Patrik's Picks Episode 7: League Expansion

[Laine 1,361]

PATRIK'S PICKS: EPISODE 7

Future VHL/VHLM Expansion: Which cities should the league look at?

 

After the VHL's recent expansion to Chicago, London, Warsaw and Los Angeles, I had an interesting idea for a Patrik's Picks episode. What cities and markets would I think are suitable for a VHL or VHLM team? I did some searching of places all around the world where you could put teams and I came down to 3 cities for the VHL and 3 cities for the VHLM. You can feel free to disagree, but these are my picks for the next 3 VHL expansion clubs:

 

VHL TEAMS:

 

1) Montreal

Population: 4,220,566

Hockey market: Hardcore

Location: Canada

 

Montreal is a great spot to put a team for any league. Looking how the fanbase is hardcore for the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL, it would be a no brainer. However, you would have to brand as a new name besides Canadiens. Canadiens has been associated with their NHL team so you would have to come up with another iconic name. I would personally lean towards the Montreal Meteors but feel free to drop any ideas for team names below.

 

2) Sydney

Population: 5,230,000

Hockey market: Unknown

Location: Australia

 

Now, I know the tropical city of Sydney doesn't sound like a great place to put a hockey team, but if the team can build a solid roster and compete, it is a great market. It would be Australia's first taste of a big market team, and with a population of over 5 million in Sydney alone, the potential is there, even if they aren't winning. I feel like an obvious name for this team would be the Sydney Sharks, given that they are located near and ocean and they have a high shark population in the ocean there.

 

3) Berlin

Population: 3,769,000

Hockey market: Devoted

Location: Germany

 

Berlin is a great spot to put a team. They haven't had a big hockey team at all, the biggest team they have had is the Eisbaren Berlin of the DEL. With almost 4 million people and a fanbase devoted to their DEL team, this is a great spot for the VHL to expand. It would also create an interesting rivalry with nearby London and Moscow, but especially Warsaw. I think the name for the team could be the Berlin Brawlers, but again the VHL probably can think of better names then me.

 

VHLM TEAMS:

 

1) Edmonton

Population: 1,461,182

Hockey market: Hardcore

Location: Canada

 

Edmonton is another city I see as a front runner to have a team. With nearby Saskatoon and another team we will get to in a little bit, there will be some good rivalries for this team. You can see Edmonton's passion for hockey if you look back at the 80s and 90s Oilers teams. A good name for this team I think would be Edmonton Elk. Canada has a nice elk population, so it would be a good way to name the team. Another suggestion would be the Edmonton Eagles.

 

2) Quebec City

Population: 800,000

Hockey market: Hardcore

Location: Canada

 

Quebec City is another one of those cities that had a passion for hockey, but had a team ripped away from them. In the form of the NHL's Quebec Nordiques, who were relocated to Colorado and became the Colorado Avalanche. I think Quebec City would be a great place for a team. I think a good name would be the Quebec Condors

 

3) Winnipeg

Population: 762,700

Hockey market: Devoted

Location: Canada

 

Now, I hate to keep all 3 of these teams in Western Canada, but Winnipeg is my pick here. Their passion for hockey shined through, even without hockey. After the first Winnipeg Jets franchise moved in 1996, they pushed hard and supported hockey for 15 years until the second incarnation of the Jets arrived in 2011. They have their famous whiteout playoff tradition to show their passion. This would also create a nice rivalry with Saskatoon, Edmonton and Calgary, if the ladder two were to also receive teams that is, but if Winnipeg were to get a team, the rivalry with Saskatoon would be a guarantee. I would name this team the Winnipeg Warriors.

 

CONCLUSION:

So there you have it. 6 markets that I think would be suitable for teams and definitely places the VHL and VHLM should look at if they were going to expand again.

 

Edited July 26, 2020 by PatrikLaine

[McWolf 3,114]

@Enorama Hong Kong or bust

Also yes to a Quebec team, rip the Meute

[mattyIceman 1,170]

Well, theres an untapped Asian market that does have an emergence of rising talent and development programs.

 

I hereby declare a serious candidate for further expansion....

 

The Tokyo Shogun

[rory 1,876]

BERLIN BLITZKRIEG WOOOOOOOOOOO

[Firekiss 25]

Seoul  Korea

[Beketov 8,939]

2 hours ago, PatrikLaine said:

Quebec City is another one of those cities that had a passion for hockey, but had a team ripped away from them. In the form of the NHL's Quebec Nordiques

Or the Quebec City Meute. We moved Vancouver from Quebec City just a few seasons ago.

[LatinViking 33]

Dublin! 

[JigglyGumballs 1,056]

A tropical Asian country like the Philippines would be fun for a team lol

[Laine 1,361]

2 hours ago, rory said:

BERLIN BLITZKRIEG WOOOOOOOOOOO

I was actually thinking about that name that would be good

[ROOKIE745 599]

review: Great article man, expansion is always such a fun topic. Being a Canadian myself I love a lot of the Canadian city picks but also I think it's important to think about including other Countries to, kinda like the Sydney pick from Australia, that would be pretty awesome, it's mainly how all the VHLM picks are Canadian cities, I love it but I think it should have been a little more diverse. Construction is good using larger text, bold text and underline to separate it all. You have stats in there to back up your reason for the choice and I enjoy your comments under each city. Overall excellent MS, 9/10

[Advantage 2,891]

Cologne >

[NickSunderbruch 392]

Yoo the Asian market is like an iceberg, we only see the tip of it but it's massive. We could honestly have a team in Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, etc
Possible names could be like, The Tokyo Samurai, The Seoul Souls,The Beijing Tigers.

[diacope 2 764]

I liked how you included a lot of bigger canadian cities, but also some bigger cities in more obscure hockey markets such as Australia. I like how all of the VHLM teams are in North America to fit the VHLM's theme of having no non-american teams. Rating 9/10

[Blazzer 759]

I would love to see an expansion team in Asia for sure!

[Plate 355]

For the M, Winnipeg and Edmonton already have teams in the NHL. Not to say that teams in the sim league can't exist in the NHL (Toronto, Vancouver for example). Just a suggestion for some other cities and names that might be possible: 

Phoenix Pharaohs
Kansas City Thunder 
Oklahoma Stampede

 

Just some suggestions.