HARTFORD, CT – The Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), which controls the XL Center, has plenty of issues on its plate, and there seem to be extra trips being made back for seconds and thirds.

Two weeks ago, Radenka Maric, who was named UCONN President in the fall, openly conjectured to a journalism class in an on-the-record conversation made it clear that UCONN was strongly considering leaving the XL Center and not renewing their contract at the end of the season.

UCONN will likely seek to shift home games back to their new on-campus arena, The Toscano Family Ice Forum at Storrs, as a cost-cutting measure to deal with the ballooning $53M athletics deficit and the Governor’s “proposal” to cut UCONN funding drastically.

Before the state appropriations meeting mid-week two weeks ago, the Governor bristled at the mere suggestion that he was proposing a cut. Instead, it’s the sunset of federal COVID funding, known by its acronym of ARPA. It ends after this school year. Lamont also emphatically stated that UCONN hoops games would be played at the XL Center.

The Governor and UCONN students were at the Capitol as part of this contentious government hearing on UCONN’s future budget, which has not yet been decided upon. However, UCONN will likely have a continued high level of funding, and increases will probably happen.

This conflict will pit CRDA’s Executive Director, Mike Freimuth, with Maric, a Yugoslavian ex-pat who spent the post-Yugoslav civil war years in the early 1990s in Japan. Also in the mix is outgoing Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.

Maric threw an unappreciated and figurative Molotov cocktail into the room as the CRDA and OVG were in the final phases of negotiations to deal with the long-suffering XL Center with a makeover eight years overdue.

Freimuth has shown frustration and irritation at UCONN’s annual carping regarding their rental payments for hockey and basketball games and is no longer keeping quiet. Instead, he is calling UCONN out.

“It wasn’t very helpful. It was a monkey wrench we didn’t need, but I think it will be resolved successfully,” remarked Freimuth.

Maric’s remarks did not sound like an idle threat or posturing position by the Huskies. On the contrary, they have been telegraphing their intentions for nearly three years.

The on-campus venue selected by Maric gave her a very friendly audience. She knew she wouldn’t face hostile, probing, or counter-questions. UCONN will likely have another card up its sleeve.

It’s a confrontation that has been brewing for years. UCONN recoils at paying $40.5K per game for men’s and women’s basketball games and $20.5K for UCONN hockey as they have this season.

The new Toscano Family Ice Forum, where its recent Hockey East quarterfinal playoff game with Merrimack was played, not at the XL Center, is built, baptized, and open for business.

It was expected there would be only marquee hockey games like Boston College and Boston University, and national non-conference games would be at the XL Center in the future.

Now it seems even that it might be in jeopardy. The CT Ice Hockey Festival is scheduled for the XL Center next year, for now.

The CT Ice Festival might be the only college hockey downtown next year.

“We’II have a different model next year. We expect about 15 UCONN events next year. We usually have about 30 or so. Face it, a pre-season game with Appalachian State in November doesn’t do much for anybody. St. John’s or Georgetown, that’s a whole different story,” Freimuth commented.

On the other side of the room stands the CDRA and OVG being required to pay both mandatory expenses like police and other emergency services, as well as the fixed costs. It’s not cheap or optional.

“We have fixed costs at the XL Center that they don’t have at Gampel or the new hockey rink. All of those are factored into those buildings, but we’re left out here (holding the bag). Nobody is crying for me,” remarked Freimuth.

Then there’s OVG. They recently signed a new five-year contract with the two unions that work in the building. Both unions voted on and ratified that contract which features a nine-percent increase. So those costs are not gouging but living up to signed agreements.

A long-time state government source with knowledge of government and hockey threw a bucket of cold water on everything.

“I wouldn’t believe half of what you hear. They’ll work something out,” the source declared.

UCONN has had a choppy background with contracts. Bob Diacco, the former football coach they did well with, but basketball’s Kevin Ollie, not so much. So they are now paying for it dearly, which also factors in.

HISTORY

In 1990, Tate George’s miracle, buzzer-beating, turnaround baseline jumper from the corner against Clemson propelled UCONN to the Elite 8. At a time before the internet, UCONN changed its radio rights the following summer.

It was the end of their contract with the now-defunct CT Radio Network. UCONN had radio station affiliates from tiny WKZE in Sharon in the northwest corner of the state to powerhouse WICC downstate in Bridgeport and its southernmost town in Greenwich on WGCH-AM. UCONN was covered.

UCONN thought they could get a better deal with powerful WTIC-AM and its superb 50,000-watt nighttime clear channel signal heard throughout the Northeast in the US and Canada. The Huskies decided to form their own network instead. UCONN negotiated new individual deals with individually selected stations.

