Defections, financial woes plague CHL as championship series nears

** Part two of a four part series **
TEMPE, Ariz. – By early March, the eighteen teams of the Central Hockey League were battling for position in the upcoming playoffs – at the same time, several teams were also looking at the future of their franchises – a future that didn’t include the CHL.
The Odessa Jackalopes had already made it abundantly clear that they would not be back for a 15^th season, opting instead to abandon the minor professional level for the North American Hockey League, a Tier II Junior A developmental league.
The successful move to the NAHL by the CHL’s Corpus Christi IceRays as well as the Amarillo Gorillas following the 2009-10 season no doubt served as an example of struggling clubs that were able to maintain ice hockey in their communities while deeply reducing operating costs – the bane of any minor pro team’s existence.
Though the team had moderate success over the past few years under the direction of head coach Paul Gillis, the Jackalopes faced perennial heartbreak in the post-season and a continuous downturn in attendance. 
The Laredo Bucks, who had  struggled financially as well as on the ice for the past couple of seasons had been slightly less vocal about their intent to move to another league. Although they have vowed to remain a professional team, the organization has yet to announce their plans for the coming season.

The Bucks had also looked at the NAHL, which makes the most sense for them geographically, more so than a move to Southern Professional Hockey League, their most likely professional option.
Assigning blame to what he called “the economic model” of the Central Hockey League, owner Glenn Hart publicly lamented the expenses associated with operating within the league as well as “additional costs” incurred due to the ratification of the Professional Hockey Players’ Association as the collective bargaining representative for all CHL players in 2008. 
The PHPA is well established in the world of minor professional hockey and also represents all players in the ECHL as well as the American Hockey League.
With two CHL teams working out their exit strategies, another skate was about to drop, this time in Northern Louisiana.
On March 13^th, fans opened their Sunday papers to find a revealing article about the future of the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, one of the oldest and most respected teams in the league.
Owner Tommy Scott, whose 11^th hour rescue of the franchise in 2009 prevented the demise of the organization, admitted that he had been exploring the possibility of moving the Mudbugs to the SPHL.
“I’ve been hearing we were going to the SPHL for a month. I was glad everybody had it figured out, because I sure didn’t,” Scott told the Shreveport Times’ Roy Lang, III. “So I decided to reach out to them. I just wanted to know more about their model. It sounds attractive.”
Scott stated that he had lost well over $700,000.00 since purchasing the franchise, a figure that has surely increased since, especially considering the Mudbugs’ successful post-season run. Scott also admitted that while he would prefer to remain in the CHL, from a business standpoint, he has to consider other, less expensive options if the team is going to survive.
A move to the SPHL would certainly make sense from a financial standpoint – the operating budget for a team playing in the SPHL is said to be about a million dollars less than playing in the CHL. Player salaries are significantly lower, equipment costs are less and the league plays ten fewer games than the current CHL schedule. In addition, at least for now, the players have no union representation. SPHL President Jim Combs has stated recently that his league is interested in expansion and while he hasn’t spoken directly with representatives of any CHL teams (besides the Mudbugs), he confirmed his knowledge of talk between teams within the CHL about a possible move to the SPHL.
While May 15th is the date that the SPHL would like to have all commitments for the upcoming season established, anyone who has followed minor pro hockey knows that when it comes to expansion opportunities, the word deadline comes with a very loose definition.
On March 23rd, news broke that the Odessa  Jackalopes’ bid was accepted and the ownership group had finalized the purchase of a Junior team from Owatonna, Minnesota the previous week and that the team would retain the Jackalopes name. 
Meanwhile, the Colorado Eagles sent a less than subtle signal about their intentions when their season ticket renewal packages were received by most fans that same week. The Eagles announced   that they will be playing 36 home games in 2011-12, which just happens to be the same number as teams competing in the ECHL.
The Eagles, who will either advance to the Ray Miron President’s Cup final or see their run end after tonight’s deciding game seven against the defending CHL champion Rapid City Rush, have otherwise  kept quiet about their plans for next season.
However, several reliable sources have confirmed (off the record) that the team will in fact move to the ECHL, taking the place of the Victoria Salmon Kings in the Mountain Division of the league’s Western Conference. The ECHL’s Board of Governors unanimously approved the withdrawal of the Salmon Kings from the league, following their owners’ purchase of a Western Hockey League franchise.
Widely recognized as the most successful franchise in the CHL, the Eagles have sold out nearly every home game (5,289 seats) since they first took the ice on October 17, 2003 and maintain a waiting list for prospective season ticket holders. During their eight seasons in the league, the Eagles have won three regular season titles, six division championships, four conference championships and two President’s Cup championships.
If the Eagles manage to win tonight’s game in Rapid City, one can’t help but note the irony of a match-up with the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, who have already earned the right to compete in the upcoming CHL final series, considering the likelihood that neither team will play in the league next season. 
An expected move by the Eagles organization also brings to light the future of the Rapid City Rush, who are also rumored to be reviewing the process of making a change for next season.  
Several other CHL teams have publicly expressed their intent (at least for now) to remain in the league, including the Texas Brahmas, the Allen Americans and the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. Then there’s the Arizona Sundogs, who have been awarded the 2012 CHL All-Star Game and have already signed two players to their 2011-12 roster.
It’s worth noting that the Killer Bees, whose ownership is currently in contention, is about a month past the date they normally send out season ticket renewal packages and have reportedly seen no income thus far during the off-season. As for the five former International Hockey League teams (including the expansion Evansville Icemen) who just completed the first of a two-year  collaboration with the CHL, only two have expressed their intent to remain for the 2011-12 season, but only one of the two will do so.Fort Wayne Komets President Michael Franke, who has previously denied rumors that the team would leave for a re-formed version of the IHL or for the ECHL says the team will remain in the CHL.
Franke’s counterpart with the Quad Cities Mallards, Chris Presson previously  confirmed that his team will be part of the CHL next season.
“I would expect things will be status quo,” Presson told the Quad Cities Times on April 29th. “There may be some expansion, there may be some contraction, but Quad-Cities will be here regardless.”
That confirmation was short-lived however as Mallards owner Eric Karls, who purchased the team less than a year ago, announced this morning that he is terminating his operation of the Central Hockey League team.
The status of the financially-strapped Dayton Gems and Bloomington PrairieThunder, whose current ownership was served an IRS tax lien last month, remains up in the air.
The anticipated off-season upheaval in the CHL has led to at least two league-wide meetings of owners in the past several weeks with nothing reported, at least publicly, as to what transpired.  
For now, the overall future of the Central Hockey League is in question and fans as well as players who will be affected by the inevitable changes, perhaps the most significant in the history of the league, will continue to observe as events continue to unfold.
Next: Lack of experience, economic conditions may have doomed CHL’s parent company
Contact the writer/photographer at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com