The Stars and defending Calder Cup champs were eliminated in a painful sweep by the Rockford Icehogs who the surrogate for the insufferable Chicago Blackhawks. I’m bummed we won’t be raising any banners next Fall yet I guess my sense of financial relief makes me a fair-weathered fan in the eyes of some.
We’ll have our same seats next season and it will be interesting as the AHL will have a new Pacific Division with the relocation of five franchises to California:
- San Jose Barracudas
- Bakersfield Condors
- Ontario Reign
- San Diego Gulls (really a return of sorts)
- Stockton Heat
In addition, the AHL returns to Winnipeg. Not sure if they’ll re-take their Moose name. Additional movement and affiliation changes are in the air too. Summer is going to be very interesting.
Who’s my pick for the Calder Cup match up? I’d say the smarter money is on the OKC Barons for the Western Conference. The Eastern is going to be a guess because we don’t see them often in Texas, so the Hershey Bears due to their dominance.