Three In Three Days

I don't know where the NHL stumbled onto the idea of having people act as "senior advisors", but this is now the third-straight day where a senior advisor has been named to an executive running a team. Aside from having experience doing a job, all three of these senior advisors have yet to prove that all their experience and knowledge matters since none of the teams they ran won anything. Today, you can add Steve Yzerman's name to the "senior advisor" roster in the NHL after he stepped down as general manager and executive vice-president of the Red Wings to work in an advisory role for Red Wings governor and CEO Chris Ilitch.

I laid out the cases for both John Davidson and Kevyn Adams as to why their hirings seemed questionable, and this move by Yzerman feels entirely the same. In seven years with Yzerman at the helm, the Detroit Red Wings never qualified for the playoffs, he made 74 draft selections and saw just six play more than 100 NHL games, and he made 65 trades and 181 signings in those seven years. That's a lot of players that went to Detroit for them to never reach the playoffs.

"Steve's lifetime of contributions to the Red Wings has meant more to this franchise than words can truly express, and I have the highest level of respect for his continued commitment to our organization," Ilitch said in a statement. "We are thankful for Steve's hard work and dedication as general manager and are grateful knowing Steve will remain where he belongs — here with the Red Wings family."

That statement is something you'd hear at a jersey retirement, not for a guy who clearly failed in his job. I understand that there's the utmost respect for Yzerman based on his playing career in a Red Wings jersey, but his management career in a Red Wings office is forgettable. Ilitch can pay respect to him if he likes, but hockey is a business first and Yzerman's business acumen reminds me a lot of Seinfeld's Cosmo Kramer. How he lasted seven years is remarkable!

That leads me to asking how and why Yzerman was named as a senior advisor for Ilitch when Chris Ilitch has a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Michigan, became the CEO of Ilitch Companies in 2004, sits as chairman and CEO of the Detroit Tigers, and oversees both business and hockey operations decisions for the Detroit Red Wings. If anything, Ilitch should be the senior advisor to Steve Yzerman based on education and experience!

Perhaps there's a contractual reason for the change in titles as Yzerman may still have time on his current contract to fulfill. If he wanted to stay and Ilitch is fine with paying him, so be it as that's Ilitch's decision. Again, I'm not sure what Yzerman will be advising Ilitch on, but there must be something on which Ilitch wants his input. As I stated with Davidson and Adams, more experienced and knowledgeable hockey minds working together in Detroit should make things better as long as everyone is on the same page.

For the last time, though, I'll make this plea: can we stop calling executives who failed "senior advisors"? These men haven't shown any significant ability to build, develop, or manage a team with championship aspirations, so making them an advisor in any capacity feels more like a charitable hiring than a smart front-office addition. Just call them a "consultant" and pay them to do whatever it is that the team needs done. They're not coming in and changing the direction of any franchise with their skills and knowledge, so why are they given a title like they're going to be playing an important role?

I said it yesterday, so I'll say it again today: this is a trend that needs to end quickly. Hiring a guy who failed at his previous management and/or executive job doesn't make him a "senior advisor". Medical students who graudate with a 2.0 GPA are still called "doctors", but I'm not all that confident in taking advice from those "medical advisors". End the madness of "senior advisor" hirings in the NHL!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

This Is A Trend That Can End

I truly believe that people get hired to do jobs because they have the skills and abilities to do said job. Yes, there are always areas where can improve and get stronger in their skillsets, but employers want the most qualified people in place for things to run smoothly. In the last two days, however, it seems that two teams have decided to add experience to their front offices as the Buffalo Sabres, as seen yesterday, and the Boston Bruins have decided to hire senior advisors. Understandably, John Davidson is bringing his knowledge and experiences to Buffalo to help the Sabres, but it's certainly a head-scratching move to see the Bruins hiring former Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams as their new senior advisor.