The deals were done with the WTIC sales department, which did the legwork. UCONN dropped CRN despite a UCONN alumnus at the company’s helm and expanded its coverage and, even more importantly, its revenue intake.

Part of the negotiating strategy was that they wanted UCONN radio voice Bob Huessler, the play-by-play person, to be out for UCONN broadcasts and their guy Joe D’Ambrosio in.

Huessler, unbeknownst to UCONN, was dealing with a major family crisis with his now late wife, battling breast cancer. There was no way he was getting dropped. In its final days, he was also the full-time PR Director for Milford Jai-Lai.

CRN was caught off guard, unaware that UCONN had another deal lined up. UCONN has always played poker with an extra card up its sleeve.

But nothing with UCONN seems to last forever. After 26 years with WTIC, UCONN decided in 2018 to partner with New York-based IMG Network to handle their radio rights. Unfortunately, WTIC thought UCONN/IMG was asking for too much, eventually sending D’Ambrosio packing and bringing in Mike Crispino.

UCONN signed for ten years with 97.9 ESPN radio, where they remain.

If UCONN does leave, the XL Center account ledger will be out of whack. Hence, the lost revenue and large expenses to pay, and shortly afterward, all the main actors will likely leave at the expiration of their contracts. Then, like the late New Haven Coliseum, the building will close with all the losses.

UCONN will negotiate directly with the XL Center – no more third parties.

A business like The Taven, across the street from the XL Center, was packed on Saturday afternoon and evening. It tailors its staff time and openings around the XL schedule. The same thing happens for Max’s across the street on the Eastern side of the XL. They are two staples and long-operating Hartford restaurants that would likely close with no events or customers.

Waitresses, bartenders, and chefs will all be unemployed. These are the unintended consequences of the situation with the XL Center. They’re not alone.

Despite all the happy talk from state Senate House Speaker Matt Ritter, who told the Hartford Courant in the days after this tete-a-tete broke open that things will be fine – even if XL Center folks think they’re bluffing. It feels different this time, as several folks inside the building said the same thing.

“I did talk to the athletic director yesterday, and I know UCONN reiterated its commitment to play at the XL Center, which we are going to renovate,” Ritter commented. “Is UCONN going to play in Hartford? You betcha’. Do we agree with the (school) president, though, that we got to help them in this budget? You betcha’.”

The relationship with Ritter is an interesting one. His father, Tom, a one-time Speaker of the House himself, is now a lobbyist, working for a prestigious Hartford law firm. In addition, he is a UCONN Board of Trustees member and is very close with school President Maric.

Will that relationship be leveraged positively in the negotiations that are about to come?

UCONN started this process very early for a reason. They’re looking for a soft landing if they decide to leave or if they can wrangle some more considerable concessions and not go. Don’t expect these negotiators to underestimate UCONN, however. UCONN always works in its interests.

“Its lot of work. You have to look at the December and January kids aren’t on campus. 80,000 UCONN alumni live within a half-hour of the XL Center. Some of those are legislators. You think they want to drive to Storrs in the middle of the winter on a Tuesday night?” said Freimuth.

UCONN has been vocal about the rental structure at the XL Center for three years and hired an outside entity last year– Stafford Sports- to negotiate on their behalf and waited to sign their one-year lease extension until the 11th hour to do so. So this year, they will deal directly with OVG.

“I think that Hartford has invested a lot in UCONN. They should be giving back and investing in Hartford. It’s probably not a good spot for the college to be in right now, threatening to divest from a city that’s invested a lot in them,” remarked House Minority Leader Rep. Vincent Candelora (R-86th District) to the Courant.

Reminder, the XL Center is in the district of both Ritter and Candelora.

More than two years ago, the building received $65 million, more than they requested, just a week before the pandemic shutdown. However, it still has not made its way to the bond commission in any manner. Governor Lamont, who controls the bond commission agenda, has been steadfast in the fact that UCONN will play at the XL Center and that funding will be there.

The current negotiations between the latest building operator, OVG, and the CRDA are nearing their conclusion. The skunk-in-the-room move will change OVG’s short-term and long-term calculus at the XL Center and the if, when, and how of their getting a return on its investment.

“I have an idea of what their investment number is, but I’m not at liberty to discuss it right now,” said Freimuth.

The other negotiation for the CRDA is with Northland Corporation and its CEO, Larry Gottesdeiner. Once hailed as the building’s savior, Gottesdeiner has been at a standstill with the CRDA over the atrium for more than three years and is not factored in this proposal.

It has been an Excedrin-inducing pace for three years and counting for Freimuth.

“Its not part of the discussion at the moment. We’re not focused on the atrium at all,” Freimuth said with resignation.

