The ECHL announced today the divisional alignment for the 2014/15 season.
The former CHL teams will comprise of the Western Conference's Central Division.
Just a reminder those teams are: Allen Americans, Brampton Beast, Missouri Mavericks, Quad City Mallards, Rapid City Rush, Tulsa Oilers, Wichita Thunder. The top 4 teams in each division will make it to the playoff. Updates to the 2014/15 schedule are set to be announced in the next couple of days.
It was officially announced today after a couple weeks of speculation, the ECHL will absorb the CHL (Central hockey league) for the 2014/15 season. This means one thing: The Brampton Beast are now a member of the ECHL. Great news for the Beast.
There will be plenty more news coming out in the following days regarding the schedule, playoff format and, more.
Yesterday a video made the rounds on social media of radio personality Sid Seixeiro from Toronto radio station the Fan 590 and his passion about the Raptors and their upcoming playoff run.
Back in 2011 he had a similar "rant" about the Canadian Men's National Soccer team.
I loved both of these passionate pleas for change. I've posted the videos below for your enjoyment.
Between the video and a conversation I had with someone yesterday about this very blog, I decided to go back through the past few years and see what I thought of the sports landscape a year a go, 2 years ago. ect.
Not much has changed. I still think the Toronto Rock deserve WAY more recognition that they get, I still think that TFC is the best team to support in Toronto, I still think that the Raptors play second fiddle to the Leafs in MLSE's mind and, I still think that the Jays just need to drop the "small market" b.s., really open up the cheque book and, start being a big game player like the Yankees or Tigers because the money is there with the ownership group.
There is one thing that has changed.
My opinion on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In 2012, when I decided to start blogging again, I was following the Leafs pretty closely. I thought that the times were changing for the better.
Fast forward to today and I just don't care anymore. Sure, the NHL having 2 lock-outs in 10 year span didn't help either but, the team has simply been given the patchwork treatment for years and years and never properly has been rebuilt. You can't do that in today's NHL. Look at a team like Colorado today, they were a bad team for years. But drafting Landeskog, Duchene and, Mackinnon took them from a bottom dweller to a competitor. Yes it takes years and patience but that is how you properly rebuild a team in today's salary cap world.
The Leafs will always have no issue selling tickets and people will blindly be fans. This is a fact. In Canada's biggest city with a history as rich as the Leafs and talking about Canada's most popular sport this is an inevitability. The thing the Leafs organization needs to worry about is people like me, the fans who have just turned from being a follower to simply not caring.
I don't hate the club. I obviously don't love the club, I just don't care.
A wise man once said "The opposite of love is not hate, it's apathy".
As we get closer and closer to the start of the hockey season the Beast are announcing signing after signing. Today I'm bringing 2 profiles at you as today is another Free Agent Friday and the Beast will be announcing 2 more signing later today.
Another quick side note, the Brampton Beast and Oscar's Road House (a restaurant in Brampton) revealed the "Beast Burger" this past week. It's a 40oz patty on a bun that is roughly as much bread as a loaf of bread. The toppings include onion rings, peameal bacon and of course, a side of fries (not that you need them!). That's a massive burger!
Josh McQuade:
Josh is a 24 year old right winger from Grimsby, Ontario. He stands at 5'10, weighs 185 pounds and, shoots right.
Josh's road to becoming a Beast started in with the junior Hamilton Bulldogs in AAA hockey where he scored 43 points in 47 games. Enough to get him drafted by the Peterborough Petes. It was 2007/08. He only played one game with the Petes (scoring 1 goal) but he went down to the Newmarket Hurricanes for the season and in 47 games he scored 60 points with 49 penalty minutes.
For 2008/09 Josh moved to the Hamilton Red Wings (Who eventually became what is now the Erie Otters). He played 39 games scoring 80 points and 132 PIM before jumping from the OHL to the QMJHL. In the "Q" he played with the Gatineau Olympiques for 24 games, totalling 11 points and 12 PIM. He also was a part of the playoff run for Gatineau. In 10 games he scored 4 points and 4 PIM.
2009/10 involved a move to Junior B. He played for the Brantford Golden Eagles (Now the Caledonia Corvairs) and in 51 games he scored an incredible 150 points and 80 PIM. The Golden Eagles went to the playoffs and in 16 games Josh scored 26 points and 60 PIM.
In 2010/11 Josh took his skills to the University of Western Ontario. Josh only played 14 games for the Mustangs but scored 12 points and 10 PIM. The playoffs that year only lasted 8 games but in those 8 games Josh scored 9 points and 6 PIM.
Finally, some stability in his hockey career came from the Fayetteville FireAntz. He spent 2011/12 and 2012/13 with the Southern Professional Hockey League club. (A theme that seems to be growing with the Beast as head coach Mark DeSantis was head coach of the FireAntz). In 2 seasons with the FireAntz Josh scored 127 points and 94 PIM. The "Antz" did not make the playoffs in 2011/12 but they did in 2012/13. They only played 2 games but in those games Josh obtained 2 assists. 2012/13 was also the year that the FireAntz made Josh an assistant captain. 2012/13 was a great year as Josh was also named to the SPHL 1st team all-stars, he scored the most goals in the league and he scored the most points in the league.
Looking at Josh's resume, it's easy to see that coach DeSantis will be looking to Josh to be putting points up for the Beast this year.
Rob Collins:
Rob is a 35 year old who plays both right wing and center from Edmonton, Alberta. He stands at 5'10 and weight 172 pounds.