Again, Davidson fits the role well as he's 73 years-old, has 16 years of experience as a high-ranking hockey executive, and is 13 years older than Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen. With the Bruins hiring Adams as their senior advisor, they're getting a guy who has worked in various roles throughout the Buffalo Sabres organization since 2009, but has only been a front office executive since 2019 where he worked as Vice-President for a season before becoming the general manager in 2020 for six seasons. In none of those seasons since 2019 did the Sabres make the playoffs, but he did add significant pieces.

What makes this "senior advisor" role so weird is that Adams is 51 years-old compared to Bruins GM Don Sweeney who is 59 years-old, and Sweeney has held the role of assistant general manager or general manager for the Bruins since 2009! Adams, who has six years in some sort of management capacity is now a "senior advisor" to a guy who is eight years older than him and has eleven more years of management experience! How on earth does that make sense?

"As we continue to build our staff, these changes recognize the hard work and growth of people within our organization while also adding experienced voices to our group," Sweeney said in a statement today.

Kevyn Adams made a total of 41 trades in his five-and-a-half years as the Sabres' GM while signing 141 players to deals. He made 47 selections at NHL Entry Drafts, including eight first-round picks, and only three players of those 47 chosen have played more than 100 games in the NHL. I get that he sat in the big chair in Buffalo, but his résumé screams "inexperienced"! How is he a "senior advisor"?

Just because a guy has a handful of years doing a job doesn't mean he should be advising anyone in another organization on how to do that person's job. I get that there are just a few guys who have the résumé who can step in and provide real advice to current GMs - Scotty Bowman and David Poile come to mind - but naming Kevyn Adams as a "senior advisor" to Don Sweeney seems like a stretch. He can be an advisor if the Bruins really want, but "senior advisor"?

This is a trend that needs to end quickly. I get that teams are hunting for strategic advantages, but hiring a guy who most people feel was underqualified for his previous job doesn't make him a "senior advisor". Kevyn Adams has experience and I cannot dispute that, but medical students who graudate with a 2.0 GPA are still called "doctors". And I'm not sure I'd be hiring those "medical advisors".

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Putting The Band Back Together

When I first saw the news that the Buffalo Sabres had hired 73 year-old John Davidson as a senior consultant, I chuckled in making a joke about how the Sabres were really testing the "senior" part of the job. Of course, it dawned on me quickly that current general manager Jarmo Kekalainen had worked with Davidson in both St. Louis and Columbus, so it seemed like the "old boys' club" was just recycling another person who likely should have stepped aside a while back. I'm not sure why the Sabres, after a remarkable season, feel the need to add someone like Davidson, but he'll be on the payroll next season for Buffalo.

"I am thrilled to welcome John Davidson to the Sabres as a senior advisor," Kekalainen said in a statement released on Monday about Davidson's hiring. "John and I have a strong working relationship that we have developed over many years. His experience leading multiple organizations, combined with his player evaluation skills and relationships around the NHL, make him a great fit for this role. He will lend his expertise and guidance to all areas within the hockey department as we aim to continue to improve our club."

I'll give Kekalainen some praise for recognizing that Davidson has led multiple organizations, but led them to what exactly? He was the President of Hockey Operations in St. Louis from 2006-12 where the team went 235-189-68, missing the playoffs in four of six seasons and advancing to the second round once. He held the same position with the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2012-2019 where they posted a 285-209-46 record, missing the playoffs in three of seven seasons and advancing to the second round once. After two seasons as President of the New York Rangers from 2019-21 where they went 64-51-11 and missed the playoffs in one of two season without advancing, Davidson returned to the Blue Jackets as President of Hockey Operations to oversee the Blue Jackets post an 89-129-28 record from 2021-24, missing the playoffs in all three seasons. Where is the good?

Since 2012 as either President of Hockey Operations or President of hockey clubs, John Davidson-led teams have amassed a collective record of 673-578-153, missed the playoffs in eleven of eighteen seasons, and advanced out of the first round just twice. Add in his work as Columbus' senior advisor since 2024 where the Blue Jackets went 80-63-21 and missed the playoffs twice, and it's hard to understand what John Davidson is bringing to the Sabres in terms of "his player evaluation skills" and his "expertise and guidance".

