UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE
by Ihor Stelmach
'Second best' vows to keep trying harder
The International Hockey League has two teams on suspension and several others on life support, but that has done nothing to diminish Commissioner Bob Ufer's optimism for the long-range health of the league. The league clearly does not want to compete with the NHL, despite the concerns of some in the older league who believe the IHL may try to go the way of the World Hockey Association.
Ufer thinks the league has found its niche by promoting itself as the "second-best league in the world" and said the results are beginning to show on the bottom line.
The San Francisco Spiders and Phoenix Roadrunners franchises are on suspension for 1997-1998, but the league is expected to announce shortly that deals have been completed to move them to Victoria, British Columbia, and Toronto, respectively, in time for 1999-2000. And more teams, he said, have stemmed the free-flowing river of red ink.
Teams such as the Las Vegas Thunder, Indianapolis Ice, Fort Wayne Komets and Quebec Rafales have encountered financial problems the past few seasons, but Ufer said the league is working with teams to stop that. He said two key factors are careful marketing plans and new arenas.
The Utah Grizzlies are in the new E Center this season, and team president Tim Mouser said its impact is already apparent.
"Look at the (Detroit) Vipers," Mouser said. "They don't need the ticket revenue because they control the parking and the concessions, and as long as they have people in the building, they'll do fine. The building is the key."
The league is experimenting with rule changes Ufer hopes will create more offense and speed up the game without offending traditionalists.
"As great as this game is, we feel we can make it better," Ufer said. "We're confronted with greater than ever size, speed and strength of our players. What we're doing is looking for ways to improve the excitement and offensive capabilities. While some of our proposals may not be the answer, we owe it to our fans to continue to explore ways to improve it."
Minors have major numbers
The bottom rung of professional hockey was once described as the Jules Verne League. You know, 20,000 leagues beneath the NHL.
But now there are seven minor professional leagues, and they're all trying to forge their own identity. Things are clear at the top where the American and International leagues are Nos. 1 and 2, but not so crystal clear beneath them. Prior to the formation of the Colonial League in 1991-1992, the "low minors" of hockey consisted of just 11 teams in the East Coast League.
But the secondary minor league network now includes 67 teams in five leagues. That's 600 percent growth in six years - from 200 players to more than 1,300.
How confusing is it? Until the Colonial League changed its name to the United League this summer, it shared the CHL designation with the 10-team Central League. There's the third-year West Coast League and the second-year Western Pro League.
Including the AHL and IHL, there are more than 100 minor pro teams and 2,000 players this season. So how do the leagues fit in the minor-pro network?
Well, there really isn't a Triple-A, Double-A, Single-A system like you have in baseball. The AHL and IHL, to a lesser extent, are the developmental leagues. The ECHL is struggling to make it, too, but it's not quite there yet.
Unlike baseball, where it's common for young prospects to advance through the ranks from rookie to Single-A to Double-A to Triple-A before making the majors, blue-chip hockey prospects don't drop below the AHL or IHL.
The ECHL is a catch-all league for secondary prospects and career minor leaguers. Granted, 21 of 25 ECHL teams have working agreements with NHL teams, and a handful of players such as Olaf Kolzig of the Washington Capitals, Paul Laus of the Florida Panthers and Harry York of the St. Louis Blues eventually make the jump. But there isn't what you would call a pipeline of prospects flowing through the ECHL.
In terms of caliber of play, the ECHL is rated slightly ahead of the UHL. The WPHL is a step below the UHL and a step above the CHL and WCHL.
Minor league hockey headhunter Dan Delaney sends his best clients to the ECHL (the only unionized league of the bottom five) and UHL. "The ECHL is established because of its working agreements with NHL teams," says Delaney. "But the United League is probably just as competitive because it has a nine-player veteran rule. Other leagues allow only three or four veterans."
Another factor that has a huge impact on caliber is salary. One reason why the Texas-strong WPHL leap-frogged ahead of the CHL this past year is because its players are paid 43 percent better. WPHL teams have weekly salary caps of $9,450 compared to $6,600 in the CHL.
The WPHL also has better goaltending because of a three-marquee-player rule that allows each team to budget a total of $100,000 for three players. That lured ex-NHLers Daniel Berthiaume and John Blue, as well as several other former AHL and IHL goalies last season, although Berthiaume returned to the ECHL this year.
The growing war between the WPHL and CHL may be a battle to the death. Or, perhaps, a battle that will result in a union of the two.
The CHL has traditionally been strong at the gate, although average attendance last season dropped to 4,600 after three straight years above 5,600. The upstart WPHL averaged 4,506 in its first season in 1996-1997. To address a downward trend in attendance, caliber of play and credibility, the CHL recently airlifted in Ray Compton and Tom Berry from the IHL's head office to serve as president and commissioner, respectively. Berry isn't about to start a minor league war.
"There's an absolute guaranteed reality that these two leagues join in the next two or three years," Berry says. "It makes sense for us to help each other, not compete."
Perhaps fitting into this future union is the nine-team WCHL. Ambitious and well-organized, it has three teams in California and another in Alaska.
Here are the basics about the East Coast, United, Western Pro, Central and West Coast leagues. The rating on caliber of play was determined in a The Hockey News survey of minor league experts. Working agreements includes all those with NHL, AHL and IHL clubs.
