Migration Season In October

It's always exciting to know that you're not far away from a pile of firsts as a hockey franchise. There are the first signings and first glimpses of the team's jerseys. There will be a first goal and a first save at some point. There's always a first fan through the gates at the arena, and there's certainly going to be the first win to celebrate. Most of these things happen in front of the fans where the team is playing, but it seems that the Coachella Valley Firebirds are going to celebrate a number of firsts away from Palm Springs when they begin play this season in the AHL.

Acrisure Arena, the Firebirds’ home arena in the Coachella Valley area, will open its doors on December 18, 2023 - 22 games after the Firebirds play their first AHL game on October 16 in Calgary against the Wranglers! If you're doing the math, there won't be a lot of firsts left for the team to achieve when they finally get home, so that's a lot of missed excitement for the Coachella Valley fans. That will be the official date, though, of the first home game in California for the Firebirds.

However, if you think like I do you instantly realize that it also presents a bit of a conundrum - where exactly are the Firebirds playing home games until the Acrisure Arena is ready?

Like the Arizona Coyotes who will play four homes games in two months, the Firebirds will also play just four home games before that December 18 game in Palm Springs against the Tucson Roadrunners. With 18 of 22 initial games on the road, I can't imagine the Firebirds will be pushing for a playoff spot, but those four home games have to be played somewhere, right?

It was announced yesterday that Coachella Valley will move into the Seattle area for the eight days and four home games they play. Rather than looking for ice in California, they'll lean on their NHL affilaite as the Firebirds will meet the Abbotsford Canucks on October 21 at the Kraken Community Iceplex in Seattle before playing them in the second-half of the two-game set on October 23 at Climate Pledge Arena which is where NHL's Seattle Kraken play.

The following weekend will see the Firebirds welcome the Calgary Wranglers to the Angel of the Winds Arena - home of the WHL's Everett Silvertips - in Everett, Washington on October 28 before heading back to Seattle for the second-half of the two-game set on October 29 where the Firebirds and Wranglers will tangle at the Kraken Community Iceplex.

It seems that Coachella Valley was aware this nomadic situation was going to be a reality, though, because the Firebirds offered season ticket packages for just 32 regular-season home games rather then the normal 36 games. I have to admit that the layout of the arena, seen to the right, is a little brutal for watching hockey and I'm not certain how many people are going to pay the $12 ticket price to sit crammed in the left-most corner of the rink, but that's not for me to decide. If you want to watch a season of live AHL hockey for less than $400 USD, it's possible, I guess.

In any case, if you're looking to catch Coachella Valley games from mid-October to mid-December, they'll be played in all sorts of place not named Palm Springs. You can see the Firebirds in Seattle, Calgary, Abbotsford, Tucson, Colorado Springs, San Diego, Henderson, San Jose, and Bakersfield before they play a single second of hockey in Palm Springs. If you're wondering how the Firebirds are going to build a fanbase in a city not known for hockey, we are again thinking on the same wavelength here.

I know birds migrate in the winter, but I don't think anyone had this in mind when the Firebirds landed in Palm Springs. Let's just hope that they find some support once they get home because not playing in front of your home fans for two months to start the season is a good way to lay an egg right out of the starting gates.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!