To be blunt, teams simply do not win under his leadership.

On the flip side, Jarmo Kekalainen seemed to do a remarkable job in pushing the Sabres higher without the help of Davidson, and Kekalainen already added another experienced management voice in Marc Bergevin to the front office. Add in the hiring of Josh Flynn, former Columbus Blue Jackets Assistant General Manager, and it seems like Kekalainen is putting the band back together from their recent work in Columbus which saw the Blue Jackets do very little over the years that Kekalainen, Davidson, and Flynn worked together.

Some will read this article and say, "Teebz, there are a ton of other people who were responsible for the results of those teams" to which I would agree. However, the guy in the big chair with the title of President of Hockey Operations ultimately signs off on every hiring and firing on the hockey side of things. If Davidson wasn't pushing for better results or finding players and coaches who could deliver those results, why was he being paid? After all, that was his job.

Am I saying this was a bad hiring by the Sabres? No, not at all. More experienced voices at the table when making decisions can help assuming they're all on the same page. I have never worked alongside any of Kekalainen, Bergevin, Davidson, or Flynn, so I'd hope that each has strengths to cover weaknesses in the group setting. My concern is Kekalainen allowing Bergevin and/or Davidson to derail any of the momentum he's building in Buffalo with the moves he's already made.

Let me be clear: I'm not saying that will happen either. Personally, I think Jarmo Kekalainen did a solid job outside the deals for Schenn and Stanley last season, and it seems like he's willing to make improvements again if he's still kicking tires on Connor Hellebuyck. That's the kind of forward thinking the Sabres have needed for a while, and it turned into an Atlantic Divsion banner last season when the dust settled. If things go well, expect Buffalo to push for more.

No, they aren't the Blues Brothers, but Jarmo Kekalainen and John Davidson seemingly have put the band back together. They're farther than 106 miles from Chicago, but this front office group try to do what they can to prevent Sabres fans from singing the blues again.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Crunching The Numbers

In league that had its fair share of fly-by-night owners, poor hockey markets, bad management, and inexplicable decisions, the Federal Propects Hockey League will push forward in 2026-27 with seventeen teams. If that number seems high to you, it's because "The Fed", as they're colloquially known, has pushed for some major expansion in recent months and years. Operating in twelve states, the FPHL circuit is hardly one of a "bus league" any longer, and the likelihood of the accounting to operate a team in this version of the FPHL working out for all teams seems very low.

HBIC isn't here to rain on the parades of the fourteen teams that play in places like Minnesota, Kansas, and Louisiana, though, because there are regional games that can make up the majority of those teams' schedules to keep costs lower. Yes, there might be a game or two in a region nor normally visited, but none of those fourteen teams had ever planned on flying their entire roster and staff to California in a season before. With three new teams there, let's look at the distances each team will travel to play hockey this season.

Within California, Fresno to Stockton is a two-hour drive in either direction as the 126-mile distance won't be hard to cover as per Google Maps. Oceanside to Fresno is a more arduous trip as it takes five hours to go from one city to the other on the 308-mile route, and Oceanside to Stockton is 6.5 hours each way for the 427-mile trip. Needless to say, a California road trip for any of the fourteen teams will still involve a lot of travel in-state to reach the three teams.

Assuming that each of the fourteen teams makes a one-week trip to California, they could potentially get three games of hockey against the California teams in without any trouble. With adequate travel and rest time for the road teams, it would eliminate three of the 28 road games each team plays, leaving 25 road games against the remaining thirteen teams in the FPHL circuit on each schedule.

Where the math starts getting tricky, however, is the distance and costs to cover those distances. For simplicity's sake, let's assume that each of the fourteen non-California teams want to fly into Stockton. As it stands, Stockton's airport only has flights to Las Vegas and Phoenix meaning that there would have to be a connector where all of the equipment and gear gets moved. American Airlines flies from Denver to Fresno, but there would need to be a transfer again. Oceanside's airport only has one runway and rarely has commercial flights land there. In short, direct flights aren't available.