Job vacancies have repeatedly shown up every year. In the last few years, they’ve had four different Operations Managers and a revolving door of salespeople for the Wolf Pack, and the building has been noticeable.

If UCONN makes a move, MSG can’t be far behind.

They have a nice cushion, getting the affiliation fee paid for by the state this year to the tune of $1.66M after foolishly kicking MSG out as managing operator at the XL Center as the CDA did, the forerunner to the CRDA, 16 years ago.

While that helps raise the bar for the rest of the AHL, it keeps the Wolf Pack team solvent and all hockey operations expenses, salaried employees, admin costs, etc. They are all paid for, but the future, building-wise, is passing them by.

“We have brought that number back a bit, but it’s all based on the affiliation requirements. We’re in discussions now on a new contract as we speak,” said Freimuth.

Then, the issue of new buildings with modern amenities popping up throughout the AHL teams.

The recently concluded AHL All-Star Classic was held at the three-year-old, north of the border, new palatial arena, and just 25 minutes from downtown Montreal at the Place Bell in Laval. Then toss in new arenas that have opened this year; Henderson, NV, San Jose, CA, and the $500M palace in the California Desert in Palm Springs, CA (Coachella Valley). In addition, they illustrate and highlight the deficiencies of both the XL Center and the team’s practice facilities at Cromwell (now run by Black Bear Enterprises), both highly inadequate.

Sooner or later, MSG will make a move too.

The Canadian division is gone. Most of the New England teams in the AHL are gone. It’s wishful thinking to believe that Hartford can last that long as the AHL continues to move forward, given the state of the XL Center and all the issues surrounding it.

The consensus is that it feels different this time. Inside and outside the XL Center, that phrase has been repeated unprompted. It does feel different this time.

XL CENTER

HOME

The post XL CENTER, CRDA IN FULL CRISIS MODE PART 2 first appeared on Howlings.

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The intensity and flow of hockey news are increasing with each passing day, especially since the NHL is plotting out their Phase III and Phase IV return to play plans and a date for the start of the playoffs is also in the news.

Cantlon’s Corner has learned from several collegiate sources that the Ivy League, which includes both Yale University in New Haven, and Quinnipiac University in Hamden, might be reaching a monumental decision regarding athletics and their response to the COVID-19 pandemic for the 2020-21 season. It will be announced by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.

The current discussion under serious consideration is a proposal that would see the fall semester consist of just freshmen, juniors, and seniors only to be allowed on campus with sophomores excluded. In the second semester, Freshmen will be excluded from campus.

Should this come to pass, it would effectively end all sports for the 2020-21 season. It’s expected to be announced as a conference-wide policy.

All sports teams, men’s, and women’s would be adversely affected in one way or another and the decision would have national repercussions for all other college sports conferences.

Every Division I conference will be backpedaling on how to handle COVID-19, starting with the big moneymaker, college football.

It’s one thing for a Division III school like Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine to start spots on January 1st, but the ramifications for both the programs and university staff personnel will be immense.

For ECACHL hockey. it will likely lead to major transfers by under-classmen for colleges that will play Division I hockey starting in the fall.

Players, if eligible, could be returning to US junior hockey in the USHL or NAHL or head north to play Canadian Junior A hockey (Canadian citizens only) in order to retain their US collegiate eligibility under present NCAA rules, unless a waiver of some sort is granted by the NCAA to treat the situation like a transfer year.

Players also might elect to go to the Canadian major junior route if they have a Canadian passport as the border still remains closed to non-Canadian residents.

Players could drop out of school altogether and take a gap year, waiting until the dust settles and hopefully when life returns to normal in the fall of 2021.

Then some players, like Cornell’s Morgan Barron whom the New York Rangers drafted in the sixth round (174th overall) in 2017, have their NHL team working on them to leave school early. In Morgan’s case, the Rangers have been in discussions with him for over a year. Barron wants to get his Cornell degree switched his major last year.

Barron may have to turn pro as his only alternative and begin to play in the AHL in Hartford for the 2020-21 season… whenever that may happen.

At age 21, with a December 2nd birthday, he is no longer junior hockey eligible. His younger brother, Justin, 18, plays in their hometown for the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL). He played 34 games last year before developing a blood clot that ended his season prematurely and was being scouted as well by New York.

The AHL season is likely to start in late-November or by January 1st according to several pro hockey sources.

This is all under review. There are no guarantees, and the situation is very fluid where views and changes come day-to-day.

The Ivy League schools were ahead of the curve in the spring as they were the first to close-and-cancel all winter tournaments and spring sports schedules in response to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

PLAYER MOVEMENT

The June 30th expiration of AHL deals has come-and-gone with no change from the NHL, so players are free to seek deals.

