I know there's a few hockey diehards around here who might be interested in this. It's all over the news up here in the Last Frontier. Pretty cool that he's coming home for the lockout, not to mention taking a paycut down to $500 a week (although I'm sure he can afford it). Gomez is now an Alaska Ace Gomez is now an Alaska Ace NHL star to skate at home during lockout By MATT NEVALA Anchorage Daily News (Published: October 26, 2004) New Jersey Devils center Scott Gomez talks to the media after Alaska Aces coach Davis Payne announced he would join the Anchorage hockey team. (Photo by Jim Lavrakas / Anchorage Daily News) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott Gomez, far right, skates for the first time with his new Alaska Aces teammates during a Monday morning practice. With him is goalie Peter Aubrey, left, and coach Davis Payne. (Photo by Jim Lavrakas / Anchorage Daily News) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click on photo to enlarge Anchorage's Scott Gomez, who twice brought the Stanley Cup to town, is now bringing his game to town. Gomez, whose successful National Hockey League career with the New Jersey Devils is on hold because of the NHL lockout, signed a contract Monday with the Alaska Aces. He'll be in uniform for the team Friday when the Aces play the San Diego Gulls at Sullivan Arena. Gomez, a two-time Stanley Cup winner, NHL All-Star and 2000 rookie of the year, was due to make $2.9 million with the Devils this season. He'll make $500 a week with the Aces, who play in the AA-level ECHL. "I figured one day if I ever run for mayor, this is always going to look good for me," a smiling Gomez said at an afternoon press conference. "I'm excited for my whole family and all my friends who will get to see me play. "And it's just great to have the chance to give back to Alaska." Gomez, 24, is the first NHL player to agree to play in the 28-team ECHL. Hundreds of NHL players have joined teams in Europe, and Gomez himself was offered a six-figure salary to play in Russia. But he decided to come home instead. "This all speaks volumes to what kind of person Scotty is,'' Aces coach Davis Payne said. "He doesn't have to be doing this, but he wants to enjoy the game, wants to play hockey, be part of a hockey team and give back to his community. "He's a perfect example of how important Alaska is to Alaskans." He's already proved important to the Aces. Within hours of Monday's announcement, the Aces sold 37 season tickets and 768 tickets to Friday's game. The team has sold more than 1,900 season tickets, and fewer than 2,400 tickets are available for Friday's game, officials said late Monday afternoon. Gomez is a world-class playmaker who is respected for making his teammates better. His new teammates say they are ready for him. "When you talk to the guy, it seems like his feet are on Earth," said Aces second-year forward Charles Linglet. "You hope to learn a lot. He's won two (Stanley) Cups, and he is an example for all of us. Probably the best example, and we're all happy he's here." Alaska hockey fans have rarely seen Gomez on Alaska ice. He played at East High and in multiple competition programs as a youth but left town after his junior year to play major-junior hockey. He was selected by Devils with the 27th overall pick of the 1998 draft and won Stanley Cups in 2000 and 2003. Last season, he tied for the league lead in assists and finished 20th in scoring with 14 goals and 56 assists in 80 games. Gomez returned from Russia on Sunday after skating in practices with a professional team there for about a week. "He went over there and checked it," said Carlos Gomez, his dad, who resigned a position with the Aces last summer to work as Scott's agent. "But all along this is what he wanted to do. He made the decision. "He always indicated he wanted to skate with the Aces someday. We thought it would happen when his NHL career was over. I guess it's coming a little sooner than expected." Scott said the Russian team didn't stand a chance to land him because he had a taste of home before he went there. "What killed the Russian thing was that I came home before I flew over there,'' he said. "Even on the flight, I was thinking 'What am I doing?' " Gomez is likely to be Alaska's only NHL player to show up in an Aces sweater. Anchorage's Ty Conklin, an Edmonton Oilers goaltender, is leaving next month to play for Team USA in an international tournament in Germany. ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna suspects Gomez will be the first of a handful of NHL players to sign with ECHL teams. The league is requiring NHL players to pay for insurance to cover disability or career-ending injuries; Gomez paid $25,000 for a policy that does just that, his dad said. "It is such a unique situation,'' McKenna said by phone from the league's New Jersey offices. "The guy is obviously an elite player who has won at the game's highest level, and is probably one of the 20 best players in the country. The fact he is from the area, it's an advantage teams don't have in other cities."
all i know is this...on ESPN's top 10 plays this morning there was Dutch soccer and skiing. yeah...i miss the NHL.