Based on where each team is located, it would appear that they're going to have to fly in or out of one of San Francisco or San Diego depending on where their California road trip begins and ends. Unless teams are willing to fork over thousands of dollars in charter flight costs, flying commercial will be the economical way of getting to California unless Topeka or Minnesota opt to do a three-day bus ride to The Golden State. I'm not sure that's something the players want.

And maybe that's the direction the FPHL will go, telling each team to bus it out to California. The distances shown below for each team are the distances to Stockton, to Fresno, and to Oceanside in miles and hours of travel in parentheses, respectively. The most efficient bus routes for the fourteen FPHL eastern teams are as follows:

Distances

Team	Stockton	Fresno	Oceanside
Baton Rouge franchise	2104 (31)	1980 (29)	1765 (25)
Binghamton Black Bears	2792 (41)	2863 (42)	2752 (40)
Blue Ridge Bobcats	2611 (38)	2487 (36)	2408 (34)
Columbus River Dragons	2426 (36)	2301 (34)	2116 (31)
Danbury Hat Tricks	2930 (43)	2958 (43)	2874 (42)
Indiana Sentinels	2258 (35)	2232 (32)	2121 (31)
Mid-South Monarchs	2930 (43)	1928 (28)	1816 (26)
Minnesota Northern Lights	1844 (28)	1964 (30)	1946 (29)
Monroe Moccasins	1963 (29)	1838 (27)	1671 (24)
Motor City Rockers	2593 (38)	2468 (36)	2357 (35)
Port Huron Prowlers	2413 (35)	2557 (37)	2371 (34)
Topeka Scarecrows	1744 (25)	1680 (24)	1587 (23)
Twin City Thunderbirds	2688 (39)	2565 (37)	2487 (36)
Watertown Wolves	2855 (43)	2866 (42)	2482 (41)

Of course, the three California-based teams will spend blocks of time on the road playing everyone else, so having these three teams out in the far-off galaxy of California makes no sense. Based on every flight plan I can find, it would cost teams approximately $25,000 USD to fly to and from these California cities each way based on head counts and load requirements, so it's almost as if the FPHL teams will have to bus it to the west coast if they want to remain on budget.

For a more visual sense of what I'm saying, here's the FPHL map.

How does expanding to California make any sense for the FPHL?

To me, this expansion feels like a last gasp at trying to breathe life into a league that could fold at any moment. I'm not saying that's the case, but having seven teams either move or join the league in 2026-27 with three of those teams 2000 miles away from all the others is downright baffling. We saw the Athens Rock Lobsters and the Pee Dee IceCats abandon the FPHL for the more stable SPHL, and I suspect that we could see more make that choice if teams or the league begins to struggle financially. The only other option is to fold.

My hope is that there are better financial foundations for the FPHL teams where they can shoulder this new California road trip. Perhaps the league sends one of the two divisions - Continental or Empire - to California each season to help manage costs. Whatever the plan may be for 2026-27, it seems clear that this west coast expansion won't be a cash windfall for any team no matter where they're located.

The numbers didn't add up when the FPHL proposed their California expansion, and I still can't make sense of them. Unless the teams are doing cross-country bus trips to and from California, there's a pile of creative accounting happening to sell this west coast dream.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The New Franchises

This shouldn't come as a profound statement by any means, but I am in no position to be telling people how to spend their money. Even when I was in banking as a career, I tended to explain the advantages and disadvantages of how people spent their money, but the decision always rested with those people when it came to where their money went. The Federal Prospects Hockey League, howver, seems to have a different view on money because their recent expansion announcement calls into question any sort of sound judgment and financial responsibility with the new burden they're going to place on FPHL franchise owners.

