Kansas City Scouts

Subscribe to The Hockey News

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Just looking over the latest copy of The Hockey News (Volume 76, No. 06, Prospects Unlimited) and discovered some fascinating content. This copy is chalked full of content on prospects, with a cover story on the Buffalo Sabres young players.

There are also two articles that should be of interest to Kansas City hockey fans. One of those talks about the ECHL and building a winner in that league. The other article is about a four-game exhibition series that the Kansas City Scouts played in against the Washington Capitals right before the final decision to move to Denver was made.

The ECHL article, entitled Can’t Coast By written by Ken Campbell, gives good insight into how an ECHL franchise is put together. It also gives you an idea of how much your favorite KC Maverick might be getting paid to play, as they give a bit of information about the league’s salary cap. (With the cap at less than $15,000 a week, no wonder Lamar Hunt Jr. thinks the NHL expansion fee is “ridiculous”.) The article also states that ECHL affiliated teams receive between 3-8 players from an affiliation. It’s a good read, and details how difficult it could be to put together a championship ECHL team.

The Scouts article, entitled When the NHL Invaded Japan by Steve Currier, talks about The Coca-Cola Bottlers Cup 4-game exhibition tournament between the Scouts and the Washington Capitals that was played in Japan. It’s an interesting read, which I assume might just be an excerpt from Currier’s book on the subject, also called When the NHL Invaded Japan. It’s an interesting read and makes me one to grab a copy of the book to read more in-depth description, as well as maybe see more pictures from the event.

The Hockey News is always worthy of a purchase, if you don’t already subscribe, but I found this edition to be something I wanted to share. Oh, and this edition also had part 3 of the series talking about the WHA. It’s been an extremely interesting series to read with Howard Baldwin’s stories about the rise and fall of the league, and specifically his experiences with the Whalers franchise’s place in the league. Part 3 gets in to signing the Howes to play for the Whalers. I never knew Colleen Howe was involved in contract negotiations.

Anyhow, if you don’t have a subscription, why not? And if you don’t, you should think about trying to pick up a copy somewhere.

Reverse Retros 2.0—I Can Not Wait

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Icethetics, a reliable source when it comes to upcoming NHL jerseys, released a video in the last 24 hours with a possible leak of the Vancouver Canucks upcoming Reverse Retro design, as well as a tease with information about the New Jersey Devils Reverse Retro that included two concept designs harkening back to their origins as the Kansas City Scouts.

Link to the youtube video: FLASH: Canucks, Devils Reverse Retro 2.0 Jerseys Leak – YouTube

The Canucks leak came from a Facebook sales post with someone selling a new Canucks jersey that no one had ever seen. It’s a blue, green, and white jersey with a classic Johnny Canuck logo. That logo is similar to that of the franchise’s AHL affiliate Abbotsford Canucks, but harkening back to the 1962 Vancouver Canucks of the Western Hockey League.

The New Jersey Devils concept designs featured in the video were created from information Icethetics received from sources in the know. There are two concepts featured in the video. One is a Scouts jersey in New Jersey colors with KC crest lettering replaced by NJ. The other is a Devils jersey done in Scouts colors. Both of the designs look amazing, but the second is my favorite and is closest to the one I’ve seen others say is the design the Devils are going with. Either way, Adidas will probably get my money with a Scouts-based Devils Reverse Retro. And, I bet they’ll sell more of either of them than the Jersey-jerseys.

What KC Needs To Do To Get An NHL Team

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(Sorry it took me so long to get around to writing and posting this. Sometimes life gets in the way. I hope to be able to post future blogs with a little more frequency.)

Even though it’s a dream, I think somewhere down the line it’s possible to see another NHL team in KC. The best way for the city to see that dream come true is to set up things up better than the previous foray with the Scouts.

We already have a few things going for us:
1. We have an NHL ready venue. T-Mobile Center is the perfect size for NHL crowds. Having hosted a handful of exhibition games, the league is aware of the facility. While the arena, previously known as Sprint Center, is over a decade old, it’s still newer than 24 of the 32 NHL arenas currently being used.
2. We have a devoted fan base. KC has had numerous pro teams dating back to the 1920s. The area currently supports an ECHL team in the suburbs with the Mavericks in most seasons averaging near capacity attendance at Cable Dahmer Arena. KC also regularly ranks as one of the highest non-NHL markets in ratings for NHL TV games. So, there is support.
3. We have been there, done that, and/or read Troy Treasure’s Icing On The Plains: The Rough Ride of Kansas City’s NHL Scouts. The best way to learn what to do or not to do is experience. KC’s experience with the NHL from 1974-76 with the Scouts is something the city, potential owners, and even fans can learn from. And, for those of us who weren’t around for that experience, read Treasure’s book—it’s an amazing history lesson.

Now, we still have things to do:
1. Find a potential owner or small ownership group. Or, find a current NHL team that’s looking to move to a new city. The best thing would be if someone akin to Ewing Kauffman or Lamar Hunt emerged with interest in the NHL. But, even if we could get a small group of local corporate leaders together to purchase a team it could work.
2. Need to prove to the NHL and potential owners there’s interest in the NHL. This can be done by hosting exhibition games in our NHL arena and selling out. (Something that’s been done and could be done again. It’d also be helpful to continue to show support for the Mavericks by getting back to the pre-pandemic strong near sell-out average attendance.)
3. Moving up the Mavericks to the AHL also would help in showing the support KC has for hockey, by showing the city has an interest in seeing a higher quality product. (This one isn’t necessary, but if getting the NHL in town is in the distant future, which it most likely would be, it would show determination to move up and might draw in new fans.)

I know this isn’t detailed, but these are the thoughts I’ve had on the subject matter. I believe the hardest part would be finding the ownership group or a team on the move, because it’s a well-known fact that KC is routinely on the list of potential future NHL cities published by many media outlets. Heck, even The Great One included KC on his list of future NHL cities.
Look for my future blogs discussing this subject. Next up: Talking about NHL teams that could possibly move somewhere in the future.