 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |  |
 |
 |
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
||||
New Divisional
Alignments Expected In July
CHL Representatives
at the NHL Draft
Phoenix - 06/27/01 - The new CHL is expected to announce its divisional alignments in the post-merger era sometime in July, according to Steve Cherwonak, spokesman for the CHL.
The hold up in the final arrangements is the wait to see if the Tupelo T-Rex and the Indy Ice will opt to continue operations. Representatives from the T-Rex and the Ice could not be reached for comment for this article.
The T-Rex put a great product on the ice in the WPHL, with league-leading players, but are moving more slowly at selling hockey to the citizens of Tupelo than the owner may feel is fiscally prudent for his situation, notes a source familiar with the situation who declined to be named.
"We don't want to announce anything before [these teams] have had the opportunity to evaluate their situations and make a business decision as to whether they will continue operating or not," Cherwonak said.
The merger of the CHL and the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) will make the combined league one of the more powerful forces in minor hockey, and the largest of the AA level leagues.
Several league representatives and coaches attended the NHL's draft last week, both to scout for potential talent, and to make the league's presence known to the owners of the NHL franchises.
The NHL, which benefits from not paying player salaries in a structured minor system, has been aloof to the idea of a more formalized system.
With the AHL absorbing the healthier components of the IHL, and the CHL and the WPHL forming a AA hockey power throughout the Midwest, Southwest, and the South, the NHL may be forced to re-evaluate, at least in part, its position on formalizing relationships with leagues that can feed it qualified players.
