December 4th, 2010 - A day that will forever live in #CBJ infamy.

I hear a lot of Blue Jackets fans talk about how Columbus is a great hockey town.  I'm from New England, went to High School in Northeast Ohio, and lived in the Detroit Suburbs for 4 years.  I've lived in good hockey areas.

I think Blue Jackets fans confuse "great hockey town" with "We have 2000 really, really loyal fans."  A hockey town means your town appreciates hockey.  Your town loves hockey.  Hockey is one of the things your town does well.  A hockey town means you can name the high school head coaches like you can the second line center in Springfield.  Columbus is a great football town.  Want to know how I know?  I have to schedule my TRAVEL HOCKEY practices around house league pee-wee football in September and October.  Half my team plays football.  Football is what this town lives, eats, and sleeps.

But, don't let my observations be the only guide.  Let's look at some metrics.  The metro area population of Columbus is 1.8 million people.  I believe that is the 32nd largest metro area in the US. 

Of those 1.8 million people,

 - less than 0.001% of the population is registered to play youth hockey (per CAHA, CCYHA, and EYHA).  Wow, not even 2,000 kids.  2,000 kids play football in Marysville alone.

- less than 0.01% of the population would pay to see 41 home games of the Columbus Blue Jackets in a single season. (Respectable, but Edmonton, Toronto, and about 8 other teams have 4 and 5 digit wait lists for season tickets and they suck too.)

 - less than 0.004% of the population is registered with an adult league hockey on 9 sheets of ice at 6 rinks. You can figure this out sitting in the upper bowl halfway through the first.

However, for me, the most eye opening moment was on December 4th, 2010.  It was on this night where the Columbus Blue Jackets played the Pittsburgh Penguins at Nationwide Arena. Since I started coaching travel hockey, most of my discretionary time is spent at the rink coaching.  But, my father was going to be in town and I was able to score seats in section 102 from a friend, the boys only had one game that day, so we went to the Blue Jackets game that night.

My father and I are students of the game.  We don't say much to each other besides, "nice hit" "great pass" "I thought he had that" "When is Nash going to get help"  "he'll get him back later in the game."  We talk between whistles, stand for fights, cheer when the Blue Jackets score goals, and grab drinks during the intermissions.  We're there to watch the game of hockey in the venue of a team we like.  Seldom do we engage other fans or partake in fandom, except for my obligatory explanation to a CBJ fan within earshot that a 1-2-2 is not 'The Trap.'  This night in December, we were really looking forward to seeing Malkin and Crosby, and were hoping the Jackets would win 5-4 with Crosby getting a hat trick.  Alas, Malkin was hurt, but Crosby was sans concussion.

We had our dinner and headed to "the rink."  We still call it 'the rink' or 'the ballfield' no matter who's playing or where it's being played.  When we got the rink on this night, things seemed a little strange.  We couldn't quite figure out what it was at first, but we soon figured it out.  There were about 12,000 Penguins fans at Nationwide Arena that night.  Now, the Leafs travel well, the Wings have fans everywhere, but Penguins are creepy.

December 4th, 2010

Being raised by, in, and around professional athletics it was the "professional" part that I was taught and understood.  Professional like you're at a job interview, always honing your craft, learning, and asking questions.  Not professional as in "I can do what the hell I want, people idolize me."  My father who taught me that was sitting next to me when we took or seats along the isle in section 102 surrounded by mouth-breathing Penguins fans.  If you've read any of my posts, you know my loathing of blindly loyal fandom.  My father and I were completely surrounded by stereo-typical Penguins fans. He is a bazillion times more tolerant of belligerent fandom than me, he's actually had to exercise grace and compassion to fans.

4th of December 2010

The two guys seated directly behind my father and I were the biggest of #Pens superfans.  Before the puck dropped, they were making fun of the arena. the parking, the cannon, then Boomer came out. They were even making fun of the Jumbotron.  Well, I've seen about a dozen games in the dump formerly known as the Civic Arena.  How quickly the Pens fans forget their past after only two months in a new arena (built by a rigged selection).  I find nothing wrong with passionate fans, I have nothing wrong with zealous fans.  But when you travel to a great venue like Nationwide and start making fun of it after you've watched games in a dump for 40 years you've got something wrong with you mentally (and are probably single for life). 

12/4/2010

It just wasn't my father and I surrounded by Pens fans.  It was the whole arena.  The laughter that erupted when Boomer was on the ice was embarrassing.  There were penguins fans EVERYWHERE .  The cheers when the Pens scored were loud!  The handful of CBJ goals were even more embarrassing when the Cannon and AC/DC blared to the din of scattered fanbase cheer.  The guys behind me figured out they were getting to me when I laughed aloud every time they called D to D passing "the cycle."  They kept making fun of players, using Pens players nicknames, and razzing goalies when the score got to 4-0 and Mason got pulled.  To stop the chatter behind me, I turned to the mouth breathers and said, "until this moment I thought the Flyers has the worst fans in pro sports.  Please be respectful and let me enjoy watching the game of hockey."  They capitulated, felt shame, and ate Nachos like they cured fatness.

4.12.10 (WTF Germany??)

