Should Alaska have a NHL hockey team?

Question

Do you think that Alaska should have a National Hockey League hockey team?
...or any other city, state, or territory, that doesn't currently have a NHL team?

Answer 1

Too far.
Too small a market to have a big NHL team.
It won't survive.
Travel would be too far for players.
Don't know which division it would fit in.

Answer 2

I live in Anchorage and would say that no.. we're not quite ready (population wise) for the NHL.

In the immediate Anchorage area, there are roughly 300K people, with another 72 < 75K in the outlying areas of the MatSu Valley and Eagle River.

Right now we have a WCHA College Hockey team, and an ECHL team.

Travel actually isn't as big of a problem as some have suggested on here. We have two affiliates right now for our ECHL team; the St. Louis Blues (NHL) and the Peoria Rivermen (AHL). Because of the huge amount of flights leaving Anchorage (MASSIVE airport), it's very convienient to fly from Anchorage to St. Louis or Peoria. We've never had a problem in the past with being their affiliate, and in fact... we won the ECHL National Championship this past season!

Another problem is that our largest arena is only 6,502 as far as seating and we'd need a much larger arena.

Because hockey is so incredibly popular here (the Alaska Aces have standing room only a LOT)... I do think Anchorage will see both a new arena in the near future, and an AHL team at some point.

Answer 3

The climate and location are the best reason to have a team in Alaska, but those are the same things that may prevent an investor from establishing a franchise there. The air travel would be "cost-prohibitive" but can be overcome. Perhaps some day we will see a team in Anchorage or Juneau.

Answer 4

The problem with the NHL now is that they over extended. Altho Alaska is cold it doesn't have the population in its larger cities to support an NHL team. Just because a city has frozen water in it during the wintertime doesn't mean that it can support a franchise. I know its unfortunate, especially for cities like Winnepeg, but that's the way it is.

Answer 5

Personally I think there should be more teams throughout Canada. Over half of all the players in the NHL are Canadaian, and so i think that if Canada is supplying all of the NHL players they should get more Canadian teams to watch and cheer for. I think they should bring teams back to places like Quebec and Winnieg. Cause Canadian teams always have the greatest fans ever!!

Answer 6

I'd say no. One of the appealing things about Alaska is that it's not like the rest of the country. Many individuals or immediate families can move there to get away from the grind and BS of "normal" life. If professional sports ended up in Alaska, a little piece of its purity would be gone.

Answer 7

No, the NHL tried a team in Dawson City once and the travel was too much. Mind you this was like 100 years ago, and you can only go so many miles a day by dogsled. Perhaps it is time again, move the Penguins.

Answer 8

Although an interesting concept, other locations would be more profitable, starting in Winnipeg or Quebec. I'd bet that you'd see teams in Europe before you'd see them in Alaska.

I also agree with an earlier poster; there are already too many teams, and the talent is diluted enough. A team would have to fold before a new one is added.

Answer 9

I don't think so. It's already too long of a trip from Florida to Vancouver, try going another thousand miles north, teams would just be too damn jet-legged to play well. I also don't think there is much of a demand, but I may be wrong. Actually, I don't really know what the demand is up there. But I think travel time would just be too much for some teams.

Answer 10

Why would anyone go into a catrogory and say Its sux, honestly, why waste your time, at any rate i think a team in Alaska would be pretty Cool, Like in Juneau or Anchorage, or something