"Affiliation" Between CHL and IHL Confirmed!

Hello fellow CHL and especially Jackalope fans. It is a warm night here in the Permian Basin, and it was announced yesterday that there will be some type of "affiliation" between the Central Hockey League and International Hockey League for the 2010-2011 CHL season.

There have been rumors swirling around about this apparent merger for several weeks now, and I am very relieved and excited about this news. Many people are speculating that this is being called an affiliation as opposed to a merger right now for the simple fact that negotiations are still in the works, and legally it can't be called a merger yet. Very few details were released about this merger yesterday, but more details are expected to be released after the CHL Summer Conference concludes on Saturday, and when the IHL conference concludes later on in the month. Hopefully by then we will know what the division alignment will be for next season, if there will be much inter-league play between the IHL teams and current CHL teams, and many other topics that really need to be addressed.

Since we don't know many more details pertaining to this merger, I am going to go ahead and make this post a short one. Once details become public knowledge, check out the blog for updates. By the way, what do you all think of this merger? Is it a good idea, or a bad idea? Feel free to post comments on this topic. Also, here is the official article released by the CHL that announced the "affiliation" between the CHL and IHL: http://centralhockeyleague.com/pressroom/news/index.html?article_id=4670

Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and welcome to the Central Hockey League IHL teams and fans!

Trio of Veterans Signed for 2010-2011

Hello fellow Jackalope fans! It's a beautiful day here in the Permian Basin, and the Odessa Jackalopes have announced three player signings for next season's team. It has officially been announced that Sebastien Thinel, Dave Van Drunen, and Phil Plante will all return to the Jacks for the 2010-2011 season.

This is great news as all three of these players have been key components of the Jackalope's success over the last couple of seasons. All three of these players are also veteran players meaning the Jacks now have only one veteran spot on the roster left to fill. I found it interesting that the Jacks announced three veteran players all at one time, and Karlander was not one of them. What this leads me to believe is that Karlander will probably not be with the Jackalopes next year. If this turns out to be true, then the veteran that takes Kory's spot will have some pretty big skates to fill. Karlander was an offensive threat, a master on faceoffs, and brought incredible leadership to the team. If he does not return, then all of those elements will be dearly missed.

However, there are some more than capable veterans available that would be great additions to the Jacks. The first one that comes to mind is Chad Woollard. He is now officially a free agent since the IceRays announced that they would not be returning to the Central Hockey League next season. Oh, by the way, have you heard that the IceRays will not be back in the CHL for the 2010-2011 season? We will get to that in just a bit. Now, lets get back to Woollard. This guy is one of the premier snipers in the entire CHL. Not only that, but he was an MVP finalist last year, and is also very good on the power play. I would be thrilled to see him in a Jackalope sweater next season, but that is just wishful thinking on my part. Who would you guys like to see fill the open veteran roster spot should Karlander not return next season? Feel free to leave a comment on this post and speak your mind on this matter. All in all, I am very pleased with these three signings by the Jacks. Welcome back guys, and lets finally bring that Presidents Cup home next year.

The Jacks also officially announced that Brian Swiniarski has retired from professional hockey. Many of us already knew about this, but it still sucks to see that this is now official news. Thank you Swinny for all of the memories over the last few seasons.

Finally, the Central Hockey League has now lost another team to the NAHL. It was announced that Amarillo would cease operations just a little over a week ago, and now we have found out that Corpus will not be returning to the CHL next season either. Both teams will join the NAHL. This is obviously very bad news for the league as there are now only thirteen teams left in the CHL. We can only hope for new expansion teams or for some type of merger in the very near future, or I predict that we will not have a Central Hockey League in the not-so-distant future. Lets hope and pray that this does not happen. With all of this said, I'm going to go ahead and wrap things up here. I will blog again soon.

Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and welcome back Thinel, Plante, and the captain Van Drunen!

Circelli Headed to Sweden

Hello fellow Jackalope fans. I have some pretty disappointing news today as it has been announced that Collin Circelli has left the Jackalopes to play in Sweden for the 2010-2011 season. I was very disappointed when I heard this news as Circelli was one of my favorite players from the Jacks, and seeing our top goal scorer from last season leave the team is definitely hard to take in. Now the Jacks, in my opinion, need to add another big goal scorer in the offseason. With that said, I definitely wish Circelli all the luck in the world overseas. Who knows, maybe we will see him back in a Jackalope sweater some day. You can read the article pertaining to Circelli heading to Sweden at this website: www.khk.se/?id=45243 In order to read this article, however, you will need to find a way to translate it to English.

I would also like to let those that do not know yet that the Amarillo Gorillas are no more. They have ceased operations, and will have a press conference tomorrow to announce possible new locations for the franchise. I must say that this is very bad news, even though this was pretty much expected by many people. The old Southwest Division is slowly beginning to disappear... lets hope the Jackalopes will be around for years to come. I would like to say that I'm sorry to all of the passionate Amarillo Gorilla fans that have now lost their team. Even though we have had our differences over the years, I always hate to see a team go dark. We can always use new Jackalope fans... you guys are always welcome to join us at the ECC.

With all of this said, I'm going to go ahead and wrap things up here. If I hear of any more news pertaining to the Jacks or CHL in the coming days, I will more than likely blog.

Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and damn you Sweden! ; )

Presidents Cup Finds New Home in the Black Hills

Hello fellow Jackalope fans. It is a scorching and windy day here in the Permian Basin, and the 2009-2010 Central Hockey League season is officially in the books. The new champs have been crowned, and they are none other than the Rapid City Rush. The Rush won in game six in an absolute thriller. The game went into double OT before Scott Wray netted the Presidents Cup clincher, and the game was only thirty-two seconds away from going to triple OT. Les Reaney was named the playoff MVP, so I would like to congratulate him as well as the Rapid City Rush for an incredible second season that was capped off with a President Cup Championship. I would also like to once again congratulate the Allen Americans on an amazing first season. There is no doubt in my mind that they will once again be major contenders next year as well. With that said, the CHL Summer Conference is just a few weeks away, and we should start to hear news pertaining to the league. I'm going to make this a short post. I just wanted to offer my congratulations to the new CHL champions, the Rapid City Rush.

Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!!

A Few Random Thoughts by Yours Truly

Hello fellow Jackalope fans. I said that I would blog if there was anything newsworthy that happened pertaining to the Jacks or the CHL, so I guess I will give a quick update on the President Cup Finals between the Allen Americans and Rapid City Rush. The Rapid City Rush lead the series three games to two with the final two games (game seven if necessary) being played in the Black Hills. The Rush spanked the Americans last night in Allen by a final of 7-2. Ouch! In my last post I said that I wanted the Americans to win the cup for the simple fact that they represent the Southern Conference. To put it bluntly, I have changed my mind. Before anybody calls be a bandwagon jumper, let me explain why I will no longer be cheering for Allen.

The other night in their game against the Rush, the Americans decided to goon it up towards the end of the game just like they did with the Jacks in one of the Southern Conference Finals games. I have zero respect for a team that plays like that, and seeing Allen play that "physical hockey" as so many American fans like to say, brought back some bitter memories for me from the Southern Finals. With that said, I'm not rooting for the Rush either. To be totally honest with all of you, I really can't stand either team. Whoever wins... wins. Plain and simple. It will have no effect on me. I will probably offer my congratulations to the team that does win the cup, but I certainly won't be jumping for joy for either team. Do I sound bitter? Oh well, I guess I am a little bitter. I'll get over it eventually.

Now lets move on to a little bit of information that was released recently by the Odessa American. According to an article published in the Odessa American, the Jacks already have thirteen returning players from this season's team signed for next season. That is almost unheard of in the Central Hockey League, and this means that the Jacks will have practically the same team for three years in a row. I find this to be extremely good news. Some folks make good points in pointing out that maybe the Jacks need to change things up since they can't get over the proverbial hump in the playoffs, but I disagree with that logic. If the Jacks can keep the solid base that they have had over the last few years and make a few key additions, then I think next year will finally be the year that the Ray Miron Presidents Cup will make its way to the Permian Basin. Let me explain why I think this.

First of all, the Jacks have made it to game seven of the Southern Conference Finals for the past two years in a row. That is something that should not be taken lightly. Of course the Jacks ultimate goal is to make it to the President Cup Finals, and eventually win the cup. I think that will happen, and I think that will happen very, very soon. Secondly, the Jacks have steadily improved since the new owners have taken over, Paul Gillis and Matt Cressman have become the head and assistant coaches respectively, and Joe Clark has taken over as general manager.

Lets start with the owners. I honestly do not believe that there is any other owner(s) in the entire league that cares for their team as much as our owners do. The reason I think this is for a number of reasons. Not only do our owners help put a fantastic team on the ice year in and year out, but they are also very involved in the community. They have done so many wonderful things for out community, but sadly our community rarely returns the favor. Our attendance has been an issue for the past few years, and I don't think it's right. As much as the Jacks do for our community, the community should return the favor by going to a few games, cheering on a powerhouse team in the Jacks, and show the Odessa Jackalopes that you care as much for them as they do for you. I could go on and on about our attendance, but I won't... for now anyway. Also, I have seen the owners at every single game sitting with the "common folks". They don't sit in the suites... they sit where everybody else does. Not only that, but they show emotion when the team wins or loses. I still vividly remember watching Mrs. Nyborg shed a few tears in one of the Jacks losses against the Americans. This is a good thing in the sense that we know that our owners care tremendously for our team, which is more that can be said about some other teams owners.

Now lets move on to our coaches. I strongly believe that the Jackalopes have the best coach (by far) in the entire CHL. Paul Gillis had a long career in the NHL... he definitely knows what he is doing. Not only that, but he has been a very successful head coach in many leagues, and now has over 500 wins as a head coach. That just proves that he is a winner. He has simply been amazing with the Jacks, and I expect even better things next season. Cressman deserves a lot of credit too. While he may not have the resume that Gillis does, he played for the Odessa Jackalopes for six seasons. He knows this team and this community probably like the back of his hand by now, and he was a great player for the Jacks. He's younger than Gillis, so I think that he can probably relate more to many of the players, which is just an extra bonus that makes the team that much better. Sorry for rambling, but I just thought these guys deserved a little credit for how much they have done for the Odessa Jackalopes.

With all of this said, the Jacks were the Governors Cup Champions this season, ended the season with a franchise record 101 points, had the best power play and penalty kill in the regular season, and had the most outstanding goalie in the entire league in the regular season. They have nothing to be ashamed of. They are still winners in my (and many others for that matter) book. That Presidents Cup has eluded the Jacks for thirteen years now, but their time to shine will come in the very near future... I guarantee it. I am going to go ahead and wrap things up here. I will probably be blogging again in the next couple of weeks with my wish list for next year's team, the improvements that the Jacks need to make in the offseason, and of course when any other news pertaining to the Jacks is made available.

Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and can you believe that we already have thirteen returnees signed for next years team!?!?