The Wolf Pack’s Steven Fogarty is an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA), but he’s on a two-way (NHL-AHL) deal. The Wolf Pack has three Group 6 free agents with Vinni Lettieri and Danny O’Regan on the open market. Their third Group 6 FA, Nick Ebert, signed a European deal with Orebro HK (Sweden-SHL) last week.

The NHL has moved the date for expiring contracts until the end of the 24-team, NHL Stanley Cup playoff tournament this summer.

What remains, however, is the big issue of getting players back from Europe with new EU restrictions regarding COVID-19.

The season-ending rosters for the 31 AHL teams, a total of 620 players (20 per team as average) plus 147 have European home addresses makes up 24% of the players can be affected.

Laval signed two players for training camp, goalie Sam Vigneault, who was with the Cleveland Monsters last season, and defenseman, Corey Schueneman, who was with the Stockton Heat last season.

The deal for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ Mikhail Vorobyev with Salavat Yulaev (Russia-KHL) has been officially confirmed.

Dominik Masin of the Syracuse Crunch is close to a deal with Amur Khabarovsk (Russia-KHL).

Currently, 34 AHL players have left for Europe. 19 of 31 teams have lost at least one player.

Former Yale Bulldog, Antoine Langaniere, re-signs with EHC Straubing (Germany-DEL).

Two more college-to-pro signings. Tyler Nanne, the cousin to the Pack’s Lettieri, goes from the University of Minnesota (Big 10) signs a one-year AHL deal with the Hershey Bears.

After four years at Bemidji State (WCHA), Tommy Muck signs with Kansas City (ECHL).

Will Graber of Dartmouth College (ECACHL) heads to Hershey (AHL), while Luke Bafia, of the Western Michigan Broncos (NCHC), departs to the Kansas City Mavericks (ECHL).

Aidan Pelino of Bentley College (AHA) signs with RoKi (Finland Division-1).

Currently, that makes a 101 Division I college players to sign North American pro deals and 174 (Division I and III) players total have signed North American and European pro deals.

According to Rhode Island-based, collegiate hockey writer, Mark Divver, forward, Garrett Wait leaves the University of Minnesota (Big 10) and transfers for UMASS-Amherst (HE) making 23 Division I school transfers. There have been 18 grad transfers for next season.

One player not going to Europe who has decided to retire instead, and the first casualty of the new EU visa rules restricting Americans from entering the 14 country Euro travel zone, and non-area European countries like the UK.

Former Whalers TV announcer, and the voice of the Springfield Indians, John Forslund, is on the open market as a broadcast UFA after his contract expired with the Carolina Hurricanes.

EX-PACK RETIRES

Chad Kolarik, 34, and a former CT Whale has hung up the skates rather than return for another year with EC Salzburg (Austria-EBEL). Kolarik spent a little over two years with the Pack after being acquired from the then Springfield Falcons, for then captain, Dane Byers, who had requested a trade on November 11, 2010. It came just as the Wolf Pack’s name was changed for the ill-fated move to the CT Whale brand. He would play the very first Whale game against Springfield.

Byers was injured on the third day of training camp with a torn ACL and it cost him a year-and-a-half of hockey. The time was extended by a major Rangers procedural screw-up that left him off the Whale playoff Clear Day roster in February because he was not medically cleared at that point to play.

Kolarik carried a heavy load of anger and resentment regarding the incident that his teammates despised as it was omnipresent in his off-ice behavior with players and the coaching staff.

He had 35 points in 41 games with the Whale, but was dealt to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on January 24, 2013, for Benn Ferreiro. He then put up 33 points in 35 games and played in the AHL All-Star game in Providence as a Penguin a week after the trade.

That led to one of the tensest exchanges between him and Ken Gernander. It came in a lobby hotel while checking in. It was cordial but frosty.

Gernander was there for his AHL Hall of Fame induction.

HALL OF FAME MEDIA AWARD

Frank Seravalli of TSN, and the President of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA), and Chuck Kaiton, the President of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association, and former Hartford Whalers radio play-by-play announcer for their entire history on WTIC-AM (1080), announced today that Tony Gallagher (Vancouver) will receive the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for excellence in hockey journalism. Rick Peckham will receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster.

Peckham had been a broadcast professional hockey for 42 years before his retirement following the pandemic shortened 2019-2020 season. For the last 24 seasons, he was the TV play-by-play voice of the Tampa Bay Lightning, joining the organization in 1995.

Prior to that, he served in the same capacity for the Hartford Whalers for 11 seasons as part of SportsChannel New England and WHCT-TV Channel 18 in Hartford.

During his illustrious career in the NHL, he has received four local Emmy Awards for his work on Fox Sports Sun and SportsChannel New England. Peckham is a 1977 graduate of Kent State (OH) University.

