The Locales that the VHL Left Behind: Where are they now? Part 1

[UnkemptCL4PTP 86]

If one takes a look back at the first few seasons of the VHL it's nearly unrecognizable to the one we know now. Only two teams, Calgary and Toronto, have the same name, and only they and two others, Seattle and Helsinki, have the same location. But what about the places that have been left behind? What’s happened to those arenas and what does the surrounding area look like? 

 

Hamilton Canucks

Unless they bothered to check the franchise visualizer, newer members may not know that the New York Americans originated from the Toronto suburb turned into a city, Hamilton. While they weren’t there for long, lasting only 6 seasons, and they had little success, failing to make the cup finals and only making the playoffs once, they still left an impact on the surrounding area. The immediate surroundings grew into a bustling shopping district and provided a significant boost to the local economy. When the team moved the arena went dormant for a few years before being remodeled into a theater. The David Night Theatre for the Performing Arts now hosts several shows with their most famous being a 30-year-running rendition of Jesus Christ Superstar, based on the life of the titular GM. The fans in the area have not lost their love for the sport and while some still cheer for the Americans, others, often younger fans, have taken a liking to the Mississauga Hounds just a short drive north. At least they’ve made a final recently.  

 

Amstel Tijgers

Who? That’s probably the question most reading this will have when they see that name, along with where the hell is “Amstel” and how long did they last. The answer is one season. That’s right, one season in the VHL before moving to Avangard. Why? There could be a few reasons. One, they didn’t have much success. This is true but not exactly a great justification for the relocation given that one season is a microscopic sample size. Two, they just didn’t have the fans. While Amsterdam, where the team was, isn’t a traditional hockey market that can’t be the case. We have a team in Istanbul and I’m sure their a smaller market than Amsterdam for hockey. Three, my idea. They wanted to build a stadium that incorporated the Amstel River, their namesake, but couldn’t get the funding and they had no other ideas. Since they likely played in a small barn to save money for this endeavor, the plan falling through made sticking in Amsterdam undesirable for the team and they moved somewhere that could properly house them. But what could’ve been? We certainly don’t get Davos if they move which means Victor has nowhere to threaten to send people to. If they maybe last more than a season they could’ve become a member of the VHLE since aside from them and Avangard, the other Davos intermediate, every defunct VHL team from Europe has returned in some fashion. Did I know when this was happening? No. Am I mad? Slightly. It’d be fun to see hockey return to the Netherlands. Maybe if the user count increases it could. #BringBackTheTijgers

[Will3 415]

Consider me on the Tijgers bandwagon.