Rob's career started at university. He played for Ferris State University of the NCAA in Big Rapids, Michigan. From the 1998/99 season to the 2000/01 season Rob scored 75 points and 76 penalty minutes over 109 games. The 2001/02 season was a big one for Rob. He was named assistant captain for the university. He scored 48 points and 23 PIM over 36 games and, was named to the NCAA first team all-stars. He was also a finalist for the Hobey Baker award (for the top NCAA player).
All these accolades landed Rob a contract as an undrafted free-agent with the New York Islanders. He ended up getting 5 games in 2001/02 with the Grand Rapids Griffins where he scored 2 assists.
Rob played his first full season in the AHL in 2002/03. In 73 games he scored 31 points and 16 PIM. The Griffins went to the playoffs as well and in 15 games he scored 11 points and 40 PIM. The Griffins won their division that year.
In 2003/04 the Islanders changed their AHL affiliation to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Rob spent all of 2003/04 and 2004/05 with the Sound Tigers. Over that time he played 153 games and scored 94 points with 109 PIM. The Sound Tigers made the playoffs in 2003/04 and in 7 games Rob scored 8 points and 10 PIM. Unfortunately there was no playoff appearance in 2004/05.
2005/06 Was the big year for Rob. He played 8 games for the Islanders that year. His first goal was on December 9 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Over those 8 games he only scored that 1 goal and 1 assist. Both on that night against the Leafs. He spent the rest of the season with the Sound Tigers. In those 67 games he scored 69 points and 54 PIM. The Sound Tigers returned to the playoffs that season and in 7 games Rob scored 6 points and 10 assists.
Rob would move "across the pond" to Germany and the Deutsche Eishockey Liga for the 2006/07 season. He signed with the DEG Metro Stars who played in Dusseldorf (The team is now known as Dusseldorfer EG). He played 5 seasons with the club, the final season being the 2010/11 season. In those 5 seasons he played 255 games scoring 245 points and 319 PIM during the regular season. Although he never won a league championship the Metro Stars went to the playoffs every years Rob was a part of the team. In his 45 playoff games he scored 33 points and 44 PIM.
Rob moved to the Hamburg Freezers for the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons. For the 2012/13 season he was the team's assistant captain. In his 87 games with the Freezers he scored 60 points and 82 PIM. The Freezers, much like the Metro Stars, made the playoffs both seasons Rob was playing for them. In his 11 playoff games with the Freezers he scored 8 points and 20 PIM.
Clearly Rob has a wealth of experience and I expect that will be a big part of his contribution to the Beast this season.
Before the Beast announce more player signings tomorrow I wanted to get up a bio on Tylor Michel.
Tylor is a 29 year old centre who is from Sudbury, Ontario.
Tylor started his career in the Mid-Western Junior Hockey League which was a Junior B level league. It is now a division in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (as of 2007). Tylor played for the Owen Sound Greys for both the 2002/03 and 2003/04 seasons.
In his time with Owen Sound he scored 54 goals, 77 assists and, 221 penalty minutes.
After his time in Owen Sound was over it was off to school for Tylor. He attended Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. During his first 3 season at the university (2004/05 to 2006/07) he scored 17 goals, 21 assists and, 39 PIM over 86 games.
2007/08 was a little different for Tylor. He played 37 games for Wayne State (22 points and 94 PIM) and ended up signing with the Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL. He played 4 games in the regular season (2 assists, 6 PIM) and went on to the playoffs where he played 6 more games and got 4 PIM.
In 2008/09 the Condors gave Tylor a full season to show them what he is made of. In 64 regular season games he scored 8 goals, 16 assists and, 60 PIM. The Condors would again make the playoffs and in 4 games Tylor played 4 games and got 4 PIM.
For 2009/10 Tylor headed off to the United Kingdom to play in the Elite Ice Hockey League for the Cardiff Devils. He spent both 2009/10 and 2010/11 with the Devils and scored 47 goals, 65 assists and, 283 PIM in 121 regular season games. Both seasons the Devils went to the playoffs. in 8 playoff games Tylor score 4 goals, 3 assists and, 6 PIM.
In 2011 Tylor moved to Sweden to play for IF Bjorkloven.
This was an interesting situation as the team he was moving to was ready to be promoted to division 1 in Sweden for the 2010/11 season but, due to financial issues the team had to declare bankruptcy. As a result of this the Swedish Ice Hockey Association relegated IF Bjorkloven to the 3rd division. Going into 2011/12 the team was finally allowed to move to division 1. So Tylor was joining a team that jumped up 2 divisions for 2011/12. As for Tylor, he scored 29 points and 110 PIM over his 36 games in Sweden. He was also the most penalized player in the league. In the Kval, a round robin tournament in Sweden to determine what division the clubs play in the next season, Tylor scored 2 goals, 3 assists and , 6 PIM over 5 games.
2012/13 brought Tylor back to the U.K. and the Eilte Ice Hockey League to play for the Sheffield Steelers. In 59 games he scored 24 goals, 27 assists and, 139 PIM. The playoffs only brought 2 games for Tylor but he scored 2 goals, 1 assist and, 4 PIM. This year the Steelers also competed in the Challenge Cup. It is a side tournament that the EIHL hosts. In 6 games there Tylor scored 3 goals, 3 assists and, 38 PIM.
Tylor is coming back home for 2013/14 to play for the Beast and hopefully can mesh well with a player like Jason Pitton who also spent time in the EIHL.
