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This is the eleventh post of Deke Dangle RPF Anon, a community for all your ice hockey anon meme needs.
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THE RULES
1. Mods retain the right to delete, freeze, and/or screen threads and comments.
2. Meme rules do not require warnings.
3. Respect flock. Do not repost or share information from private tumblrs, locked twitter accounts, flocked LJ posts, etc.
4. No linking fans to their real life identities.
5. No looks bashing or body shaming. This applies to players and people associated with those players and their clubs, as well as fellow fans.
6. No embedded music.
7. No embedded images.
8. No spamming the meme, whether through repeated comments or other means.
Meme rules do not require spoiler cuts. However, this layout does allow for them. Any of the following tags will create a spoiler cut when closed: <div cut>, <span cut>, <font cut>, <font color="white">
Threaded View
Flat View
Top-Level Comment View
Next post opens at 5,000 comments.
AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)Who on meme has lived in towns with AHL/Junior/NCAA teams? Is the team a big deal? Are they embedded in your community? Is your area ever talked about in RPF fandom and is it accurate? If you live near an NHL team, which team is a bigger deal? Also curious about places where these teams share the exact same market as a NHL team (Boston, Chicago, Toronto, etc.).
My take (holy word vomit, sorry nonnies):
I grew up in Upstate New York and the next town over has had 3 AHL teams - Red Wings, Phantoms (Flyers), and Flames - and a UHL team. This year they are getting an ECHL team (Adirondack Thunder, affiliated with the Flames). No matter what the team is, it is always a big deal in the community. (The better they are the more people actually though.) There is still a decent hockey presence in the area from 20 years as the Red Wings affiliate and some of those guys raised their families there.
I think my favorite thing about growing up with a minor league hockey team was that it gave the community something unifying to get excited for. There's stuff to do around there but not a ton of big events so when I was a little kid going to games was THE thing to do. We are pretty equidistant from NYC and Boston, so sports fans are usually split between two NYC teams and a Boston team (ask what someone thinks of the Red Sox at your own risk!). But everyone rallied around whatever team we had. It was also unifying across high school sports rivalries which is nice.
When I was in college the Phantoms came and I thought it was kinda cool to have second/third degree connections from aspiring NHL players and to pick our own favorites. (Forever bummed that Eric Wellwood's career was cut short. :/) My mom's coworker knew a bunch of the guys from bars; a few of my old classmates have worked for the teams; etc. The Phantoms mascot was a friend of a friend but for some reason it was this huge secret who he was and I wasn't allowed to tell anyone! Haha. My mom is an elementary teacher and I think for the kids she works with it is still a pretty big deal to go to the games and root for the team. A lot of kids have jerseys. Youth hockey is a big deal here especially considering the lower income level and I think the AHL teams have been a big part of creating that. With both the Phantoms and the Flames there were general sense of frustration with the teams and the city government (which owns the arena) and a lot of people felt the teams weren't invested enough. I think having the Red Wings, a storied and successful franchise, for twenty years set the bar high.
As for RPF fandom: Despite being ambivalent about Tyler squared, I have probably read or at least skimmed every fic to see if we are mentioned from the time Tyler Brown was on the Phantoms. There is actually one longish TBrown/OFC fic that was super focused on bars and despite the author having no knowledge of my hometown's actual bar scene I was really excited and trying to fit the different scenes into real life places. (No one remembers Upstate New York/small towns exist so we are so starved for representation! My gf and I saw Avengers: Age of Ultron in my hometown and when the scene in Upstate NY happened the whole crowd got excited. She was judging us hardcore but she is from a major American city so she *~*doesn't know our pain*~*)
Really curious to hear about other AHL towns! And Juniors! I was roadtripping last year and drove past Erie and Youngstown which got me wondering about this in the first place - what would it be like to go to HS with all these random hockey douchebros that live with billet families and then some of them end up famous? Haha. Same for NCAA! My cousins live near UVM and I am fairly close to Union so I know that despite being decent programs they aren't really locally popular.
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)Realizing now I should've replied to myself instead of making a top level comment so freaking long..... Sorry meme *ugh*
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)I live probably not that far from you but closer to Albany. It seems like RPI and Union get more attention for their hockey teams than the ADevils (and prior to them the River Rats) do.
