Is the Heat on the WHL?

The Saturday edition of the Vancouver Sun includes a story, written by Yvonne Zacharias, that carries this headline in big, black letters:
Abbotsford’s act of faith: Growing NHL players in a 7,000-seat, $66-million jewel.
The story carries the subhead: New arena is home to AHL’s Heat, which many see as far more important to the city than just hockey.
Yes, it takes a look at the Heat, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, and its early relationship with the people of Abbotsford, which is just up the highway from Chilliwack, home of the WHL’s Bruins.
Buried near the end of Zacharias’ story are a couple of interesting paragraphs that just may turn out to be something of a warning shot fired over the bow of the Good Ship WHL.
The mayor of Abbotsford is George Peary, and it’s quite evident that he sees the Heat as a team in need of a geographic rival or two or three. At the moment, its closest opponent is the Manitoba Moose, which plays out of Winnipeg.
Zacharias writes:
“(Peary has) heard there are now other western cities considering a pitch for an AHL team. If Abbotsford can do it, why can’t they? He’s heard, too, that many of the AHL franchises are struggling in the east, making them ripe for the picking. Places like Nanaimo, Victoria, Saskatoon and Regina are all under-served markets where hockey is every bit as much of the culture as it is in Abbotsford. Then there’s the western seaboard of the U.S.”
She then quotes Peary thusly: “The league has taken a leap of faith coming out here, but I don’t know that they are finished yet. If there were the prospect of another franchise or two locating in the west, that would allow us to build up some western rivalries and dramatically reduce travel subsidies.”
Interesting stuff. And something that is certainly going to bear watching as the Heat skates into its first season.
Of course, as mentioned, the Heat is owned by the Flames, who own the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen. And you know that having a partner move its AHL affiliate into the Bruins’ neck of the woods is a sore spot in the WHL boardroom.
In the late 1950s and early '60s, Peary played for the Brandon Wheat Kings, who then were in the Manitoba junior league.
The Vancouver Sun story is right here.