Yeah he will make Alaska even better than they were (top 4 last season) It's a shame they don't come to Beaumont this year. I wouldn't mind seeing him play.
The NHL expanded too much too quickly. The lockout is the price they are paying for uncontrolled growth. I don't miss it one bit.
I've never been to an Aces game...I think this might be a good time to go to one!! It will be interesting to see how he performs in the minors...specifically whether or not he will kick ass and take names (as I'm sure he's capable of doing at that level) or defer to his teammates. I suspect it will be a little bit of both. I miss the NHL a lot, but at the same time it's not too bad since here in Fairbanks we have both UA-Fairbanks (NCAA hockey) and the Ice Dogs (NAHL, Junior-A). Life goes on. Besides, it's basketball season too.
I agree with you for the most part. I think in all that expansion, particularly to the south, they strayed too far from their roots. There have been some instances where it worked (Dallas, Tampa) but in hindsight they would have been better focusing on the north/northwestern states and also keeping teams in Canada, where there is truly a passion for the game. I understand the difficulties with the Canadian exchange rate, but with the love Canadians have for the game it is more than possible to convince players to come play in Canada. Look at Calgary and Vancouver as two successful small market teams. The NHL had the potential to fill a niche market in some areas of the US/Canada and it failed to do so, mostly because it was trying to keep pace with the NBA/NFL/MLB. Fact is, hockey is a niche sport, it always has been, and it will always have a harder time appealing to a mass audience. For instance, instead of putting a team in Miami, where most people have never even seen ice let alone skated on it, why not focus on the Northwest? Putting a team in Seattle or Portland, where there is already a base of hockey fans thanks to minor league teams and also the necessary facilities (Rose Garden, Key Arena), would have made more sense to me. But I guess hindsight is 20/20. I do have a hunch though, that when the NHL does return there's a good chance it's going to look vastly different in terms of teams than it does now.
Contract the number of NHL teams into 28 or so... delete Pittsburgh, Tampa, and Florida or at least move the Pens back to Winnipeg... and instead of dividing the league into 3 divisions per conference, just scrap them and put them Eastern and Western Conferences... Now we have a system like the soccer leagues in Europe... the top eight will still advance into the playoffs... It is depressing to see only 20,000 fans attending the Stanley Cup parade down at Tampa, unlike the hundreds of thousands of people showing up in a typical Avalanche cup parade...
Yep, that is too bad. Still I wouldn't mind making a trip to Beaumont to catch some hockey. Hope to go to see the Aeros some this year, but I would almost rather drive twice as far to see a game in Beaumont than go to downtown Houston.
The Pens have always been in Pittsburgh. I think that the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix. But I think you are right in that there were rumors that Winnipeg wanted the Penguins if financial considerations (i.e. no new arena) forced the team to move.
Part of it's parking, and part of it's my discomfort with taxpayer financing of arenas/stadiums. And another part of it just a vague dislike of the place that I can't really pin down. Completely unrelated, but Beaumont will be a happening place this weekend with the Beaumont Blues Festival. Bo Diddley headlines on Sunday, and Delbert McClinton and Gatemouth Brown are the Saturday sched.
I can tell you that the prioces for the seats are pretty good and with the exception of opening night you can get good seats to almost any game. Louisiana, Mississippi, and Pensacola come to the arena a lot. All of these teams have a pretty good rivalry with each other, and there is usually a fight or two in the games. One of my off-ice crew actually comes from Houston. The arena is right on IH10 and he says the drive is usually about 90 minutes. The arena is brand new and is a nice venue for hockey. All the seats have a good view and are pretty close to the ice. If you decide to come over hit me up with an email through the bbs and I'll hook you up.
Castor - do they play in that Ford Complex (whatever it's called)? I don't go to Beaumont too often because I have relatives there , but I would be shocked to see them at a hockey game. I'll send you an email should I decide to go. Jeez, if the ECHL has a team in Alaska, they really are spread out.
Yeah they play at Ford arena. The ECHL has teams in Alaska, Victoria BC(a new team) and they stretch east to Atl. City. They also have a team in Johnstown and have picke dup a couple of the old IHL franchises that did not move to the AHL. the southern division incorporates the I-10 cities (BMT,LA,MS,PEN) and adds a couple of Georgia teams. They play each other a ton of times, so there is a lot of good rivalries established.
So, The players are willing to work for less money. I think their Union will fold like a cheap tent. DD
