What are Hockey fans up to?

Blitzkrieg

I'm not a huge supporter of the NHL, so I move on to other sports when NHL isn't around. I just used to watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs anyhow and that'd be it.

But what do the diehards do during this time I wonder?

I know on NESN where the Bruins would be on, they have been showing a lot of College Hockey games.

Miakal

Yeah, college hockey. Semi-pro is big too. I don't pay much attention to that though.

There's also JVN.

Blitzkrieg

The next time there is an NHL season, we should have a JVN Fantasy Hockey.

Freak

Some of the channels that normally show hockey have been showing classic NHL Playoff series, but mostly the hockey shows are just filled with angry tirades and mourning and "where the hell did it go wrong?" by hockey experts. It's actually getting fucking annoying seeing the main story on Sportscentre being the same damn rants about what a travesty this lost season is... I mean, it's over. It's over. Stop. No more hockey.

Fantasy hockey and basketball are hard to run because there's so much roster-editing that people just lose interest about a month in.

Here in Victoria, we just got an ECHL team (the SALMON KINGS), so that's been pretty big news. They're last in the league though, by quite a bit.

Blitzkrieg

Isn't there a lot of changing the roster up in MLB Fantasy?

Anyway, What's the ECHL? A minor league hockey team? and if so, what NHL team do they represent?

Or are they a whole seperate league, like the CFL?

Freak

It's a minor league, I guess in the mold of a CFL, but not really. The AHL is the NHL's affiliated "minor league," but teams also assign players to leagues like the OHL, QMHJL, and the WHL (collectively the CHL). Then there are leagues just below that like the ECHL and the former IHL, which can also be fed NHL players, but rarely.

MLB fantasy is easier because, apart from pitchers, most players play every day.

Blitzkrieg

I don't know if you ever heard of them, but about a half hour from my house is or was this team called the Worcester IceCAts in Mass. I think they were a minor league hockey team or still are. I went ot some games when I was little. It was actually pretty fun.

Then there was the Hartford Whalers, but you probably know their story. And then the Providence Bruins who are minor league and the Boston Bruins who I've never actually gone to see play for whatever the reason.

Freak

Yea, Providence would be Boston's AHL affiliate. You dig?

I've never been to an NHL hockey game, but I've seen a lot of junior hockey.

Miakal

You should be kicked out of Canada and defrocked.

I've been to several. Mostly with my father when I was little though.

For some reason, I've been wanting to go to a game very badly. Maybe the NHL is doing this on purpose to remind us all how great the sport is. I know that by next season, if it starts, I'm going to be excited as hell.

Freak

Yeah it's funny, there's a lot of bitter Canadian folk vowing to "boycott" the NHL now, but they're the ones who'll be lined up around the arena waiting to get tickets when this shit is resolved.

What does "defrocked" even MEAN?