THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 11, 1994 TAG: 9409110136
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
The Hampton Roads Admirals have signed a formal working agreement with Portland of the American Hockey League.
The pact will ensure that Hampton Roads gets the lion's share of players cut by the Pirates, Admirals president Blake Cullen said.
Portland is the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals, with whom the Admirals have a working agreement. The Admirals previously did not have a formal agreement with Portland, and one wasn't necessary two years ago because most of the players cut by Portland were under contract to the Capitals and came to Hampton Roads automatically.
However, the NHL restricted the number of players teams can sign beginning last season, and the result was that the Admirals received no players under contract to the Caps. Many players released by Portland also were not under contract to Washington and thus were free to cut their own deals with any East Coast Hockey League club.
``We wanted to be sure that anybody they (the Pirates) sign who may not be playing for any reason will come here,'' Cullen said. ``Before last season it was no problem because they were all Washington players and they all came here. Frankly, there's been pressure (from some players) to pay more than we're allowed to pay under league rules.''
Admirals coach John Brophy and assistant coach Al MacIsaac returned Friday from a weeklong stay at the Caps' preseason camp. They'll fly Monday to Portland for a week and hope to return with several contracts in hand.
``John was encouraged by what he saw in Washington,'' Cullen said. ``There were a lot of players there, and John seems to think we'll get some of them.''
MacIsaac, who played for the Admirals two years ago, will return to the ice this week in Portland.
``Portland's head coach will still be in Washington and they want Al on the ice with the players,'' Cullen said. ``That's good for us. He'll get to know the players better and they'll get to know him.''
EXPANSION TALK: The ECHL will have a minimum of 20 teams by 1995-96, including Mobile, Ala., and Pensacola, Fla., Cullen said.
``We will be in those two towns in 1995,'' Cullen said. ``We have sent them paper work committing ourselves to both cities. They have made renovations (to their arenas) based on our commitments.
``We'll have a minimum of 20 teams, but we could have as many as 22. There are a lot of cities interested in our league.''
The ECHL has 18 teams. Cullen says the Louisville, Ky., franchise, shut down for this season because of arena problems, will be reactivated next season, though not necessarily in Louisville.
The ECHL will put expansion franchises in Mobile and Pensacola if existing teams don't move there. Existing franchises will be given the option of moving there first.
Cullen, a member of the league's expansion committee, says he visited Mobile and Pensacola with Raleigh IceCaps owner Miles Wolfe in July to inspect facilities and meet with city officials.
``We left with the impression that they want hockey very much and that it will be successful in both cities,'' Cullen said.
Cullen said expansion into Mobile and Pensacola will help Tallahassee, Fla., which is joining the league this season. Tallahassee is 144 miles from Pensacola and 198 miles from Mobile. Mobile and Pensacola are only 54 miles apart ``and should have a terrific rivalry,'' Cullen said .
It's possible the league will split into two divisions, from the current three, next season, and that could create a problem for Hampton Roads.
If Pensacola and Mobile were added to the league and no other changes occurred, the ECHL would have 13 Southern teams. The three teams likely to join the Northern Division would be Hampton Roads, Richmond and Roanoke. The Admirals would prefer being in the same division with Greensboro, Raleigh, Charlotte and South Carolina.
MORE CAROLINA TEAMS: Cullen says Columbia, S.C., and Greenville, S.C., are both committed to joining the ECHL, but not until 1996-97. Both are waiting on new arenas.
Columbia city officials made a presentation at the ECHL meetings two weeks ago in Columbus, Ohio. The ECHL has made a verbal commitment to put franchises in both cities once arenas are completed.
Greenville's city government will combine with private investors to build a $50 million, 17,000-seat arena downtown. The major private investor is Carl Scheer, president of the ECHL's Charlotte Checkers.
Scheer says he wants to bring the NHL to Charlotte and will move the Checkers to Greenville if he lands an NHL team. If not, he and other investors will purchase an expansion franchise for Greenville.
BOSS TALK: Cullen bumped into New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner while attending a Columbus Clippers baseball game during the league meetings and used the opportunity to put in a plug for the ECHL.
``I'm trying to talk George into coming into our league,'' Cullen said. ``When I saw him, I said, `George, you'll love our league. We have a salary cap.' ''
Cullen knows Steinbrenner from two decades of front-office work in major league baseball.
JOBE IS BACK: Trevor Jobe, the ECHL's career leading scorer, is returning to Nashville after a season in the European Elite League, where he played in Austria.
Jobe, a former Admiral, had 236 goals and 208 assists for a total of 444 points in 233 games in four seasons, including a single-season record of 85 goals, 76 assists and 161 points in 1992-93. by CNB