Beginning of a New Era for AHL Hockey in Binghamton
Rewind back to last season, and it was a time of great uncertainty for American Hockey League (AHL) fans in Binghamton.
The Ottawa Senators announced they were leaving the city of Binghamton and moving their AHL franchise to Belleville for the start of the 2017-18 season - leaving the southern tier of New York without an AHL team despite its rich history in the league dating over 20 years.
Tom Mitchell, the team's Executive Vice President of Operations, remained committed to keeping AHL hockey in Binghamton like any good owner/manager or higher ups would tell its fans. The difference with Mitchell, however, was that he backed up his words with action.
"Fans look at owners sometimes and they say things like, are they telling the truth," Mitchell said in a phone interview with Inside AHL Hockey. "Well I was telling the truth. I just had my neck stuck out there quite a ways if some kind of glitch showed up, but it didn't."
Mitchell told Binghamton Senators fans, or BSens as the team was more commonly known, that AHL hockey was indeed going to remain in Binghamton. At the time, he wasn't allowed to reveal who would be replacing Ottawa.
"I was pretty confident, probably 95%, but you never know in these deals," Mitchell explained of what was going on behind the scenes. "There's always a glitch that could come up, and there were a few glitches, but none of any real consequence. I knew (they) really wanted to be here, and all sides wanted this to work. Unfortunately for us, we had to spend pieces of the season only being able to say 'yep they're going, but our organization is staying right here'. We'll have another NHL partner but we cant tell you who it is."
"During the uncertain period there for 4-5 months last season, a lot of people would ask - who is it? Are the Rangers coming, are the Devils coming. A lot of people put some thought into it about who it was. One question came up more often than not. It's going to be an American league team, right? It's not going an ECHL team or some other league? At least I could say no, it's going to be an AHL team. At least I could say that."
It wasn't until four or five months of working behind the scenes to hammer out an agreement that Binghamton's front office announced that the New Jersey Devils would be Binghamton's new NHL affiliate for the 2017-18 season.
"I was pretty confident right from the beginning that we were going to work this thing out," Mitchell added. "New Jersey showed that they were a real interest - a strong interest - in being in this market and getting here as quickly as they can. I think it makes sense from their side and our side."
But how did fans react throughout the process?
For Korey Elkins, a 25-year-old Clifford, Pa native, it was certainly 'mixed emotions'.
"Between upset, sad, and heart broken to excited and happy," Elkins said. "It was definitely bittersweet because you've been watching the same organization for so long and they were the team that basically made me a hockey fan. But at the same time it was cool knowing that there was gonna be a change. And I think that's what I stayed optimistic about, knowing that it might be better than it is/was."
Mitchell echoed those sentiments when asked about the Binghamton fanbase, and how it would react to being the Devils' primary affiliate. In the end, these hockey-hungry fans were happy to have AHL hockey stay in their city.
"It seemed like the fans were really concerned about whether it was going to be at the AHL level or not," Mitchell said. "I think it kind of tells you right there how serious this little market takes its AHL franchise. They didn't really care who it was, they just wanted to make sure it was still at the AHL level."
Mitchell went on to explain that geographically, Binghamton made sense for the New Jersey Devils. Located in the middle of a plethora of AHL clubs - from Lehigh Valley, Wilkes-Barre and Hershey to Syracuse, Rochester and Utica - Binghamton is just a three hour drive away.
"It's always been a pretty stable market. I think New Jersey looked at all of those sort of things. Of course, I'm a little biased I guess but I think they made a good decision," Mitchell said. "They haven't had a good home for many, many years and we're going to see to it that they get one here."
It will certainly take time for the front office staff and fans alike to get used to the new affiliation. After 15 years of getting the Senators' brand installed throughout the arena, there were plenty of signage that needed to be changed. Mitchell explained that so far it has been a smooth process and that the cooperation between the Binghamton staff and New Jersey staff has been great.
"They've been great to work with, they have a lot of great ideas and it's not just the team - the marketing and front office people have been very cooperative," Mitchell explained. "They're trying to understand our market - a smaller market that lives and dies with its hockey team all winter long. We're kind of coaching them a little bit, and they've been coaching us. It's been really good so far."
With a five-year agreement with New Jersey and a five-year lease agreement with the arena in Binghamton, it appears that stability for Binghamton's AHL market is right around the corner.
"When I found out it was the Devils that were coming, I was relieved, because I have always had a thing for the Devils," Elkins said, whose family has had season tickets for Binghamton hockey each of the past 14 years.
The affiliation switch also has Elkins hoping for a stronger team to support this season.
"Every year their prospect pool seems to be deep. New Jersey definitely knows how to take care of their AHL team," Elkins added. "After the Bsens won the Calder Cup and Ottawa called up practically that whole team the next year, it seemed like they never really got back to being a contending team."
For AHL fans in Binghamton, and the front office staff that calls the city home, everyone is glad that AHL hockey will remain in Binghamton for years to come.
"I'm sure New Jersey is going to want to do some things differently than Ottawa did, and we're ready to bend a little and work with them to make this a success for everyone."