Peckham served as the radio/TV voice of the Rochester Americans of the AHL for seven years.

“I have known Rick for 36 years, since his days covering the Hartford Whalers,” said Kaiton. “Rick has had a most distinguished hockey broadcasting career, which deserves to be recognized by this honor. His longevity and excellence tell the story and passion for his profession came through each broadcast.”

Tony Gallagher is the first writer to win the award for a body of work exclusive to the Vancouver market.

He became one of hockey’s most influential voices in Western Canada in a career at The Province newspaper that spanned from 1970 – 2015. He was recruited by The Province out of the University of British Columbia in 1968.

He was hired full-time in 1970 for high school sports before making the jump to hockey, covering the WHL’s New Westminster Bruins and then the WHA’s Vancouver Blazers.

By 1976, Gallagher graduated to become the paper’s lone beat writer of the Vancouver Canucks. He was promoted to general columnist in 1987, where he continued to break news and stir-the-pot and covered nearly 25 Stanley Cup Finals -including all three Canucks appearances.”

“Tony Gallagher owned the Vancouver market in a time before the internet when scoops lasted for 24 hours in a newspaper world where contact meant everything,” Seravalli said. “He was uber-connected and over time became the voice for the Western Canadian market that has always seemed to have a chip on its shoulder, sitting three time zones away from Toronto. Tony was the perfect writer for that constituency, never afraid to break a few eggs in writing his daily omelet. He fought for Canucks fans against a perceived injustice by both the League or their team, becoming a media icon in his city and beyond.”

Gallagher and Peckham will receive their awards at a luncheon tentatively scheduled on Monday, November 16th and their award plaques will be displayed in the Esso Great Hall at the Hockey Hall of Fame alongside past award recipients

FRANK CAMARA

Best wishes to a long-time Bridgeport off-ice official, Frank Camera, who is battling cancer.

Camara had been a penalty box presence at the New Haven Arena, New Haven Coliseum, and the Harbor Yard Arena for 62 years!

He witnessed the Eastern Hockey League’s New Haven Blades, the AHL’s New Haven Nighthawks, Roller Hockey International’s (RHI) Connecticut Coasters, the AHL Beast of New Haven, the UHL’s New Haven Knights, and the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

He always brings a smile and great stories and is in our thoughts and prayers.

The post CANTLON’S CORNER: HOCKEY OFF-SEASON NEWS AND NOTES VOLUME 16 first appeared on Howlings.

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – Summer is winding down. The days aren’t quite as long and the heat is subsiding a bit and that means fall is approaching and the 2019-20 hockey season is just around the corner.

As Cantlon’s Corner exclusively reported last week, the XL Center’s General Manager, Chris Lawrence, departed after six years of service in the Connecticut capital for an unspecified job in Michigan. It turns out that the job he took was as the new VP of Park Operations at Comerica Park in Detroit, the home of the American League’s, Detroit Tigers. There is a Connecticut connection. The Tigers Single-A short-season affiliate is located in Norwich. The team is the Connecticut Tigers of the New York Penn League (NYPL) and they play at Dodd Stadium.

Lawrence played college hockey at Michigan State in East Lansing, which is also where his wife is from.

Lawrence’s replacement as the XL Center is his former Assistant GM, Ben Weiss, who was promoted to the position on Monday.

PLAYER & COACHING MOVEMENT

After all the controversy, former New Haven Nighthawk, Don Waddell, has signed a three-year deal to remain as the GM of the Carolina Hurricanes. Waddell did take an interview for the GM opening with the Minnesota Wild.

Carolina also put pen and paper together by signing ex-Hartford Whaler, Hartford Wolf Pack, and New York Ranger goalie, Jason Muzzatti, as their new goaltending coach. Muzzatti held the same position with his alma mater, Michigan State (Big 10), over the last four years.

There are five finalists for the Minnesota GM job. Two of those five have a Connecticut connection. Back in the 1970s, he played for the University of New Haven. His name is Dean Lombardi, who was an assistant with Minnesota as one of his first NHL gigs. New Canaan resident, and NBC-TV analyst, Pierre McGuire, has tossed his hat in the ring for the job.

Congrats to one-time New Haven Nighthawks Marketing Director, Mike Santos, as he was named the new commissioner of the USA Tier-III junior level, Eastern Hockey League. Santos has held a variety of jobs in pro hockey since leaving the Elm City.

Santos has an incredibly impressive resume.

He was the Manager of Special Events for the National Hockey League and directed the 1993 NHL Draft in Hartford. He was the Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations of the New York Islanders for five years.

Santos was Corporate Counsel and Director of Hockey Operations and Assistant General Manager for the Florida Panthers and was the Director of Hockey Operations for the Nashville Predators over four seasons.

