There were barely any Americans in the NHL at that point, and they only had the six teams - so there wasn't much of an opportunity there. By the time the WHL came along, I was a little too old to be trying to make it in pro hockey - but that old New England League was some great hockey. Those rinks used to be packed every night, and played in tournaments all over the Eastern United States and Canada.
Quotes about whl (4 Quotes)
I think that over the last five or six years the bantam program has produced some good drafts. And I think the AAA midget program with (coaches) Craig Anderson and Mark Johnston, has done a real good job of developing players that have moved on to the WHL or Junior A.
We won't go on forever dumping money into this team. We need a market rate lease or a lease comparable to what other minor league hockey teams are paying in the WHL.
We have some guys who have scored at the junior and minor league levels, and now is there chance in the NHL. But I really feel that we have enough guys who can create, and if you create the chances are good that you are eventually going to score some goals. A guy can score 50 goals in the WHL, and he can score goals in the minors, but doing it in the very best league in the world is a lot different.