the fans showing up to watch both teams play each other all season .. Too bad this had to happen ,we had some good hockey for a few years

Hindsight is 20/20 but in retrospect HNL meant well by getting the teams in the east to go out to Central to play hockey but it was a move that cost the Mount Pearl Blades and the CeeBees a game of hockey. It was a move to save the Gander Flyers and the Cataracts from folding. Now as it turns out ...nobody , or very few are going to watch those two teams.
In the east nobody is going to the games...including players. Too many teams with really short benches. No fans . The calibre of hockey is also several notches below what it was three or four years ago, The calibre in Grand Fallls and Gander seems to be this year about where the AESHL was three years ago. Times change. A reorganization for next year is in order. Amateur hockey... just money for gas and sticks and things....

[Oh just a fan]

Making the hockey amateur isn’t going to save it. Like you said above, the east aren’t drawing fans either and they don’t pay players.

It’s never been about the paying of players that’s kept fans away. It’s been the lack of intensity, passion and heart. In 2003-08 the Cats sold out every night and that hockey was far from the level it was 3 years ago. Thing is back then they had local players and a good mixture of players from the east. Yes they were all paid but they came to play every night and crashed and banged. Now it’s like watching women’s hockey. Just players going through the motions. No hits, no fights, not even a scrum. To further prove my point the Blades got 200-300 fans on Sunday in Windsor the same time the Cats were playing in the Joe.

[Hockey Eyes]

Yes there just isn't the same level pf interest anywhere. There are lots of good players playing rec hockey. Mooney from the Eagles is one ... Sweetland from Clarenville is another...There is a Thursday night skate that is REALLY skilled. They are guys with the skills just not interested in playing the game on a serious basis.any more.

[superfan]

The novelty wears off , however it would be nice to keep it going . I think it is beneficial to up and coming talent in minor hockey .