He also handled operations as General Manager of AHL franchises in Rochester, San Antonio, and Milwaukee. He also worked with the Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) as its team President for two years.

Santos also held the title of Commissioner once before. He did that role with the Tier-II North American Hockey League (NAHL) with the title of Commissioner and President.

North Branford native, Adam Erne, was traded by the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Detroit Red Wings for a 2020 fourth-round draft pick.

The AHL’s potential 32nd franchise coming to Palm Springs, CA, which will be the first affiliate for the yet unnamed NHL Seattle franchise, has trademarked the name, “Palm Springs Firebirds.” Read it in the Palm Springs Desert Sun HERE

Defenseman Josh Wesley, who’s the son of former Whaler, Glen Wesley, and who played 15 games with the Wolf Pack after being part of a reassignment/trade with Calder Cup champion Charlotte Checkers for goalie Dustin Tokarski, has signed a one-year AHL deal with the San Antonio Rampage.

Boston announced they have signed a new ECHL agreement with Atlanta to be Providence’s secondary affiliate. Ft. Wayne has an agreement with the Vegas Golden Knights and the New Jersey Devils have renewed its affiliation agreement with Adirondack.

The ECHL also saw Peter Karmanos part with the last of his hockey properties. He sold his controlling interest in the Florida Everblades. He also sold his OHL team in Plymouth, Michigan four years ago and the Hurricanes, where he is officially a minority owner of the franchise.

Norfolk, Reading, and Jacksonville have all changed ownership this summer. Manchester folded just after their playoff season ended.

Trevor Yates, the son of former Whaler, Ross Yates, who played with two AHL (Wilkes Barre/Scranton and Grand Rapids) and two ECHL (Wheeling and Toledo) last season has signed with Reading (ECHL) for the start of this season.

Tobias Lindberg played with three AHL teams last season, Belleville, Wilkes Barre/Scranton, and ended the season with the Chicago Wolves. He heads back home signing with IK Oskarshamn (Sweden-SHL). That makes 65 AHL’ers to sign in Europe.

Ex-Pack, Marek Hrivik, leaves Vityaz Podolsk (Russia-KHL) and signs with Leksands IF (Sweden-SHL).

Charles Corcoran (New Canaan) has signed with the Coventry Blaze (England-EIHL) for next season after inking an original deal with HC Lyon (France-FREL), but the team may not be in the elite Magnus League this season. He played last year with Dundee (Scotland-EIHL).

Four more collegiate grad transfers in Hockey East. The first two go to the Northeastern Huskies as Brendan Van Riemsdyk 23, leaves the University of New Hampshire and Craig Panton 24, from Merrimack.

The other two go to Michigan (Big 10). They are Jacob Hayhurst from RPI (ECACHL) and Shane Switzer of Boston University (HE).

There is one regular transfer. Bobby Hampton of Northeastern (HE) heads to Penn State (Big 10) but will have to sit out the 2019-20 season as per the NCAA transfer rule.

Michael Dill becomes just the second transfer to Canadian college hockey as he departs UMASS-Lowell (HE) to Dalhousie University (AUAA).

Jake Peters (Madison) is heading to Division III Nazareth (PA) College (UCHC) this season .

Ex-Sound Tiger, Scott Munro, was named the new goalie coach at Trinity College (NESCAC).

Former New Haven Nighthawk and New York Ranger, Mike Donnelly, will be inducted into the Michigan State Spartans Athletic Hall of Fame on Thursday, October 24th as part of their Celebrate weekend. Donnelly along with other inductees will be honored at halftime of the MSU-Penn State football game two days later.

Donnelly played for the Spartans from 1982-1986. As a senior, he scored the game-winning goal in the NCAA Final with 2:51 left in regulation that allowed them to beat Harvard 6-5, claiming the Division I title. He led the nation in goal scoring with 59 and beat out Brett Hull, then at the University Minnesota-Duluth, by seven goals to win the title.

He played 11 NHL seasons with and 465 games with 114 goals and 235 total points and in 197 AHL games has 112 goals and 244 points..

Donnelly played in New Haven on two different occasions. The first as a Rangers affiliate and the second with the Los Angeles Kings top farm team.

Presently, he is a development coach with the Kings and enters his 18th year in the organization on the hockey operations side of the game.

Five more US collegiate signed pro deals. Steven Ruggiero leaves Lake Superior State (WCHA) and signs with San Diego (AHL). Sean Romero departs Ohio State (Big 10) to go to Cincinnati (ECHL). Matt McArdle of Merrimack (HE) signs with Norfolk (ECHL). Ryan Cloonan leaves Boston University (HE) to sign with Utah (ECHL), and Matt McLeod leaves Canisius College (AHA) to sign a pro deal with Brampton (ECHL).

