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Post by jimmy on Jun 23, 2006 9:29:18 GMT -5
Given the ongoing Marchand to V-D debate, I thought it might be fun to rank the places we would like to play in the Q - feel free to personalize your rankings for reasons others may or may not share, and provide some rationale (makes for better debate)... I am going to do top and bottom 5...
Top Five
1. Moncton: hometown bias for me... but a well run franchise, players are treated with numerous perks, decent facility, bilingual community, good crowd support even in down years.
2. Halifax: many of the same comments apply as Moncton, excellent educational opportunities, seem to always be competitive and can attract high end talent, nice city.
3. Quebec: deep pocketed organization, access to education in both languages, will do anything to win.
4. Rimouski: great hockeytown, tradition of success and breeding ground for future NHL stars, the fans are passionate, team treats players very well.
5. Gatineau: so well coached and managed, Ottawa area would be a great spot to live.
Honourable mention: SNL - watch for this to become a marquee place to play in a few years...
Bottom Five
1. Val d'Or: remote location, small budget, almost entirely French, players well being is second to the bottom line.
2. Baie-Comeau: see Val d'Or... also, history of running a goon franchise.
3. Drummondville: just a poorly run franchise from top to bottom, perennial underachievers, and doesn't strike me as a particularly great place to want to live.
4. PEI: this one may be controversial ... under the current management regime, no one wants to play there - but that aside, it would be a decent spot to play, close to home, friendly people ... they could turn it around if management would pull their head out of their ass...
5. Lewiston: nothing against them really, but kind of isolated, so lots of long road trips, plus frequent hassle of clearing customs.
Dishonourable mention: SNB - they seem pretty disorganized right now, not the nicest city to live in, although they do have a tremendous facility.
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Post by PotatoesRGoodYum on Jun 23, 2006 9:40:32 GMT -5
I would play anywhere course it's easy to say that knowing you never had the chance to play in most of those places I would agree with your top 5 except i'd change the order somewhat 1) Quebec 2) Gatineau 3) Halifax 4) Rimouski 5) PEI (for hometown bias) Bottom 5 1) Bathurst 2) Val Dor 3) Baie Comeau 4) Chicoutimi 5) Drummondville
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Post by Cristobal Huet on Jun 23, 2006 10:22:04 GMT -5
Given the ongoing Marchand to V-D debate, I thought it might be fun to rank the places we would like to play in the Q - feel free to personalize your rankings for reasons others may or may not share, and provide some rationale (makes for better debate)... I am going to do top and bottom 5... Top Five 1. Moncton: hometown bias for me... but a well run franchise, players are treated with numerous perks, decent facility, bilingual community, good crowd support even in down years. 2. Halifax: many of the same comments apply as Moncton, excellent educational opportunities, seem to always be competitive and can attract high end talent, nice city. 3. Quebec: deep pocketed organization, access to education in both languages, will do anything to win. 4. Rimouski: great hockeytown, tradition of success and breeding ground for future NHL stars, the fans are passionate, team treats players very well. 5. Gatineau: so well coached and managed, Ottawa area would be a great spot to live. Honourable mention: SNL - watch for this to become a marquee place to play in a few years... Bottom Five 1. Val d'Or: remote location, small budget, almost entirely French, players well being is second to the bottom line. 2. Baie-Comeau: see Val d'Or... also, history of running a goon franchise. 3. Drummondville: just a poorly run franchise from top to bottom, perennial underachievers, and doesn't strike me as a particularly great place to want to live. 4. PEI: this one may be controversial ... under the current management regime, no one wants to play there - but that aside, it would be a decent spot to play, close to home, friendly people ... they could turn it around if management would pull their head out of their ass... 5. Lewiston: nothing against them really, but kind of isolated, so lots of long road trips, plus frequent hassle of clearing customs. Dishonourable mention: SNB - they seem pretty disorganized right now, not the nicest city to live in, although they do have a tremendous facility. What makes VD any worse than SJs SJ CB RN Drum Shaw BC Chi Lew? Those places are just as remote from the hockey "mainsteam", just as uniligual and those teams have not produced the Bourdons Dumonts Reids and Luongos to the NHL or won 2 Presidents Cups in the past 9 years.
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Post by SteveUL on Jun 23, 2006 10:26:49 GMT -5
Obviously the wealthier organizations would be better choices ... and locations that have a decent university in the community that allows options on what programs you can enter ... then it would come down to what kind of travel is involved.
In the Atlantic division, Moncton is right in the middle of it all ... a 2.5 hour drive (or less) gets you to Bathurst, Hal, PEI, SJ ... 15 of the 35 road games ... those road trips don't even need an overnight stay unless they are part of a longer trip. Halifax would be second choice for all the same reasons ... an even better opportunity for education ... but they are a little more remote than we are compared to the other 7 teams in their division ... only a small inconvenience.
