Carolina Hurricanes: The Pros and Cons of Affiliation with the Chicago Wolves
The Carolina Hurricanes are nearing a deal to replace the Charlotte Checkers with the Chicago Wolves as the next AHL affiliate. What are the benefits and detractors of this new affiliation?
This is not a fun article to write. The Charlotte Checkers have been a huge part of the Carolina Hurricanes family and this bitter divorce going on is not doing anything for the fans. But let’s look past that for a moment and look at the Chicago Wolves and what they can bring to the Carolina Hurricanes organization.
Let me get something out of the way first. All AHL players in the prospect pool and any staff that is currently considered part of the Carolina Hurricanes will move over to Chicago with the change of affiliation. That includes Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky. And any players affiliated with the prior NHL team, Vegas, will move on from the Wolves.
That will leave AHL level signed players who will not be moving from either team. But that really isn’t the value that we are looking at when it comes to both of these teams. Let’s look at what the Wolves can do for the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Pros
There is a reason that we have heard rumors about this change in affiliation months ago. The Wolves can bring to the table good things that the checkers could not. For one, the Checkers were enjoying a deeply discounted affiliation fee that the Wolves will not get. That is more money being brought in right off the bat.
The Wolves enjoy the heavy population of Chicago and even while competing with an NHL team, they are a cheaper alternative for hockey in the windy city and have enjoyed one of the best attendances in the AHL. I have to note however that it is only averaging around 600 fans more per game than Charlotte.
But that is a whole new set of fans that the Hurricanes are hoping can get attached to the prospects in the farm system and tune in to watch them play in the big league as they get called up. This would probably help with TV ratings.
Another thing to note here, however, is that the affiliation deal will be done on a one-year basis that might allow for a return to the Checkers if both organizations can bury the Hatchet. This means that some of these fans might not get to watch these prospects long enough to get attached.
Waddell has a history with the Wolves. As the GM of the Atlanta Thrashers, he was consistently calling up players from the Wolves, who were the affiliate of the Thrashers at that time. He hopes to use that old friendship to his advantage with this new deal.
The Cons
Let me get this one off my chest; they are not the Calder Cup Champion Charlotte Checkers. The five Cs. The team that many Canes fans have not only traveled to support but own gear and merch from. I have been to several Checkers games including multiple playoff games. Its a monster of a drive for me, but worth it all the same.
Now that is kind of, gone. Will I support the new Checkers organization that doesn’t rock the red, white, and black? I am not sure. Time will tell. But this isn’t about the Checkers, this is about the Wolves!
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Travel is going to be a huge issue. Gone are the days when you can call up a prospect and have him in the clutches of Rod Brind’amour’s training vice within four hours. Now it’s going to cost more than a tank of gas and lunch to bring them up. It’s going to be a plane ticket and all the issues that come with flying.
Even if we can teleport the player to Carolina, you can’t teleport the fans to Chicago. One of the greatest things about having the next door Checkers as the affiliate was the fact that most fans didn’t have to learn the players as they showed up. They got the chance to know them in the AHL and even watch them grow.
I know many fans that consistently go to games in both cities and probably go to around 50-60 games a year between the two franchises. That’s a lot of games. They knew these prospects coming up better than most scouts.
Now when players have to come up to Raleigh, they are going to be complete strangers to most fans. That can be both a good and a bad thing. For one, the lack of attachment will allow the fans to be more unbiased towards their play, but that could result in players being dismissed for a few bad games when they have a hidden talent they showed at the AHL.
Anyway this deal goes the Carolina Hurricanes stand to both gain and lose a lot. The only question is if they will gain more than they lose or not.
Question for CC Readers: Do you think the Wolves bring more or less value than they take?