Before that I lived in Rochester, less than two miles from the Blue Cross Arena, and I used to walk or take the bus to Amerks games a lot. I think that it might be a little different with the Jackals/Amerks/Sabres because they're in such proximity to each other that there's a lot more consciousness of the Amerks as the baby Sabres. I remember going to Amerks games, being bummed that Pominville or Miller weren't there and then cheering because I realized it was due to a call-up.
I grew up in a tiny tiny town between Utica and Syracuse (with one parent who worked in each), so I was really happy when the Comets came to Utica and thanks to them...I might actually have a western conference team now when I've never really had one. And I saw that they got a LOT of love this year, and that's good because, well, Utica deserves nice things and has not had a lot of nice things over the years. And since I am totally unenthused about the ADevs, I might pop back over to Utica to watch some Comets games with some of my old friends.
I have family out in the Bridgeport area, and I love the Sound Tigers so much. 2012-lockout Sound Tigers are the reason I became a passionate Isles fan instead of a lukewarm "they're where I'm from and my mom likes them" Sabres fan.
Also this:
No one remembers Upstate New York/small towns exist so we are so starved for representation! My gf and I saw Avengers: Age of Ultron in my hometown and when the scene in Upstate NY happened the whole crowd got excited. She was judging us hardcore but she is from a major American city so she *~*doesn't know our pain*~*
I totally know exactly what you mean! <3
-Isles nonnie
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)Portland's always had a strong tradition of supporting niche sports and minor league teams. The MLS team, the Timbers, has a sold out capacity and has been popular since the league formed. In large part, because the Timbers have existed in one incarnation or another since long before MLS existed as a league. I imagine that if an NHL team moved to Portland, its popularity would similarly explode, however, it would probably have a deleterious effect on the Winterhawks.
But on a day-to-day basis, the players aren't famous, and the average person probably wouldn't call themselves a hockey fan. I had no awareness when I was growing up that the Winterhawks were mostly teenagers, even. They're treated as a minor pro team in day-to-day conversation. At least some of the players these days are educated through the North Clackamas School District which is 12 miles south of Portland, in another county. If that's been the case all along, that they were being educated in a different spot from where they play that might explain some of it.
When I was growing up, I remember Winterhawks tickets being advertised on TV in the afternoon weekday/Saturday slots that you'd also see wrestling matches, monster truck rallys and Star Trek conventions advertised. Prior to the Winterhawks, the local hockey team was the Portland Buckaroos which played in a different "Western Hockey League." That league's growth and popularity was one of the key reasons the NHL decided to expand in 1967 before it got big enough to become a major rival. Anyway, I remember the Winterhawks principally advertising Buckaroos Legends nights, as well as every time Kamloops was in town, which in retrospect is pretty funny. Buy tickets for the Winterhawks so you can see players who were good on an old team that doesn't exist anymore! Buy tickets for the Winterhawks so you can see players who are good on a rival team!
I know there's at least one other if not a couple other people from the area here, so maybe they'll have a different perspective, but that's mine.
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)I noticed the other comments have it, so famous former Winterhawks include Andrew Ference, Brenden Morrow, Marian Hossa and Seth Jones.
Soon to show up at an NHL team near you are draftees Oliver Bjorkstrand (drafted by CBJ), Nicolas Petan (Jets), Chase De Leo (Jets), Keegan Iverson (Rangers), Alex Schoenborn (Sharks), Dominic Turgeon (Red Wings), Adin Hill (Coyotes), Paul Bittner (CBJ).
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)And Pens coach Mike Johnston was head coach/GM for 2008-14 (...apart from that season where he was suspended by CHL for recruitment and player benefits violations la la la lets not dwell on that).
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)Who was he closest to on the team?
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)He was close with Winnipeg Jets prospect Chase De Leo. He once instagrammed a picture of a bed and when Chase made a comment about sharing it, told him to 'get nakey'.
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)Tell me about his instagram! I'd like to write Pouliot/Maatta, it could be interesting, but I don't know enough about Pouliot.
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)With pleasure! Pouliot's Instagram was very typical soft bro of his era, lots of emoji and dumb hashtags and things like that. He was very into taking selfies for no reason and he's obsessed with his hair. He likes Pretty Little Liars lol, he posted about that a few times.
