Guest Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Expansion Flip Approximately six seasons ago the Victory Hockey League decided the wanted to expand from eight teams to ten teams. The league was at a height in activity and the member base was growing better than it had in quite a long time. It was also announced that young graphic wizard Alexei Koradek would be one of the expansion owners/general managers. To join him as the other expansion boss would be none other than longtime Hall-of-Fame inductee Joey Kendrick. When the franchises debate started many cities and logos were being processed and Koradek himself was a design expert. This created quite the excitement in the league and allowed for some creativity to come out. What the media, fans and players didn't see was some of the in-behind workings of the expansion set-up and details. This report gives you a closer look at some of the things discussed between each expansion General Manager and what it has meant for today. When Alexei Koradek and Joey Kendrick sat down to discuss images and locations a lot still had to be figured out. It had yet been decided on which General Manager was going to be setting up office in which conference. Kendrick decided that it was only right that Koradek choose seeing as he was the brain behind the logo rebranding of the Victory Hockey League. Of course history tells us now that Quebec City was the first choice Koradek had for his franchise; it helped that he was situated there already. It also wasn't far fetched to assume Joey Kendrick would be going home to Germany to plant his franchise in one of the beer-drinking cities in his home country. What the statistics and history won't tell you is what would've happened if Kendrick and Koradek had switched and Alexei wanted to put his stake in a European city. We have approached Koradek in hopes of letting us in on what his plans would've consisted of had he had to make that choice, but we do know Kendrick's side of things. Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City is not the city most think of when they visit the United States to see a hockey game. However, the firm belief was that it could be and the VHL would be smart to get there before the NHL had an intention too. Believe it or not the NHL had discussed a move to the Missouri city but no legit talks were held. Keep in mind Kansas City has been in the NHL with the Scouts who moved to Denver and eventually moved to New Jersey to become the Devils. The Victory Hockey League would've been cashing in on a whole whack load of fans and excited people who had been deprived for over 30 years from professional hockey. The closest thing the people of Kansas City have to cheer about is the Missouri Mavericks of the CHL (Central Hockey League). Joey Kendrick wanted to bring real hockey back to the state of Missouri and reap the rewards of getting an enthusiastic fan base back into an arena. Let's be honest as well, the Midwest has no representative in the North American Conference and this would've grabbed another market. Suggested Names: Kansas City Kings, Kansas City Friars, Missouri Monarchs Memphis, Tennessee Memphis, Tennessee isn't a city unfamiliar with accepting expansion franchises or relocating franchises as well. The Memphis Grizzlies are an NBA franchises who originally came from Vancouver, Canada. When it comes to hockey though, this city has no prior history and is actually well known for it's influences in football and wrestling. Memphis has always competed with cross state rivals Nashville as the big city for sports. The culture looked well suited for a VHL franchise and they had tons of financial support from big business in the state of Tennessee. Another midwest town that could've had a representative in our league and got overlooked in the end. Joey Kendrick had hoped he could bring the sport of hockey to the midwest city but the hardships might have been more than initially thought. A city with no prior hockey interest or history is a challenge because you have to create a fan base for it and get the population educated. Possible Names: Memphis Jokers, Memphis Demons San Francisco, California One of the crown jewels of the west coast is the city of San Francisco. Whether you are there to see Alcatraz prison, the Golden Gate Bridge or the trollies; this place is absolutely amazing. Depending on the time of year you could catch a 49ers game, Giants game or even a quick visit across to Oakland for a Warriors NBA game. Hockey isn't something common with the Bay area, as in order to see a game you have to go south to San Jose to see the Sharks. Joey Kendrick though this city could use a major hockey team to compete in a market split between the Sharks and other sports. Kendrick even had a deal worked out with phone carrier AT&T to build a new stadium in downtown San Francisco. Legendary actor and comedian Bob Saget even backed the plan and wanted his name in the management area from the start. The move was not to be had and San Francisco still sits there to this day without a proper hockey team. Possible Names: San Francisco Tomahawks, San Fran Rush, San Francisco Miners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomsday 4,036 Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgins 3,617 Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 San Fransisco would have been my choice behind only Halifax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watercow 1 Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 San Fran Rush sounds so much like an Arena Football League team name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 It would be San Francisco Rush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomsday 4,036 Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 3 2 1 RUSH! Content: 3/3 - Very interesting look at what goes into choosing the location of an expansion franchise Grammar: 2/2 - For the length of the article, relatively few mistakes. decided the wanted to = decided they wanted to an intention too = an intention to an NBA franchises = an NBA franchise Joey Kendrick though this = Joey Kendrick thought this Appearance: 1/1 - AH BOB SAGET! Overall: 6/6 - I miss the thumbs up smiley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglesfan036 4,583 Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 (edited) Content: 3/3 - Interesting article looking at all the thought that goes on behind the scenes in picking the next city for expansion teams. It's interesting that you pointed out the Midwest doesn't have a representative in the North American Conference. I'm sure the five people that live there wish they could see some hockey. Grammar: 2/2 - The Cowboys fan got everything. Appearance: 1/1 - Looks good. Overall: 6/6 Final: 6/6 Edited November 16, 2013 by eaglesfan036 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Claimed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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