Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 15, 1995 TAG: 9508150036
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
As expected, the Express' two-year working agreement with the NHL's San Jose Sharks - an affiliation that never worked as smoothly as either side would have liked - will not be renewed.
The Express became affiliated with the Sharks before the 1993-94 season, its first year in the East Coast Hockey League. Roanoke had a working agreement with the Sharks and the Kansas City Blades, San Jose's International Hockey League farm club.
San Jose officials said in March that the Sharks probably would not be affiliated with Roanoke in 1995-96. The relationship officially ended when Kansas City announced earlier this month that it had signed a working agreement with the Mobile (Ala.) Mysticks, a first-year ECHL expansion team.
The Express has called a news conference Thursday, when general manager Pierre Paiement and head coach Frank Anzalone are expected to announce the team's affiliation plans for the 1995-96 season.
``I think there was a mutual agreement [between Roanoke and San Jose] not to continue [the working agreement],'' said Paiement. ``We'll answer more questions about it at the press conference.''
The Express is also expected to announce that it is extending Anzalone's contract and has reached a new lease agreement with the Roanoke Civic Center.
Paiement confirmed that he has spoken to officials with two NHL teams: the Colorado Avalanche (formerly the Quebec Nordiques) and the Florida Panthers.
``I might not know until 10 minutes before the press conference [who the Express' affiliations will be],'' said Paiement.
Anzalone said that the Express most likely will maintain its affiliation with Minnesota Moose, an independent team in the IHL.
``It looks like we'll stay with Minnesota at this point,'' Anzalone said. ``Whether it's just them, we'll see.''
The Express-Sharks relationship never resulted in a plethora of players headed to Roanoke. The Express received just one player from San Jose in two years - goalie Dan Ryder, who played two years in Roanoke.
San Jose planned to send a couple of other players to the Express last season, but misunderstandings and miscommunication blocked the players from coming to Roanoke.
Kansas City sent forward Todd Holt to Roanoke, but the Express returned him when concerns arose about a neck injury he sustained a year ago. The San Jose and Kansas City organizations said those concerns were unwarranted.
Still, it was obvious that the relationship between the teams had become strained.
``It got pretty frustrating with them at times,'' said Joe Will, San Jose's scouting coordinator. ``We told them we didn't know when or where we could send them players.''
by CNB