My favorite posts of his were when he had his shoulder surgery and was just very bored. He posted random bored selfies, pics of his healthy food (and complaining about it in the captions). Oh and an inside joke among the Winterhawks was "romantic D" and I have no idea what it's about but they commented on all of his pictures calling him romantic. Here's a compilation: http://beezy-k.tumblr.com/post/65442036789/things-i-love-about-the-winterhawks-in-no For the other nonny who asked who he's close to, that post gives a good idea of it! IIRC he had some shirtless in bed pics with Leipsic.
It's worth it to know that Pouliot was teammates with Joe Morrow, former Pens prospect, and he said that when he got to his first ever Pens camp Morrow was his only friend and showed him around and really took care of him. I couldn't tell you who he's close to now in WBS/Pittsburgh because of his decreased social media presence, though.
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)Thanks!
Pouliot being obsessed with his hair pleases me. He can have secret hair competitions with Tanger.
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)Thank you! And this is especially cracking me up, because his hair is so bad at times.
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)I remember thinking "that's all?" when reading why Johnston had been suspended (when reading about him when he was named Pens coach). Are other teams not doing some of these things? Are they just better at hiding them?
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)Exactly, it's one of the first things that endeared me to HCMJ.
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)The Spirits have produced a handful of NHL-ers, the most notable right now probably being Brandon Saad. It's Michigan, so everyone really likes hockey, but I wouldn't say that the players were famous. A lot of my friends got autographed jerseys and pucks and stuff, so it was pretty easy to get.
The Spirits front office was somehow connected to our school though, so we got players coming in once in a while for assemblies and things. One of my childhood friends was a billet family, so she always talked about hockey players living in her basement. Two of their billet kids went on to be NHL-ers and they still follow their careers, so it's fun to go facebook stalking sometimes.
RPF fandom doesn't do the Spirits much, but occasionally it shows up for Brandon Saad fics. The biggest mistake they make is calling the arena by its real name (which I can't even tell you off the top of my head) instead of what everyone actually calls it: The Dow. I can't think of anything else off the top of my head, but if anyone has questions I could answer them!
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)My parents have been Guelph Storm season ticket holders since 2001 or 2002, when I was 10. I followed the OHL long before I followed the NHL. So, the OHL teams will always have a special place in my heart, even the ones I hate.
I didn't go to the same high school as any of the Storm players did, but my eldest sister went there for her last year of high school. Taking a peek at the 2003-2004 roster (Seriously, I love to CHL teams websites.) Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi were playing but were probably out of high school and the only other player who's name is jumping out is Ryan Parent.
Other NHL Alumni include Dustin Brown, Peter Holland, Taylor Beck and Drew Doughty. (Ew, yeah, I know. He's named-dropped every game because he bought a box and I hate it. Just like I hate how Todd Harvey is an assistant coach.)
If you're into hockey team twitter accounts, the Storm's is the best-worst thing imaginable. Their interactions with Owen Sound's twitter are often hilarious in the same way your dad telling a dad-joke is.
RPF wise: I've noticed that like multiple fics that occur pre-draft and star Connor McDavid have the Otters in Guelph for a game. It's usually a throwaway line, like him telling someone where he is. It does kind of give off the impression that Erie plays in Guelph a lot more than they do, but it's not inaccurate. Only former Storm player who has had more than a handful of fics written with him init I can think of right now is Micheal Latta and Guelph doesn't really get mentioned in them.
The only NHL team that is like a reasonable distance away is the Leafs, so growing up with a team that was more financially accessable was and continues to be great. That's really the advantage to most non-NHL leagues, seeing future big names play for (relatively) cheap. Seeing Connor McDavid and the Otters play in person for less than thirty dollars was really cool, even if I was actively cheering against them. A lot better than paying Leafs ticket money for crap seats and watching a Toronto-Edmonton game, which isn't a dig at either team I'd just rather spend that kind of money seeing an NHL team I care about.
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)/boston nonnie with a Guelph sticker on her car, lololol
Re: AHL/Junior/NCAA towns
From: (Anonymous)Also, this is where I got my love of Jordie Benn.
But no, the Stars really cover most of the game in town, though I say both fanbases are as passionate, and there's some overlap. So. No one ever talks about them except over the radio a little when hockey-related people remember that the Americans do well in the playoffs? I'm so sad they don't get more coverage. They were the Stars CHL affiliate for a while, then the Avs', but now they're baby feeder sharks so.
Everyone else has cool stories and I don't.