New franchises putting fans back in arenas
Minor pro hockey experienced a resurgence at the gate last season thanks to eight new venues. Attendance in the American, International and East Coast leagues increased 7 percent compared to 1995-1996. That contrasts the dropoff of a year before when attendance in the three leagues dipped by 8 percent.
New teams in Quebec, Grand Rapids and Manitoba in the IHL, Philadelphia and Kentucky in the AHL, and Mississippi, Pensacola and Baton Rouge in the ECHL attracted more fans than the league averages. The San Antonio Dragons (IHL) and Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) were new teams with below average totals.
The Detroit Vipers (IHL) again led the way with an average of 12,506. That's more than the NHL's New York Islanders and Los Angeles Kings.
New minor league teams this season are the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, Hartford Wolf Pack and Beast of New Haven in the AHL, and the Chesapeake Icebreakers, New Orleans Brass and Pee Dee Pride in the ECHL.
Teams that have not returned are the Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL), Baltimore Bandits, Binghamton Rangers and Carolina Monarchs in the AHL, and Knoxville Cherokees in the ECHL.
Top three minor leagues boast a total of 52 Ukes
The top three professional minor league circuits (AHL, IHL and ECHL) are very capably represented by Ukrainian players.
The American Hockey League has 14 Ukrainians on rosters at press time, including the recently signed Oleg Tverdovsky, contract holdout with Phoenix, signing with Hamilton in early December. The more independent International League lists 19 Ukrainian pucksters, as does the East Coast League. Of the total of 52 Ukes, three have also spent time with their parent clubs in the NHL this season. They include Drake Berehowsky, Wade Belak and Steve Halko, all defensemen.
As for the remaining lower minor leagues, information concerning team rosters and scoring statistics are almost impossible to obtain. Rest assured that there are many more Ukes toiling away in these lower leagues. Among the better known is veteran netminder Sergei Tkachenko, tending goal for the Anchorage Aces in the West Coast Hockey League. We'll try to get the inside scoop out here, too.
| Player | Pos. | Team |
| Peter Ambroziak | LW | Hershey Bears |
| Wade Belak | D | Hershey Bears |
| Drake Berehowsky | D | Hamilton Bulldogs |
| Frank Bialowas | D | Philadelphia Phantoms |
| Steve Halko | D | Beast of New Heaven |
| Todd Hlushko | RW | St. John Flames |
| Sergei Klimentiev | D | Rochester Americans |
| Mike Maneluk | LW | Philadelphia Phantoms |
| Nick Naumenko | D | Worcester Icecats |
| Peter Sidorkiewicz | GT | Albany River Rats |
| Lee Sorochan | D | Hartford Wolf Pack |
| Oleg Tverdovsky | D | Hamilton Bulldogs |
| Alex Vasilevski | RW | HamiltonBulldogs |
| Brendan Yarema | C | Kentucky Thoroughblades |
| Player | Pos. | Team |
| Aaron Boh | D | Fort Wayne Komets |
| Mike Buzak | GT | Long Beach Ice Dogs |
| Dave Chyzowski | LW | Orlando-San Antonio Dragons |
| Brent Fedyk | LW | Detroit Vipers |
| Alex Gattcheniouk | C | Michigan K-Wings |
| Alexander Godynyuk | D | Chicago Wolves |
| Tony Hrkac | C | Michigan K-Wings |
| Ryan Huska | LW | Indianapolis Ice |
| Paul Koch | D | Chicago Wolves |
| Mark Kolesar | LW | Manitoba Moose |
| Brad Lukowich | D | Michigan K-Wings |
| Jeremy Mylymok | D | Quebec Rafales |
| Yevgeny Namestnikov | D | Utah Grizzlies |
| Greg Pankiewicz | RW | Manitoba Moose |
| Dan Ratushny | D | Quebec Rafales |
| Russ Romaniuk | LW | Manitoba-Long Beach |
| Jeff Salajko | GT | Kansas City Blades |
| Mike Tomlak | C | Milwaukee Admirals |
| Dan Tryboyevich | D | Grand Rapids Griffins |
| Player | Pos. | Team |
| Alexander Alexeev | D | Hampton Roads Admirals |
| Steve Cheredaryk | D | New Orleans Brass |
| David Craievich | LW | Mobile Mysticks |
| Brad Federenko | LW | Jacksonville Lizard Kings |
| Garry Gulash | D | Birmingham Bulls |
| Dieter Kochan | GT | Louisville Riverfrogs |
| Jack Kowal | LW | Louisville Riverfrogs |
| Rick Kowalsky | RW | Hampton Roads Admirals |
| Taras Lendzyk | GT | Richmond Renegades |
| Alex Matvichuk | Wheeling Thunderbirds | |
| Jay Mazur | RW | Pee Dee Pride |
| Marty Melnychuk | Huntington Blizzard | |
| Mikhail Nemirovsky | New Orleans Brass | |
| Dan Pawlaczyk | Chesapeake Icebreakers | |
| Ryan Pisiak | Louisiana Icegators | |
| Mark Polak | Pensacola Ice Pilots | |
| Sergei Radchenko | Wheeling Thunderbirds | |
| Steve Suk | Mobilee Mysticks | |
| Brad Zavisha | Birmingham Bulls |
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 4, 1998, No. 1, Vol. LXVI
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