12 Team League for 2017/18

[Stuart Coles]

Based on the recent board meeting - see here for details and audio interview with Manchester GM Neil Russell - it seems that Guildford will be joining the EIHL and the league running with 12 teams next season. Officially needs approval, but it would look extremely bad on Guildford and the league in general if it didn't happen now.

Thoughts? How do you all see it working for Coventry and the league as a whole?

[takina]

Providing the due diligence is done and the upcoming teams demonstrate their capability to play at the required level then I am all in favour. Personally I get bored of watching the same teams week in week out, it's not their relative strength compared to us it's the pure repetition and lack of variation that does me. However the league is structured (1x12, 2x6, 3x4) I don't really mind (although intuitively I like 3x4 with, hopefully the mega teams in the same conference taking points off each other rather than kicking the rest of us around)

Either way it's got to be good long term for EIHL - I don't know enough about the EPIHL to know whether the transfer of two teams to EIHL could impact negatively?

[villadave]

I would prefer 3x4 with storm in with us and the two new teams. parity across 3 conferences then. alternatively 2x6 with Belfast going into the northern conference.
either way I'm delighted that the league is expanding. hopefully it will work out, all teams will prosper and a few more will join in a couple of years. I find it very hard to get people to take hockey seriously when they hear 10 teams, 60+game season and ringfencing. The bigger the league gets, the better if all teams in it are sustainable.

[IX2T311]

If it was me making the decision I'd choose a three by four system arranged as everyone else has, us with Manchester and the new duo, the arenas, and the Scots. It'd save on travel, make the league a little more balanced, and Coventry wouldn't be the runt of the conference for a nice change (maybe even properly competitive for some of the higher positions).
As Dave says, the more teams in the league the better off it'll be, there'll be more money going around which will bring more improvements to the league. It's only an upwards spiral, providing it's done smoothly.

[Stuart Coles]

I think the question is whether Sheffield and Nottingham (amongst others) will be willing to drop that 4th home league game against their rivals. If they are - then I can see this structure:

Gardiner: Belfast, Braehead, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fife, Manchester
Erhardt: Cardiff, Coventry, Guildford, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Sheffield

3 games home and away in conference, 2 games home and away out of conference = 54 game regular season (we currently play 52 games in the regular season)

If they want to keep that 4th game, then it may look something like this:

Scotland: Braehead, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fife
Central: Belfast, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield
Southern: Cardiff, Coventry, Guildford, Milton Keynes

4 games home and away in conference, 2 games home and away out of conference = 56 game regular season

In any conference structure, Nottingham and Sheffield are going to come as a pair. I'd feel for Manchester in that 3x4 system, but it just wouldn't make sense to break up the Scottish group of 4, nor place them in a 'southern' conference away from their two most closely-located opponents.

Personally, I'd scrap the conferences, move to a 3 home, 3 away against every team in the league (66 games). I'd double up Challenge Cup games into a two group structure where the first two games (1H, 1A) against each opponent counted towards the cup group, then play quarters, semis and finals as before. As this doesn't have any extra burden on the fixtures (and therefore travelling), I'd draw the groups at random. I don't feel that this would be a particularly hard extra burden on the clubs either, as you play 65 games now if you make it to the CC final. I'd keep the playoffs the same as I think the league should be the most important competition in the UK (it's nice to be different)

[chunk]

Jan 20, 2017 9:58:04 GMT Stuart Coles said:

In any conference structure, Nottingham and Sheffield are going to come as a pair. I'd feel for Manchester in that 3x4 system, but it just wouldn't make sense to break up the Scottish group of 4, nor place them in a 'southern' conference away from their two most closely-located opponents.

Milton Keynes would obviously want to be in a conference with Guildford and putting us in a different one to MK seems a bit daft.

The only clubs that could fit multiple scenarios are Belfast, Cardiff and Manchester. Where they want to sit will likely shape the set up we end up with.

I've said all along I'd like to see a 3x4 system (Scots, Arenas, Rinks). Guildford joining should be brilliant for us, lets hope nothing stops it happening.

All this is dependant on us going with 12 obviously, but who's to say another couple of clubs won't apply before the end of the season? Would a 14 club system work?

[fleece]

No doubt everyone knows the new 3 x 4 team conferences for next season.

Personally, I will miss the Panthers and Steelers games, but I can see the benefits for the club not being in the group of death for another season; missing out on the playoff quarter finals this season was bloody awful!

[bsp]

I'm pleased that I decided not to renew my season ticket. We now play inferior teams, in a awful conference but for the same price. No thanks. After 12 years of not missing a Blaze game at home I've had enough. There's now no incentive for the Blaze owners to improve the club. Until the league has each team playing equal fixtures I won't be back.

