Prospects, and the future of the NHL

Pretty nifty goal from Milano at WJC Camp.
Let's hope he can play in the NHL. One more year of development then hes ready to be a stud.

 

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Morning-Buzz/2015/08/04/NHL-MLBAM.aspx?hl=nhl&sc=0

The NHL has signed a six-year partn...the league a 7-10% equity stake in MLBAM Tech

I really thought the NHL would do better than 1.2 over 6, but this also means Gary and the gang can align a cable and streaming at the same time which will hedge against any cable bubble. Not a fan of the number, but the term is ideal in my opinion.

I have no idea what the terms are of that equity stake. It's a solid add to the revenue pie, and it really helps since the value of the tv deal in CA took a dive.

 

http://bigbadblog.weei.com/sports/b...over-nhl-web-operations-apps-streaming-video/

I thought this was interesting:

I had thought it was MLBAM and not MLB that made those decisions. I had it backward. Bud sucked. Let's see if Gary is the fun police or not.

 

We might not be able to put up clips like this anymore, ones of Detroit's newest bluechip acquistion:

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6g4_VWXc4o[/video]

 

Well, I think this sheds some light on the structure of the equity.
BOG probably took a bigger stake in equity and then found a way to cash out of it without paying into HRR.

Maybe I'm mistaken. Given Fehr's statements about the league getting ready for another lockout, the bonus money in player contracts years from now, and now the shady structure of this massive deal, another stoppage in a few seasons sure looks likely. I'm confident expansion cash to the BOG will make the PA happy too.

Wang was chairman of the last group that did the digital media for the league, he's on the way out now. The time of the Wang is at last almost over. The future will have be only minimally influenced by the Wang.

 

Well they better not let a Wang or a process he's responsible in any part for to carry on. Sometimes you can get large ripple effects from small splashes that come back to bite you.

Nobody is going to benefit from a work stoppage...

 

Chairman Wang... and The Gang of Four ... ... I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

i thought wang had a gang of two

 

ESPN's Pronman's prospect and system rankings came out. It's on the pay view though...and its ESPN.
NBC has the rankings of the teams.
http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/...-have-best-group-of-prospects-penguins-worst/

I'm not a big fan of his rankings for the systems but it's a good starting point when assessing a value of Awsum-Good-Fine-Lacking-Suckage (spoken Rutherford).

 

lol pr0nman. do we need to wonder what he does on the internet in his spare time?

I DON'T THINK SO.

 

If you're wondering why some of the rankings for teams are where they are, here's his top 4 dmen:

Only 4 dmen in the top 31. If your team is heavy or light at the blueline, it was reflected in his rankings. Heavy forward bias it seems.
I don't get wrapped up with individual rankings for players that haven't established themselves at the NHL level. Many I've never seen play anyway.

 

i wonder if his name is an alias.

 

The NHL has an agreement with the CHL that prevents CHL players from going to the AHL until they turn 20.

There isn't much out there specifically addressing what is going on, but I have to think more young N. Americans will continue to gravitate to the NCAA or a Euro league rather than play in a league that restricts foreign players and stifles development, especially for role players. This isn't a new topic, it's been going on for a while now.

For example, Nikolaj Ehlers (9th overall 14' WPG) might go to Europe if he can't make the team out of camp rather than go to the CHL for a fraction of the compensation against boys instead of men. He doesn't turn 20 until February.

He's not alone this fall.

So many CHL policies bug me, but the NHL has a hand in this too. As more NHL teams align affiliates closer to their geographical fanbases, I wonder what the NHL has to gain anymore by maintaining this antiquated policy with the CHL at the expense of their AHL or even ECHL affiliate.

 

Is this a matter of the AHL harvesting a better crop at too young of an age, hence causing a monopoly on the other tributaries?

 

and how about the CHL not allowing Euro goalies?
there were as many CHL goalies picked in the last draft as NAHL goalies.

 

From my understanding this has everything to do with protecting the CHL. CHL owners, among other interests (tremendous executive overlap with hockey canada and the NHL) are interested in protecting and propping up the product and the NHL is all too happy to help.

As the CBA changes, and FA clocks tick faster, owners/gms are going to want to get players against grown men in the N. American game. I assume this will especially be the case with players slotted as role players. Some markets might benefit from some high end prospect exposure too. There are a number of factors (AHL tv, prospect exposure/marketing, prospect development, the NHL CBA, and other things I don't really comprehend) that will make owners more interested in abandoning the relationship with CHL.

 

That's just another goofy protectionist policy.

 

Eventually the arrangement will go away imo.

As more NHL teams take a controlling interest in their affliates, especially in the states, the more likely the change will come about.

Something else to consider, the amount of 30yr+ players without NHL contracts. Once speed drops a little bit, their pro careers are in jeopardy. Their influence will be felt on a number of issues, but its tough to tell where they'll lean.

I think the NHLPA will start leaning towards anything that improves AHL compensation if the trend continues. Eventually the fringe NHLers are going to want to see higher compensation on the back of the 2 way deals as improving the quality of the AHL might start to of more interest to the PA.

I'm speculating a bit hear. Most of the important financial information is kept very private (as it should be) and its tough to find reliable reporting about it with AHL franchises. There are a number of major factors that could blow holes in my opinions, if some more info was made available.

 

Jack Eichel has had a whirlwind few months, so this news speaks loudly to his dedication to the game. He has still found time to really hit the weight room and has added 10 pounds and reduced body-fat.

He was pressing 300#'s at age 16, and is the most NHL-ready prospect I've ever seen. He certainly won't get shoved around at 6' 2" and 202; hopefully he'll start out as 2C. However ROR is likely to lose ice time after his 9/10 court hearing.

Last year's #2 overall looked shockingly small during his 9 game stint last year. Samson also looks much stronger and is now expected to make the big club.