Two more players head to Europe as Wes Baker leaves Mercyhurst University (AHA) and signs with HC Chambery (France Division-2). Duggie Lagrone jumps from Division III SUNY-Geneseo (SUNYAC) and after playing a few games with Utah and Allen (ECHL) at the end of the year also signs with the same French team.

That makes 195 Division I players to sign pro deals, 53 in Europe and a total of 265 overall.

The Arizona State Sun Devils (NCAA Division I, Independent) have signed Eddie Lack as their goalie coach. Lack played six games with Binghamton before being shut down. He had hip labrum surgery and is still recovering but decided to do some coaching before he attempts a comeback.

Former Yale Bulldog goalie Patrick Spano (Westminster Prep) leaves HC Chambery (France Division-2) and heads to Belgium to play for the Liege Bulldogs (BEL-NEL).

D.J. King, the son of former Whaler and present Rockford (AHL) head coach, Derek King, is traded for two draft picks from Hamilton (OHL) to Saginaw (OHL).

Senna Peeters, a Belgian native from the Selects Academy program at South Kent Prep, signs with the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) who took him as their first pick, 48th overall, in the CHL Import Draft in June.

Long time Hartford sportscaster, Rich Coppola, who started on Day 1 with the Fox 61 WTIC-TV newscast that was christened April 10, 1989, after 30 years has parted ways with the station. His last broadcast was on Thursday. No future plans were announced. He has been the only Sports Director the station has ever had and is the last of the original crew from opening night.

“It’s difficult, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t. Being the last of the original newscast says quite a bit about my longevity and its special to me.

“All the events I have had the privilege to cover over the years, UConn games, Whalers, NCAA tournaments, the Wolf Pack, Super Bowls, state high school sports, are all wonderful experiences I treasure. but the friendships I have made along the way are even more important.

“I have met so many talented and interesting people being in this business whether they were in TV, newspapers, or radio or any media outlet. This has been a great ride and run, but this isn’t the end.

“After all these years of covering free agents in so many sports, I have a chance to be one myself,” Coppola said with a laugh. “I’m taking a chance on myself and in this business, like in sports, you get these chances only a few times, and if I’m gonna do it, now is the time.”

Coppola, a University of New Haven graduate, will still be doing NCAA Division I college hockey for the Quinnipiac University Bobcats on ESPN Plus. Coppola has also worked at ESPN, Channel 22 WWLP-TV in Springfield, an NBC affiliate, and started his career at WKCI-FM/WAVZ-AM radio in his early days in the business.

An East Haven native, Cappola is a true fan of hockey, a rarity in the state media corps. He played the sport in high school for the Yellowjackets program and grew up with the Eastern Hockey League New Haven Blades at the New Haven Arena and AHL New Haven Nighthawks at the New Haven Coliseum.

The Hartford market loses not only a great asset, but hockey in Hartford, at least for now, has lost its biggest voice.

The post CANTLON’S CORNER: WOLF PACK OFF SEASON VOLUME 16 first appeared on Howlings.

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – Recently, the Hartford Yard Goats hosted a Hartford Whalers reunion at their ballpark. Among the many players who attended were Brian Popp and Chuck Kaiton.

BRIAN PROPP

He was known more for being a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, but it was the Hartford Whalers who gave Brian Propp the chance to accomplish two major milestones in his 1,000 plus game NHL career.

The first was when he tallied his 1,000^th NHL point before finishing his career with 1,004 points in 1,016 games.

After an 11-year career with Philadelphia, Propp went on to Boston in 1989-90 for their Stanley Cup run. His career then took him to Minnesota, with the North Stars for a little over two seasons followed by time in Switzerland for part of the season.  For Propp, it looked like he’d hit the end of the road, but the Whalers gave him his last NHL chance.

“I was 26 points short of 1,000, and 65 games short of 1,000 games played. I really wanted to hit those numbers, and I was able to do it in the last month of the season,” Propp said. “It allowed my career to end with two big pluses. I am grateful to the Whalers who gave me that ability to accomplish both of them.”

The two milestones, along with being given the Team Grit Award, meant a lot to Propp, especially getting the award from his former teammate, then head coach of the Whalers, Paul Holgrem.

“That meant a lot to me; when a former teammate, and now your coach, bestows that award on you. I was very proud of my effort. I did work very hard my last year because I was pretty sure it would be my last,” Propp remarked. He did go to Europe the next year and play one season in France for HC Anglet.

In fact, on point number 1,000, Chris Pronger assisted on it and his 1,000^th game was against the Flyers.