In much the same way that UHSL expanded west into California with no teams between them and Nebraska, the FPHL is following that path by announcing three new franchises in Oceanside, Fresno, and Stockton who will all begin play next season. If you're doing the math at home, that's seven new teams in California by the time the 2027-28 season starts. Feel free to choose who you'd like to support.

The difference in this expansion effort is that the USHL announced ownership groups with deep pockets and strong ties to established hockey teams and communities already. The FPHL, in their rush to put teams into California, have less well-known owners, but the three groups who stepped up to grab a piece of the FPHL action do have roots in their communities. How deep might be the only question. Let's take a look at each of the new expansion locations separately.

Oceanside, California

Oceanside will be owned and operated by Major Arena Soccer League's San Diego Sockers owner Phil Salvaggio. Salvaggio also owns and operates Frontwave Arena in Oceanside that seats 5500 for hockey and was built in 2024. Frontwave Arena is working on having the arena outfitted for proper ice-making and seating for hockey games as this will be the arena's first venture in hosting hockey.

Oceanside has an immediate population of approximately 150,000 and sits north of San Diego, but forms a tri-city setup with Carlsbad and Vista, California. Median household income shows as $93,724 as per the 2023 census with 56.5% of its residents are between 18 and 64, but the Oceanside area is seen as more of a "vacation home" setting for people. There are no major corporate headquarters in the city, and the city's main employers are schools and the hospital. They do have a solid rail system that can bring people from Los Angeles and San Diego into town for the game, but that assumes there will be people who want to do that for Federal Prospects League games.

Oceanside has to find a team name under which they'll operate, but there is a website where one can vote on the names proposed. Currently, it seems like they're operating under the Frontwave Arena website which is slightly concerning, and I can't find any indication of what's going on behind the scenes with staffing and player signings. They did indicate that Craig Carlyle has been named the team's first head coach, but this team seems like it's operating behind schedule.

From everything I see here, Oceanside is going to rely heavily on ticket sales and an owner who wants another tenant in his building. While the market may have the disposable income to support a team, the question is "will they?" because FPHL teams that underperform usually don't last long in their markets. I certainly am not hoping for that, but that could be the future of hockey in Oceanside.

Fresno, California

The Fresno franchise group will be fronted by Don Kirnan, better known as the Commissioner of the FPHL. If you're thinking "conflict of interest", I can't say you're wrong, but at least the commissioner is putting his money where his mouth and expansion franchise are. There is an unnamed partner that is listed on the Fresno website that describes this person as "a former professional athlete and California native, whose athletic experience and entrepreneurial background add a modern, competitive vision to the organization," so we'll have to see if the spotlight lands on this mysterious owner. Until then, I'm not certain about the financial footing this Fresno team has.

As you can see from the link above, the team has already committed to being the Fresno Falcons in the same vein as the old ECHL team that played in Fresno from 2003-08. That Falcons team folded on December 22, 2008, "citing operating cost due to dwindling attendance, lack of corporate sponsorships and the faltering economy" as reasons for their dissolution. Clearly, the new owners have their work cut out for them in restoring the Falcons.

The Fresno market is home to just under a million people with 2025's estimated population being close to 556,000 citizens in the metro Fresno area. 59.8% of the market is in the 18-to-64 age range with a median salary of $66,804, but Fresno hardly has the disposable income other California markets do as 16.3% of families and 20.9% of the population sit below the poverty line. While Amazon is the one major corporation in the area, there isn't a lot of major head offices as Fresno also sees a lot of the major employers as schools and government. The Falcons' website lists no major partners yet.

I'll give the Falcons credit in that they appear to be extremely organized. They have multiple key staff members in place including head coach Iain Duncan and have signed multiple players already, and they evem posted their logos and jerseys for their inaugural season!

For those wondering, the Falcons will play at Selland Arena in Fresno which seats 7600 for hockey, but it is a dated building in that it opened its doors in 1966. There have been multiple renovations over the years including a 2006 project that saw a new video replay scoreboard, message boards and a new ice-cooling system for hockey games installed, but the Falcons are undoubtedly playing in one of the oldest facilities in the FPHL. Will that work for the long-haul?

