Post by rockon on Dec 28, 2007 14:47:38 GMT -4
Getting behind the home team
It’s time we appreciated the Rocket as P.E.I.’s top team in a prestigious league.
The season started with so much promise for the P.E.I. Rocket. The team was ranked among the top 10 in Canada in the pre-season Canadian Hockey League polls. Expectations were high, so high that members of the Rocket front office were cringing because if those lofty pre-season targets were not met, fans would be disappointed, or worse.
There was pressure to produce, and sure enough, the team stumbled and young head coach Yannick Jean was fired. Feisty veteran Guy Chouinard is the new head coach and he seems to have steadied the good ship Rocket, which is now a game above .500 at 17-16-1 at the holiday break, a record that puts them just below the middle of the pack range. With big wins against two tough opponents on a prebreak road trip, things are starting to look a little brighter for the team on the ice.
But once again, nagging off-ice distractions have surfaced. The team had signed a five-year deal in 2006 to play at the Civic Centre, which seemed to have put to rest any issues for the long term. Then earlier this month, there were stories the Rocket are not happy with the Civic Centre deal, with a team spokesman noting the club is paying among the highest rental in the league for its population range. The Rocket hinted they would like to see an even playing field, noting that things are a little tight right now financially. The city seems willing to at least sit down and talk things through. It’s a start. The Rocket are saying they want to stay in Charlottetown, but if both sides are saying the agreement might be revisited, what does the fine print actually say?
Even strong supporters of the team admit this is a crossroads season for the Rocket. The city needs the Rocket, the arena needs the Rocket and the province needs the Rocket. It’s time that fans and corporate supporters finally buy into the same idea. Things are tough financially right now because attendance has edged downwards to approximately 2,300 a game, and there is less corporate support as evidenced by fewer signs around the arena. There is also the nagging absence of a radio broadcast deal; the Rocket are the only team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League without one. Without your team’s games on radio, its tougher for fans to follow their hockey heroes.
Like fans anywhere, Islanders would like to have a winner, but that’s not always possible, for the Rocket and for the majority of Q teams. The Rocket need support and it’s time that support comes through in good times and bad. Corporate backers should stop asking “what’s in it for me?” This is P.E.I.’s top team in a prestigious league and we don’t appreciate it.
There is criticism that the team could do a better job marketing itself but people quickly forget the Rocket helped raise $100,000 for minor hockey associations across the province last month with the annual Rockethon involving players going on the ice in arenas from Tignish to Souris.
There is talk of a major trade to unload several top players and build for next season. But this season is far from over and the team could yet reach some of those pre-season predictions. Let’s get behind the team and put all those rumours to rest, once and for all.
It’s time we appreciated the Rocket as P.E.I.’s top team in a prestigious league.
The season started with so much promise for the P.E.I. Rocket. The team was ranked among the top 10 in Canada in the pre-season Canadian Hockey League polls. Expectations were high, so high that members of the Rocket front office were cringing because if those lofty pre-season targets were not met, fans would be disappointed, or worse.
There was pressure to produce, and sure enough, the team stumbled and young head coach Yannick Jean was fired. Feisty veteran Guy Chouinard is the new head coach and he seems to have steadied the good ship Rocket, which is now a game above .500 at 17-16-1 at the holiday break, a record that puts them just below the middle of the pack range. With big wins against two tough opponents on a prebreak road trip, things are starting to look a little brighter for the team on the ice.
But once again, nagging off-ice distractions have surfaced. The team had signed a five-year deal in 2006 to play at the Civic Centre, which seemed to have put to rest any issues for the long term. Then earlier this month, there were stories the Rocket are not happy with the Civic Centre deal, with a team spokesman noting the club is paying among the highest rental in the league for its population range. The Rocket hinted they would like to see an even playing field, noting that things are a little tight right now financially. The city seems willing to at least sit down and talk things through. It’s a start. The Rocket are saying they want to stay in Charlottetown, but if both sides are saying the agreement might be revisited, what does the fine print actually say?
Even strong supporters of the team admit this is a crossroads season for the Rocket. The city needs the Rocket, the arena needs the Rocket and the province needs the Rocket. It’s time that fans and corporate supporters finally buy into the same idea. Things are tough financially right now because attendance has edged downwards to approximately 2,300 a game, and there is less corporate support as evidenced by fewer signs around the arena. There is also the nagging absence of a radio broadcast deal; the Rocket are the only team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League without one. Without your team’s games on radio, its tougher for fans to follow their hockey heroes.
Like fans anywhere, Islanders would like to have a winner, but that’s not always possible, for the Rocket and for the majority of Q teams. The Rocket need support and it’s time that support comes through in good times and bad. Corporate backers should stop asking “what’s in it for me?” This is P.E.I.’s top team in a prestigious league and we don’t appreciate it.
There is criticism that the team could do a better job marketing itself but people quickly forget the Rocket helped raise $100,000 for minor hockey associations across the province last month with the annual Rockethon involving players going on the ice in arenas from Tignish to Souris.
There is talk of a major trade to unload several top players and build for next season. But this season is far from over and the team could yet reach some of those pre-season predictions. Let’s get behind the team and put all those rumours to rest, once and for all.
