Post by Douggy-D on Sept 28, 2011 19:02:52 GMT -6
"Before anyone asks — no, superstar Sidney Crosby won’t be in the house when the Pittsburgh Penguins face the Los Angeles Kings in an NHL exhibition at 7 tonight at the Sprint Center.
Crosby takes part in daily workouts, practices and some scrimmages, but he has yet to be cleared for contact since suffering a concussion Jan. 5.
However, the absence of Crosby, the NHL’s most marketable and best-known player for leading the Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup championship and Canada to Olympic gold in 2010, hasn’t adversely affected interest in the game.
Officials have declared the game a sellout. Standing-room tickets were to go on sale this morning for what Sprint Center officials say will be the largest crowd ever for a preseason game in a non-NHL market in North America.
That’s a quantum leap from the turnouts for the first two NHL exhibition games played at the Sprint Center. An announced crowd of 9,792 showed up in 2009 for the New York Islanders and Kings, which was down from the 11,603 for the 2008 game between the St. Louis Blues and a split squad of Kings.
“This will be the biggest day for hockey in Kansas City in recent memory,” said Paul McGannon, president of NHL21, the grass-roots organization that is pushing for an NHL team for the Sprint Center.
McGannon cited support from minor-league hockey organizations, including the Central Hockey League’s Missouri Mavericks and Wichita Thunder as well as clubs in Lincoln and Omaha in Nebraska and Des Moines, Iowa, in helping sell out the arena.
“These are all franchises within the footprint of an NHL team, should we ever be lucky enough to get one,” McGannon said. “We’re very excited about the scope and the spread of these sales.”
Adding to the festivities of the day will be the formal announcement before the game that the 2012 Ice Breaker College Hockey Tournament featuring Notre Dame, Army, Nebraska-Omaha and Maine will be played at the Sprint Center next October.
“I’m kind of excited to see a new arena and a new city,” said Pittsburgh center Jordan Staal. “It’s very cool. To hear that it is going to be sold out makes for a pretty impressive sign for a team.”
It was just four years ago when Penguins owner Mario Lemieux came to Kansas City, toured the Sprint Center while it was under construction and spoke to civic, governmental and business interests about moving the franchise to Kansas City.
While the negotiations with Kansas City succeeded in getting the city and state to build a new arena in Pittsburgh, some in the Penguins organization believed a move was possible.
“It was a distinct possibility,” said Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma. “I was in Wilkes-Barre with the minor-league team at the time, and it’s not like I had inside information, but I know there was a real thought that (a new arena in) Pittsburgh might not happen, and Kansas City looked like the most likely spot to move. Of course, we know what happened.”
Indeed, the Consol Energy Center was built and opened last year. And Crosby became a household name as the league MVP and scoring champion in 2007, and at 21 the youngest captain in NHL history to lead his team to a Stanley Cup in 2009.
Kansas City, meanwhile, appears to still be on the outside looking in for an NHL franchise to call its own. The Atlanta Thrashers were sold to Winnipeg interests and moved there during the offseason without a hint of interest in Kansas City.
There are several other troubled franchises in the league, notably the Phoenix Coyotes, who are being run by the league, but no one has publicly stepped up for Kansas City.
“I enjoyed coming to Kansas City as a player in Kemper Arena,” said Bylsma, who played for the Phoenix Roadrunners of the International Hockey League against the old Kansas City Blades. “I’ve heard it’s a fantastic venue. I view Kansas City as a big-league city.”
While Crosby is out, teammate and former NHL scoring champion Evgeni Malkin, who missed the last three months of the 2010-11 season because of a torn ACL, has returned and has been a big contributor to the Penguins’ 3-0 start in exhibition play.
The Kings, who are in the midst of playing four games in five nights, will be without a couple of their top names, including center Anze Kopitar and left winger Simon Gagne. Defenseman Drew Doughty has not reported to camp while in a contract holdout.
Because the Kings and Penguins are in different conferences, they face each other only once a year, so both sides are looking forward to seeing some fresh faces.
“We’re playing one of the premier teams in the game, too,” said Kings coach Terry Murray. “The fact they’re coming in with a good lineup, it’s in the middle of camp and everybody is starting to move some of their younger players to the minors, we’re looking forward to seeing how our remaining players in camp compete.”
