THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 26, 1994 TAG: 9412260143
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
Hampton Roads Admirals officials say the ECHL won't be affected if the NHL cancels its season later this week, as many expect it will.
``I don't think NHL players will wind up in our league, and I don't think other minor leagues will take NHL players,'' Admirals president Blake Cullen said.
Added coach John Brophy: ``The NHL players who want to play are already playing, mostly in Europe. I don't think you'll see many playing minor league hockey.''
But Brophy's players aren't so sure, and neither are officials in the International Hockey League, whose teams already have signed two NHL players and whose owners are split over what will happen if the lockout becomes permanent.
``I think a lot of NHL players will wind up in the IHL,'' Admirals forward Kelly Sorensen said. ``If that happens, it'll force players down to this level from the IHL. That will force some players in this league out.''
Because some NHL teams quietly optioned players from their rosters to the IHL and AHL in November, the lockout already has had an effect on the ECHL.
Only three Admirals - Trevor Halverson, Matt Mallgrave and Brian Goudie - have been called up by the Portland Pirates, Hampton Roads' AHL affiliate. All returned in a month or less. In years past, a dozen Admirals had been called up at this point of the season, some permanently.
John Porco, Hampton Roads' top scorer, is one of several Admirals who should move up, Brophy said.
``He might be up there if it wasn't for the lockout,'' Brophy said with a shrug. ``We'll just enjoy him while we have him.''
Added defenseman Ron Pascucci: ``The lockout has made this a much tougher league. It's not like last year, when you could count on some easy victories. Every game is tough. Every player is good. We've got a lot of guys in this league who belong in the AHL.''
For a barometer of what will come, all eyes are on the IHL, which considers itself neither a minor nor a major league. It has teams in major league cities such as Chicago and Detroit and is expanding to Orlando and San Francisco.
Unlike the AHL, which is a developmental league for the NHL, the IHL has many veterans. More than half of its teams do not have NHL affiliations. But with a salary cap and an average salary of about $65,000, ticket prices in the IHL are less than half the NHL average of about $35.
Some IHL owners are hoping it becomes a second major league; others are secure with the league's status as the Wal-Mart of hockey.
For now, there is a ban on further signings of NHL players. That expires later this week, and if it is not renewed, the effects could ripple to Hampton Roads.
ECHL commissioner Pat Kelly says his league needs to come up with a policy on signing NHL players, two of whom already have contacted the Admirals.
``If some (ECHL) club signs four or five NHL players, there will be a big effect on this league,'' Brophy said.
But Cullen is opposed to signing NHL players and doesn't think the league will allow it.
``I just think it would be very shortsighted. Unless the Washington Capitals gave us their blessing, I'd be opposed to it,'' he said. ``I just can't see that happening. Management has basically locked these guys out. I would not want to upset the Capitals by doing something like that.
``Besides, I don't think we could afford it. They wouldn't play for nothing. Just paying the insurance premiums for an NHL player would cost many thousands of dollars.''
If the NHL season is rescued, things could get tough for Brophy and Cullen. Porco and others would be more likely to be called up because the NHL would recall its players from the IHL and AHL. That would leave the Admirals scrambling to replace some of their stars.
But most of the Admirals hold out little hope of a settlement.
``All of us talk to hockey people up North and they all say the same thing - that the season is finished,'' said Chris Phelps, a first-year defenseman from suburban Detroit. ``The players and management are like two magnets, pushing apart from each other.''
Team captain Dennis McEwen, a native of Ontario, says Canadians are ``going crazy'' without hockey.
``My father locked himself up in his room for two months,'' McEwen said, adding that he was only half-kidding. ``People up there are so desperate that they're renting tapes of hockey games. It's been tough. I think it's hard for people in the States to understand the depth of the love for hockey in Canada.
``My father missed it so much that he went to Wales for a month to watch my brother play hockey.''
Rob MacInnis says his brother misses hockey, and with good reason. Al MacInnis, a longtime NHL star, signed a $3 million contract prior to this season. He's losing more than $200,000 every two weeks.
``This is a big disappointment. It's not doing the sport any good,'' Rob MacInnis said. ``It's a real shame.''
Forward Jim Brown says even minor league hockey players miss the NHL.
``We play and practice so much that you'd think we wouldn't miss it,'' the Toronto native said. ``But I miss it a lot. I miss watching the highlights, sitting down on a night off and watching a game. I miss seeing my Maple Leafs.''
Regardless, most of the Admirals side with the players union.
``I don't understand all of the issues,'' Phelps said. ``But because I'm a player and hope to be there someday, I side with the players. They are looking out for the guys who will be playing there in the future.
``But it's a damn shame it's come to this.'' by CNB