I really think that communities that don't have alot to offer the kids away from the rink ... education options ... team involvement in the community ... etc ... those are the locations I would not want my son to go because I think that is when a young man might find some bad habits to get involved in. I can't speak to what the teams in Quebec have to offer but I know some of them have very little beyond the hockey.
I think both SJ and SJ's will become teams that will be good locations for players ... SJ's in particular ... they still need time to establish their reputation with a proven track record of being a good place to play. But what do they have to offer the unilingual french player from Quebec ?
Charlottetown and Sydney are great communities and I would have no problem living in either location ... but I really dislike the idea that their GM can screw up as many times as he wants and he'll never lose his job. Sydney is a little too remote for my liking ... 4 hrs to Halifax ... 5 hrs to Moncton ... 6 hrs (??) to Charlottetown. Those bus rides may seem like nothing but do them 70 times a year plus playoffs and see how sick of them you get.
Where I am in my life now I look back and wish I had grabbed an opportunity that would allow me to become bilingual ... so I'd never be opposed to going to a place where I had to learn french ... that would be a great bonus. But as a young man thats not really a selling point.
So ... Halifax has the advantage when it comes to what it can offer in educational options ... but Moncton has the advantage when it comes to the best travel schedule. Moncton also has a slight advantage over Halifax in that it is a bilingual community and so kids coming from Quebec have little difficulty adapting ... just looking at the makeup of each team's roster would suggest that to be true.
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Post by SteveUL on Jun 23, 2006 10:38:16 GMT -5
Given the ongoing Marchand to V-D debate, I thought it might be fun to rank the places we would like to play in the Q - feel free to personalize your rankings for reasons others may or may not share, and provide some rationale (makes for better debate)... I am going to do top and bottom 5... Top Five 1. Moncton: hometown bias for me... but a well run franchise, players are treated with numerous perks, decent facility, bilingual community, good crowd support even in down years. 2. Halifax: many of the same comments apply as Moncton, excellent educational opportunities, seem to always be competitive and can attract high end talent, nice city. 3. Quebec: deep pocketed organization, access to education in both languages, will do anything to win. 4. Rimouski: great hockeytown, tradition of success and breeding ground for future NHL stars, the fans are passionate, team treats players very well. 5. Gatineau: so well coached and managed, Ottawa area would be a great spot to live. Honourable mention: SNL - watch for this to become a marquee place to play in a few years... Bottom Five 1. Val d'Or: remote location, small budget, almost entirely French, players well being is second to the bottom line. 2. Baie-Comeau: see Val d'Or... also, history of running a goon franchise. 3. Drummondville: just a poorly run franchise from top to bottom, perennial underachievers, and doesn't strike me as a particularly great place to want to live. 4. PEI: this one may be controversial ... under the current management regime, no one wants to play there - but that aside, it would be a decent spot to play, close to home, friendly people ... they could turn it around if management would pull their head out of their ass... 5. Lewiston: nothing against them really, but kind of isolated, so lots of long road trips, plus frequent hassle of clearing customs. Dishonourable mention: SNB - they seem pretty disorganized right now, not the nicest city to live in, although they do have a tremendous facility. What makes VD any worse than SJs SJ CB RN Drum Shaw BC Chi Lew? Those places are just as remote from the hockey "mainsteam", just as uniligual and those teams have not produced the Bourdons Dumonts Reids and Luongos to the NHL or won 2 Presidents Cups in the past 9 years. SJ is very close to most of its divisional rivals ... 4 hrs or less gets you to PEI, Hal, Mon, Bat ... 5 hours gets you to Lew ... thats 18 of its 35 road games within 5 hours. SJ's flies to get off the Rock ... then they bus around for the road trip. They'll fly into Moncton and bus around to play PEI, Bat and SJ ... not very long trips. CB is remote ... not to my liking ... RN is also. Shaw, Que, Drum and Vic are all pretty close together and Rimouski isn't that far from them.
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Post by Cristobal Huet on Jun 23, 2006 10:44:09 GMT -5
What makes VD any worse than SJs SJ CB RN Drum Shaw BC Chi Lew? Those places are just as remote from the hockey "mainsteam", just as uniligual and those teams have not produced the Bourdons Dumonts Reids and Luongos to the NHL or won 2 Presidents Cups in the past 9 years. SJ is very close to most of its divisional rivals ... 4 hrs or less gets you to PEI, Hal, Mon, Bat ... 5 hours gets you to Lew ... thats 18 of its 35 road games within 5 hours. SJ's flies to get off the Rock ... then they bus around for the road trip. They'll fly into Moncton and bus around to play PEI, Bat and SJ ... not very long trips. CB is remote ... not to my liking ... RN is also. Shaw, Que, Drum and Vic are all pretty close together and Rimouski isn't that far from them. Travel is a concern, but I don't think it would/should be #1 when trying to chose a spot for your kid...if you had one and could chose.