Read more: www.kansascity.com/2011/09/26/3169339/fans-will-flock-to-sprint-center.html#ixzz1ZIbG4ydz
Crosby takes part in daily workouts, practices and some scrimmages, but he has yet to be cleared for contact since suffering a concussion Jan. 5.
However, the absence of Crosby, the NHL’s most marketable and best-known player for leading the Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup championship and Canada to Olympic gold in 2010, hasn’t adversely affected interest in the game.
Officials have declared the game a sellout. Standing-room tickets were to go on sale this morning for what Sprint Center officials say will be the largest crowd ever for a preseason game in a non-NHL market in North America.
That’s a quantum leap from the turnouts for the first two NHL exhibition games played at the Sprint Center. An announced crowd of 9,792 showed up in 2009 for the New York Islanders and Kings, which was down from the 11,603 for the 2008 game between the St. Louis Blues and a split squad of Kings.
“This will be the biggest day for hockey in Kansas City in recent memory,” said Paul McGannon, president of NHL21, the grass-roots organization that is pushing for an NHL team for the Sprint Center.
McGannon cited support from minor-league hockey organizations, including the Central Hockey League’s Missouri Mavericks and Wichita Thunder as well as clubs in Lincoln and Omaha in Nebraska and Des Moines, Iowa, in helping sell out the arena.
“These are all franchises within the footprint of an NHL team, should we ever be lucky enough to get one,” McGannon said. “We’re very excited about the scope and the spread of these sales.”
Adding to the festivities of the day will be the formal announcement before the game that the 2012 Ice Breaker College Hockey Tournament featuring Notre Dame, Army, Nebraska-Omaha and Maine will be played at the Sprint Center next October.
“I’m kind of excited to see a new arena and a new city,” said Pittsburgh center Jordan Staal. “It’s very cool. To hear that it is going to be sold out makes for a pretty impressive sign for a team.”
It was just four years ago when Penguins owner Mario Lemieux came to Kansas City, toured the Sprint Center while it was under construction and spoke to civic, governmental and business interests about moving the franchise to Kansas City.
While the negotiations with Kansas City succeeded in getting the city and state to build a new arena in Pittsburgh, some in the Penguins organization believed a move was possible.
“It was a distinct possibility,” said Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma. “I was in Wilkes-Barre with the minor-league team at the time, and it’s not like I had inside information, but I know there was a real thought that (a new arena in) Pittsburgh might not happen, and Kansas City looked like the most likely spot to move. Of course, we know what happened.”
Indeed, the Consol Energy Center was built and opened last year. And Crosby became a household name as the league MVP and scoring champion in 2007, and at 21 the youngest captain in NHL history to lead his team to a Stanley Cup in 2009.
Kansas City, meanwhile, appears to still be on the outside looking in for an NHL franchise to call its own. The Atlanta Thrashers were sold to Winnipeg interests and moved there during the offseason without a hint of interest in Kansas City.
There are several other troubled franchises in the league, notably the Phoenix Coyotes, who are being run by the league, but no one has publicly stepped up for Kansas City.
“I enjoyed coming to Kansas City as a player in Kemper Arena,” said Bylsma, who played for the Phoenix Roadrunners of the International Hockey League against the old Kansas City Blades. “I’ve heard it’s a fantastic venue. I view Kansas City as a big-league city.”
While Crosby is out, teammate and former NHL scoring champion Evgeni Malkin, who missed the last three months of the 2010-11 season because of a torn ACL, has returned and has been a big contributor to the Penguins’ 3-0 start in exhibition play.
The Kings, who are in the midst of playing four games in five nights, will be without a couple of their top names, including center Anze Kopitar and left winger Simon Gagne. Defenseman Drew Doughty has not reported to camp while in a contract holdout.
Because the Kings and Penguins are in different conferences, they face each other only once a year, so both sides are looking forward to seeing some fresh faces.
“We’re playing one of the premier teams in the game, too,” said Kings coach Terry Murray. “The fact they’re coming in with a good lineup, it’s in the middle of camp and everybody is starting to move some of their younger players to the minors, we’re looking forward to seeing how our remaining players in camp compete.”
Read more: www.kansascity.com/2011/09/26/3169339/fans-will-flock-to-sprint-center.html#ixzz1ZIbG4ydz