My father is a pretty understanding guy, tolerant, wise, and good with the ladies (but he loves my mom).  We left the game and he asked me, "The fans want the team to play in a division with these guys?  Why on earth would you want to get another team 3-4 more home game a year?"  And that's the point of this post.  Columbus is a great hockey town?  No.  Columbus has a great core of 5,000 or so fans who support the team to all ends.  But Columbus is not a hockey town.  A hockey town would not allow Penguins fans to overrun Nationwide Arena because they themselves would be at the game to root for the CBJ and see a great team like Pittsburgh on a SATURDAY NIGHT.  The Penguins fans were at Nationwide Arena like Buckeye Football fans are at Bowl Games.  Black hawk fans do not dominate Joe Louis Arena when they visit Detroit.  I'm pretty certain the MTA in New York closes tunnels, bridges, and ferries when the Devil play at MSG.  Boston said to the Whalers they had to drop "New England" from their name in 1980.  Those are hockey towns.

XII.IV.MMX

So please Columbus, don't call yourself a hockey town until your season ticket wait list gets in the neighborhood of at least Edmonton's.  I'm pretty sure the Leaf don't schedule Saturday broadcasts around Argonaut's games either.  Again, there is a commendable small core of fans that are fantastic, but you're not a hockey town until 51% of the people in attendance (not bogus paid attendance) are there to root, root, root for the home team 41 games a year.

I put this on for a game against the Blue Jackets?  Really?  Can someone bring me a flannel oxford and a fleece hoodie?

Crap, I was wrong about Murray

As it turns out, an oversight in my ability to discern the SJHL and the SMHL have minimized the CBJ's options with Ryan Murray this year.

I had read where Ryan Murray played his 2008-2009 season with the Moose Jaw Warriors presumably of the SJHL, which is a tier I junior hockey league in Canada.  Ryan Murray did play with the Moose Jaw Warriors in 2008-09, however the Moose Jaw Warriors are a Midget AAA team that play in the SMHL.  So, what's the difference between playing a year of Midget AAA or Tier I junior as a 15 year old?  It's actually quite tremendous when you're a 19 year old drafted by the worst team in the league.

See, the CHL and the NHL have sort of a 'transfer agreement' in place.  In case you didn't know, the CHL is a Major Junior hockey league across Canada and (last I checked) four states in the USA. The CHL is the largest development pool for the NHL.   The CHL is one body consisting of three leagues:  The WHL, OHL, and cake eating QMJHL.  Players are drafted into those leagues in various ways.  Like the NCAA in the exploitation of teenage athletes, the CHL doesn't lie and focuses on making millions through the development of U20 players whose goal is professional athletics.  The NCAA hipocracy doesn't like competition and almost all forms of participation in so much as being listed on a CHL team ruins your NCAA eligibility.  There is one way you can play for a Major Junior team and maintain your NCAA eligiblity, but it is next to impossible for that to happen.  Anyways...

Using Host Families to Exploit Teenage Boys since 1975

What the NHL and CHL have in place is an agreement that any player selected from the CHL in the NHL Entry draft cannot be sent to a minor league affiliate unless one of the following two criteria has been met:

1. The player has played or used four years of eligibility in Juniors

• Playing 25 games whether it be regular season or playoffs consumes a year of junior eligibility

2. The player will turn age 20 by Dec 31st of the season they are participating in.

• If Ryan Murray turned 20 by Dec 31st 2012, the CBJ could sign him and then send him to the AHL instead of returning him to his junior team if the CBJ do not feel he's ready for the NHL.

This prevents the NHL from taking mature and capable 19 year olds from the sweat shops of CHL arenas.  Before you start trolling this post, these rules only exist between the CHL and NHL for players drafted while on a CHL team.  While uncommon, you can be drafted by the NHL before playing for a CHL team.  And, you don't have to play in the CHL to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft.

Now, Murray did play parts of four seasons in junior hockey.  However, his first year 2008-09 he only played 5 games.  I mistook Murray's 40-odd games with the Moose Jaw Warriors as a full season in Jrs, satisfying the agreement with the CHL.  It was not a season in Jrs and does not count.  Unless there is a change in the agreement between the CHL and the NHL as a result of collective bargaining, Ryan Murray will only be able to play in WHL or NHL next season.  At this time, the AHL is not an option.

What I said in my "Welcome to the AHL" post does not change.  You will not help Ryan Murray develop by having him play as a 3rd pair defenceman on the worst team in the league.  Nor is it fair to ask the boy to be a 2nd pair contributor no matter how willing he may be to do so.  He needs 22-25 minutes a game playing against men to develop.

I still feel the AHL would be a perfect place for Murray to spend this season.  I still believe that Murray has outgrown the WHL but the Blow Jackets aren't where this kid should spend 2012-2013. 

Maybe Ryan Murray can be the poster child for 19 year olds who have outgrown playing against 17 year olds in the CHL.  Perhaps a new agreement can be reached where the minimum age for AHL eligibility is moved to 19, or maybe a 135 game minimum can be instituted instead of a 4 season minimum.  Regardless, Ryan Murray will get little benefit from another season in Juniors or the Jackets would be throwing away cap space to sit this kid on the bench 45 minutes a game.  But hey, this is Columbus, why not?

Don't feel bad Murray, I've played 5 seasons in the CHL.  I may be on board for a 6th!