Last year at this time, I was reading media reports and blogs that had the silly speculation that the New York Islanders might relocate to Kansas City simply because the Islanders came to KC for a game with the AEG-owned LA Kings. Of course, the Islanders also played a preseason game in Saskatoon (which sold out), but no one speculated that the Islanders might end up in the Saskatchewan city. Now, the Islanders situation still seems unstable, however, more and more, the rumors are about the Islanders moving to Brooklyn or Queens than to the Central time zone.
This year, as far as NHL to KC chatter, there is nothing.
There is, however, a very cool hockey event coming to KC.
The Independence Events Center is hosting a College Hockey Kickoff weekend with SMU, Metropolitan State College of Denver, KU and MU playing a round robin on October 1, 2 and 3. Now, this is “club” hockey and not NCAA Division 1, like they have in Omaha, still, for the hockey fan, this is a great thing. TICKETS ARE ONLY $5 and parking is always free at the IEC (and, yes, I think they’ll serve beer).
It’s a decent weekend to have this event. The Chiefs, MU and KSU have byes. The Royals’ season will have wrapped. KU is on the road. The one big event will be NASCAR weekend at the Speedway.
HOCKEY FANS — SUPPORT THIS EVENT!!
I really hope this college event gets a nice crowd. This is the kind of grass roots hockey events we need in KC. The Mavericks have been a, much better than I expected, addition. I, of course, would love to see the AHL, but with the CHL and IHL merging, the quality of play may get even better.