I guess when you're partnered with the league commissioner, one has to get one's ducks in a row in a hurry. The Falcons, as stated, appear to be close to taking the ice already which should help them with ticket sales and corporate support. The big question will be long-term support if this team stumbles as the lack of corporate options and an apathetic market won't help the Falcons, but the immediate future of this new Falcons team seems strong. However, all that glitters may not be gold. Keep reading because things are gonna take a turn.

Stockton, California

This might sound like a case of "déjà vu", but Stockton will be fronted by Don Kirnan, better known as the Commissioner of the FPHL. Again, if you're thinking "conflict of interest", this is starting to feel very "Zawyer Group" in the ECHL. The exact same website template and staff profile structure are used on Stockton's page as Fresno's page right down to the mysterious, unnamed professional athlete who is a silent partner to this point. I don't know who is backing Fresno and Stockton, but the pockets he or she has better be twice as deep now.

The Stockton Thunder existed as an ECHL franchise before, and the FPHL is going back to those roots as the new team will also be called the Thunder. Stockton saw the ECHL franchise play there from 2005-15 before the Calgary Flames bought the franchise and moved it to Glen Falls, New York as the Adirondack Thunder. They did move the Adirondack ECHL team to Stockton as the Heat, but they'd become the AHL's Calgary Wranglers after a 2022 relocation. It should be noted that the Thunder led the ECHL in attendance for four straight years from 2005–09 and never dropped below 4600 fans per game in any season. Clearly, Stockton appears to be a hockey market!

The Stockton market is home to 320,804 residents at the 2023 census with a median household income of $76,851, but, like Fresno, it is disproportionate across its residents as 15.4% of the city's population live at or below the poverty line. 49.5% of the population is in the 18-64 age demographic with a significant BIPOC population that the Thunder will need to attract. Amazon and Kaiser Permanente are the two major employers in the area with schools and government making up the vast majority of jobs. The Thunder show two partners in the University Plaza Waterfront Hotel and the J. Milano Company.

Like the Falcons, the Thunder are further ahead of Oceanside, but not quite at the level that Fresno seems to be. There is no head coach nor any player signings yet, but are building connections as shown above. They also have their inaugural set of jerseys posted!

The team has announced it will play in Adventist Health Arena that was built in 2005. It can seat up to 9737 fans for hockey, but the ECHL Stockton Thunder have played games where the number climbed above 10,000. It has all the modern amenties - 24 luxury suites, a 360-degree HD LED videoboard, an updated ice plant - so this might be the best arena that the FPHL will call home. Filling it will be a challenge, but the Thunder will welcome that challenge.

While the team isn't ready for action on the ice by any means, things seem to be moving in the right direction behind the scenes. The Thunder will have hurdles to clear when it comes to attracting fans in a consistent manner, but the ECHL Thunder proved there is a market there if the new FPHL Thunder can capture it. If the Thunder can find success on the ice, this might be the one market that the ECHL will regret leaving as it seems like the potential for big things is there.

There's the state of affairs within the Federal Prospects Hockey League's California expansion to date. Compared to the USHL's push to expand, the FPHL is expecting these three franchises to be ready to hit the ice in October this fall. I'm not saying that won't happen based on what we know above, but it looks like some are far more ready than others as we near the midway point of July. That being said, plans have not changed for the FPHL schedule at this time.

Tomorrow will be Part Two of this look at the FPHL's expansion because there are still larger questions to be asked and potentially answered when it comes to operating costs, the overall health of the rest of the league, and how those two fit together. While a handful of FPHL teams seem rock-solid in their markets, the rest are one unneeded cost away from collapse. A trip to California was reportedly the catalyst for Pee Dee to abandon the FPHL, so might we see more?

We'll put all of the numbers to the test tomorrow here on HBIC!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!