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Post by SteveUL on Jun 23, 2006 10:54:29 GMT -5
SJ is very close to most of its divisional rivals ... 4 hrs or less gets you to PEI, Hal, Mon, Bat ... 5 hours gets you to Lew ... thats 18 of its 35 road games within 5 hours. SJ's flies to get off the Rock ... then they bus around for the road trip. They'll fly into Moncton and bus around to play PEI, Bat and SJ ... not very long trips. CB is remote ... not to my liking ... RN is also. Shaw, Que, Drum and Vic are all pretty close together and Rimouski isn't that far from them. Travel is a concern, but I don't think it would/should be #1 when trying to chose a spot for your kid...if you had one and could chose. I agree ... education is the #1 if its my kid. If I'm sending my kid away I want the people that suddenly take charge of my kid to enrich his life just as I would if he was still at home ... those people are the team officials and the billets. Travel issues are more a concern for the player than the parent ... but I want my kid to be happy where he is and if excessive time in a bus drives him nuts then he isn't happy.
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Post by hockeyfan42 on Jun 23, 2006 10:56:42 GMT -5
There are so many variables. I'd love Halifax, Moncton and Quebec for location. Rimouski? It would depend on the seasons. Best of times worst of times. But always fan support.
Lewiston as a city hasn't changed much since the Maineiacs arrived, but the organization sure has.
Pros:
Well run organization, outstanding coaching. Commitment to it's players, little trading Emphasis on education (great article on Seadogs forum). Sufficiently Bi lingual Strong NHL draft record (will any other team have a better two year record after this year's draft?) American community ..a lot of these guys will play in the US Fans follow these kids..some fans drove 8 hours to see A. picard in Syracuse Only 4 - 5 hours awway from much of Quebec
Cons:
Smaller city Drinking age 21 enforced American community - has its good and bad 3 games in three days weekend away schedule
Shit I'm getting old! A lot of the pros might be more for parents than players.
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Post by Bev on Jun 23, 2006 17:21:38 GMT -5
I would play anywhere course it's easy to say that knowing you never had the chance to play in most of those places I would agree with your top 5 except i'd change the order somewhat 1) Quebec 2) Gatineau 3) Halifax 4) Rimouski 5) PEI (for hometown bias) Bottom 5 1) Bathurst 2) Val Dor 3) Baie Comeau 4) Chicoutimi 5) Drummondville I see shopping is a priority for you..... you went to the wrong bloody mall.
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damina
Junior Member
GO CAT's GO!!!
Posts: 178
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Post by damina on Jun 23, 2006 20:39:36 GMT -5
If shopping is a concern, MONCTON is teh shopping Meca! Try Sunday shopping in Halifax !
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Milo
Full Member
Posts: 373
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Post by Milo on Jun 23, 2006 22:40:37 GMT -5
Oy... a one-storey mall and a power centre full of the same generic big-box stores found in almost every other city does ~not~ make this a shopping mecca - or anything remotely close to it.
Anyhow... Top 5
1. Gatineau 2. Rimouski 3. Quebec 4. Moncton 5. Halifax
Bottom 5
5. Chicoutimi 4. Victo 3. Baie-Comeau 2. Rouyn 1. Val d'Or
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Post by Porkchop on Jun 23, 2006 22:46:51 GMT -5
I think all the Maritime teams except CB have a good travel setup.......Bathurst is within 4 to 5 hours of all Maritime teams except CB, and they are within 6 hours of the eastern Quebec teams.............I think Bathurst may have the best overall travel of the whole league, just based on it being pretty much central for most of the road trips.........Moncton has the best travel when talking about Maritime trips.
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damina
Junior Member
GO CAT's GO!!!
Posts: 178
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Post by damina on Jun 24, 2006 18:53:25 GMT -5
Milo forgot to post that he would like to just go play by himself in his room. LOL
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trouty
Full Member
Newfoundland Hothead
Nattie Neighart,Trouty and Sweet Sara Stock
Posts: 344
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Post by trouty on Jun 24, 2006 23:55:07 GMT -5
the reason you all think St.John's is good cause smart friendly billits like me live here
woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
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Milo
Full Member
Posts: 373
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Post by Milo on Jun 25, 2006 0:41:32 GMT -5
Milo forgot to post that he would like to just go play by himself in his room. LOL Like, burn.
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