[fleece]

Apr 28, 2017 10:11:58 GMT bsp said:

I'm pleased that I decided not to renew my season ticket. We now play inferior teams, in a awful conference but for the same price. No thanks. After 12 years of not missing a Blaze game at home I've had enough. There's now no incentive for the Blaze owners to improve the club. Until the league has each team playing equal fixtures I won't be back.

The incentive will be not having fans walk away from the club (the biggest incentive).

The Blaze owners can't blame poor league position on being in the arena teams conference any more, if they don't perform to the expected standard next season, there will be some questions to answer.

[Stuart Coles]

Agreed. This season now becomes make or break, potentially not just for Danny, but the club as a whole.

Last season, we played Belfast, Cardiff, Nottingham and Sheffield in a combined 38 games, including League and Challenge Cup games. Next season, we will play those teams a total of 18 times. That's a huge difference in the perceived difficulty of the schedule.

[takina]

Being honest, this is the conference structure I wanted, a continual round of Panthers. Cardiff or Sheffield giving us a spanking was getting boring beyond belief. In this structure we play our own conf teams 24 times and other conf teams 32 times, so at least there'll be some variation regards the opposition on view

Totally agree with fleece and Stuart, Blaze need to be a genuinely competitive team and I hope that they've truly done a deep dive on how they managed to get pretty much everything wrong last season - we scored fewer goals than anyone bar Manchester, conceded more than anyone bar Edinburgh, had a worse pp% than anyone bar Nottingham. Pretty much 9th all round

I heard (which obviously means we should treat it with total scepticism) that the owner of Guildford said he could afford to put out a team for the entirety of last season even without a paying crowd. Our conference might just be an interesting one

[fanta]

Apr 28, 2017 10:11:58 GMT bsp said:

I'm pleased that I decided not to renew my season ticket. We now play inferior teams, in a awful conference but for the same price. No thanks. After 12 years of not missing a Blaze game at home I've had enough. There's now no incentive for the Blaze owners to improve the club. Until the league has each team playing equal fixtures I won't be back.

Im not renewing for many reasons but I am delighted by the new structure. We were consistently beaten by the big 4 budget teams, regularly by a few goals, and therefore had no chance of finishing anywhere respectable. Each team is now in a conference they can compete in. Any blaze fan who is happy to carry on losing 32 times a year to teams in a different level needs their head examining. I argue this gives Blaze more chance to build a competitive roster with a genuine chance of winning a trophy in the next couple of years. Surely that's better than playing 'inferior' teams more often which I argue will be much better and closer games against historical rivals from before the elite league began.

[Stuart Coles]

Apr 28, 2017 20:23:11 GMT takina said:

I heard (which obviously means we should treat it with total scepticism) that the owner of Guildford said he could afford to put out a team for the entirety of last season even without a paying crowd. Our conference might just be an interesting one

I've not heard that one specifically, but I do think a lot of people are underestimating both Guildford and MK. Guildford do have the money behind them and will be here to play - I don't think they'll throw silly money at the roster but it will be a good one. MK have been recruiting for this season for over a year. They have a good young Brit core and an international NM to build on. Our conference is potentially fasicinating.

[scott]

May 2, 2017 8:34:12 GMT Stuart Coles said:

Apr 28, 2017 20:23:11 GMT takina said:

I heard (which obviously means we should treat it with total scepticism) that the owner of Guildford said he could afford to put out a team for the entirety of last season even without a paying crowd. Our conference might just be an interesting one

I've not heard that one specifically, but I do think a lot of people are underestimating both Guildford and MK. Guildford do have the money behind them and will be here to play - I don't think they'll throw silly money at the roster but it will be a good one. MK have been recruiting for this season for over a year. They have a good young Brit core and an international NM to build on. Our conference is potentially fasicinating.

The most interesting thing with MK is how good their Brits will be and who will Pete Russell recruit to bolster the Brits he does have.  Only Griffin has any recent real experience of Elite as Cownie preferred to play in MK than at the Clan when he was a two way.  A lot of their Brits are either too young, a couple could be good U23 apprentices so to speak, or too old and won't step up.

The import recruitment for MK is also going to be an interesting one.  I know it's going to be a totally different team for their fans to what they've seen the past couple of years.

[pjblaze]

Rumours that Guildford have signed Brian Stewart and that 3 Blaze players are heading to MK along with 2 Devils players (1 of which is Doucet and already announced).

Our conference will be pretty decent i think

[fanta]

Especially if the rumoured Storm takeover happens

[wooly]

www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/sport/ice-hockey/new-owners-have-big-plans-for-mk-lightning-ahead-of-elite-league-debut-1-7963140

[calv]

MK are signing 3 players from the French, not Blaze. Kevin King is the first, Christian Isackson will probably be the second (he was announced as joining a team in the UK)