“We did OK that year, but we just missed the playoffs. It was a special team. It was the first year Chris Pronger was in the league, and the late Brad McCrimmon, who I played with in Philly and junior, was paired with him to help him adjust to pro hockey.”

It was an odd symmetry for to Propp playing in Hartford, in his last NHL season as it was in junior hockey. His junior linemate, Ray Allison, was the Whalers very first NHL draft pick from the Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) in the 1979 draft when he was taken 18^th overall.

“Funny, I just saw Ray the other day at a summer charity golf tournament and was telling him I was coming up here. He had another commitment and couldn’t make it, hopefully, next year. It was kind of amazing to have ended my NHL career with the Whalers, where Ray started, and he ended his NHL career in Philly,” Propp said of the right winger. Allison went over to Switzerland after his NHL career and played for four more years.

How good were Propp, Allison and their center Laurie Boschman in junior hockey? They tallied a crazy 496 points as a trio in their last year in the WHL.

In the NHL draft that year, Propp ended up going 14^th overall to Philadelphia while Boschman went 9^th overall to Toronto.

After his playing days ended, Propp worked for the Flyers as a radio color commentator for nine years. He is in his third year as a team ambassador and also works in the commercial real estate industry.

CHUCK KAITON

His voice boomed across the airwaves to all points North, East, South, and West of Hartford when he was the official radio voice of the Hartford Whalers back on WTIC-AM, 1080. Kaiton made converts of many as he stepped up to the microphone, replacing the New England Whalers legendary voice, Bob Neumeier. Kaiton created a whole legion of Whaler fans in those days extending well beyond the borders of the Nutmeg State.

“It was so much fun today. The fans and the people there are so terrific, wonderful, and kind. I really enjoyed last year and really wanted to come back, and the Yard Goats put on such a nice presentation.” Kaiton said speaking in his wonderful baritone style voice.

He marvels at how much the broadcasts were heard way back before there was audio streaming. Things were done the old-fashioned way. There were terms in those days called, “DXing” or “skips” which meant listening to AM broadcasts from far distances.

“I always got such good feedback from fans from literally all over parts of the US and Canada that I was amazed were hearing the broadcasts. (WTIC-AM) had a powerhouse signal that went everywhere.”

Kaiton’s favorite times were the playoffs, particularly the old Adams Division rivalries.

“I really like that format; many others didn’t. I thought it was so good. You had the intensity with those rivalries. It was some great hockey. I really wish the NHL would go back to that format personally,” Kaiton stated.

His favorite goal?

‘Clearly, Kevin Dineen’s OT goal in Game 6 against Montreal was so dramatic going around some of the great Hall of Fame defenseman like Larry Robinson and beating a Hall of Fame goalie in Patrick Roy.”

His second appearance at the Whalers Alumni weekend couldn’t be more ironic.

The Hurricanes, who came into existence with the Whalers move from the Connecticut capitol to North Carolina, ended Kaiton’s 39-year NHL association earlier in the week when the parties couldn’t come to an agreement on a new contract.

The offer Kaiton received after the season ended was an 80% pay cut and required him to go out and sell airtime. He was being treated like a minor-league rookie and Kaiton knew it was a non-starter.

The official timing and announcement, which broke earlier this week, wasn’t an accident for Kaiton. He knew the Whalers weekend was upcoming, and he and his wife planned on attending.

“I actually planned it that way! I waited, and ironically I was in South Carolina playing golf with one of the Hurricanes investors, and to be honest, I shut my phone off because I knew when it broke it would be ringing quite a bit. I am grateful for all the kind messages and wishes people sent. It really did mean something to me. It was heartwarming, and hey, things happen, but I’m not retiring that’s for sure.” Kaiton said emphatically.

His old radio partner, Andre Lacroix, was in the house and that brought a big smile to his face and Kaiton paid homage to him.

“Andre was wonderful and we were like the great Danny Kelly and Noel Picard in St. Louis. Noel Picard also had that wonderful, great French accent. So we were, I think, the only two broadcast teams in the NHL at that time with that style. He had a great wealth of knowledge and credibility being the all-time leading scorer in WHA history, plus his time in the NHL in the Original Six. Andre was a natural. He was so popular in the community. I really enjoyed my time with him,” Kaiton said effusively.

Lacroix describes them as a good cop/bad cop team.

“I think he was a pretty good cop of an announcer too,“ Kaiton said with a laugh.

At 66, Kaiton is not done on the mike just yet.

“I can’t go into details, but I am working on a few things. More than likely, they’re not for the upcoming season, but next season (2019-20) for sure you’ll be hearing from me.”

We’ll miss that booming voice on winter nights this season.

The post CANTLON’S CORNER: CATCHING UP WITH BRIAN PROPP & CHUCK KAITON first appeared on Howlings.