Ft Wayne Komets Pocket Schedule Holders

I have been collecting hockey pocket schedules for the past 15 years and schedule holders have always been the holy grail of sked collecting for me, as they are harder to acquire, usually have great artwork and designs, and are a great way to display my skeds.
I recently received a package from my friend in Ft Wayne Indiana which included this years Komets pocket schedules along with a schedule holder display. I decided to take a photo of it, and then thought I should fine the other Komets schedule holders I had and photograph them as well. I think I have more Ft Wayne Komets sked holders and any other team, and they have had some great ones over the past few seasons, as they continued to win cup after cup!
Here are the seven Ft Wayne Komets schedule holders I have. I could not find ones for 2004-05 or 2006-07. I'm not sure if I don't have them, or just could not find them.

 

Ft Wayne Komets 2011-12 season

Ft Wayne Komets 2010-11 season

 Ft Wayne Komets 2009-10 season 

 Ft Wayne Komets 2008-09 season 

 Ft Wayne Komets 2007-08 season 

 Ft Wayne Komets 2005-06 season 

 Ft Wayne Komets 2003-04 season

Orlando Solar Bears are Back!

I am pretty excited to see another former IHL team hitting the ice next season. Back in 2000, the Orlando Solar Bears won the final IHL Turner Cup before the league folded, with 6 of its teams continuing on to play in the AHL. I can't wait to see what their updated logo looks like once it is unveiled.  Below is the press release announcing the team.

City of Orlando Welcomes Home the Orlando Solar Bears. When the Orlando Solar Bears last skated off the ice 10 years ago, they carried the IHL’s final Turner Cup. Today owners of the Orlando ECHL team (Joe Haleski, Jason Siegel and Bob Ohrablo) were joined by City of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orlando Magic President Alex Martins, Executive Director of Orlando Venues Allen Johnson, and ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna, to announce that the team will be named the Orlando Solar Bears.

“The Solar Bears were a strong part of our community and it is with open arms that we welcome them back to Orlando,” said Mayor Buddy Dyer.  “The new Amway Center was designed with the goal of housing a hockey team and features amenities specific to hockey. We look forward to showcasing our new state-of-the-art Amway Center to hockey fans here in Central Florida and giving them an experience they will never forget.”

ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna and City of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer “The Orlando Solar Bears are coming out of hibernation,” said Bob Ohrablo, Chief Operating Officer/Managing Partner of Orlando Pro Hockey Operations, L.P.  “We are honored to bring the Solar Bears back to Orlando. Once the ECHL announced that we were awarded an expansion franchise, fans from throughout Central Florida made it clear to us to what the team’s name should be.  We want to continue the proud tradition established by the DeVos family.”

The Orlando Solar Bears, owned by RDV Sports, competed in the International Hockey League from 1995-2001.  In their six seasons, the Solar Bears won three Conference Championships and in 2000-2001 won the IHL championship trophy – the Turner Cup.  It was the last Turner Cup ever awarded.

"On behalf of the Orlando Magic family, we welcome Orlando Pro Hockey to Central Florida.  We are excited that we have formed a partnership with Orlando Pro Hockey that will enable them to revive the tradition of pro hockey established here by our organization in the past,” remarked Orlando Magic President Alex Martins.   

“On behalf of the ECHL Board of Governors, I am pleased to welcome the Orlando Solar Bears to the ECHL. Orlando is a dynamic city,” said McKenna. “That, combined with a world-class facility in theAmway Center and an experienced and enthusiastic ownership group, create a very positive outlook for the future of hockey in Orlando.”

“We are looking forward to bringing another family affordable entertainment option to Orlando and we are pleased with the initial response,” said Jason Siegel, President/Managing Partner.  “We anticipate that at least 60% of our lower bowl seats will be priced at $15 and under.  So far more than 700 season ticket deposits/information requests have come in through our website since the ECHL announced the approval of the expansion franchise two weeks ago.  We urge fans to visit our website and place a deposit. ”          

The Orlando Solar Bears will begin play at the Amway Center in October 2012.  Fans will be able to obtain ticket plan information by by filling out the form to the right. Season tickets plans will range in price from $195-$1350 per season seat.  Full and half season ticket plans will be available.

The team will unveil its’ team logos and jersey designs, announce its NHL and AHL affiliations, and introduce its coaching staff over the next 6-8 months.  The team has retained The Joe Bosack Graphic Design Company (joebosack.com) to design its primary and secondary logos along with new jersey designs and wordmarks.  Joe Bosack designed the Colorado Avalanche logo and a number of current ECHL team marks.

RIP Manitoba Moose 1996-2011

With the Jets moving back into town, the Manitoba Moose were given their walking papers. And although the franchise will be moving to Saint John's, they will most certainly not be called the Moose. The Moose have been my favorite team since I became a BIG minor league hockey fan back in 1996, so it will be a strange feeling next October when the AHL season starts, and there is no Moose.
I have been collecting Moose media guides since 1996, and also have the two Minnesota Moose guides as well, so I was little surprised when I realized that I had not purchased my copy of the 2010/11 media guide and the season was over. Once I realized that the Moose were done, I made sure to place my order online. Luckily for me, I managed to get my order in just weeks before the official Moose merchandise store closed its doors forever.

Happily they threw in a copy of the 2010-11 Year Book with my order, along with a package of Moose holiday gift tag labelz.
My one one big disappointment is that the final 2010/11 media guide is not a print book, but rather a CD-ROM, which may be great for quickly finding stats, but its not going to be much use in 10+ years when there is no such thing as a CD-ROM player!

What Killer Whales?

It looks like the answer to this issue of the Hockey News' front cover question is... um... YES!

It was great fun to see how quickly all the Canucks car flags disappeared after game 7. I have not been a Canucks fan for years (the Senators are my team), but I am always amazed at how lame the Canucks fans are. When Vancouver is doing well, every one jumps on board the fan wagon, but they are also just as quick to jump off when the team loses!

Congratulations to the Boston Bruins. And thanks Boston for saving me from having to listen to the fan wagon horn from blaring for days after game 7. And don't worry about the little riot we had. As it was pointed out, us Canadians are very polite and we all showed up the next day to clean up after ourselves.

2008 Champions DVD & Photo Book

Being a huge Chicago Wolves fan, I was thrilled when they won the 2008 AHL Calder Cup. The next season, the Wolves started selling the 2008 Champions DVD & Photo Book on their web site for $29.95. Ever since then, I have had the page on their online store bookmarked knowing that at some point I would be adding it to my collection. Recently, I saw that they had reduced the price to just $15. I quickly placed my order. The package contains a 36 page soft cover book featuring photos from the championship winning game and 2 DVDs. The first with the complete final game, and the second disc filled with bonus materials. I have already sat and watched the full game, and look forward the bonus disc when I get the chance.

If you have never seen a Wolves home game, you are missing something special. They have by far the best pre-game show of any team I have ever seen... and I have seen a ton of games (my minor league hockey game collection is well over 2500 games). If you are interested in seeing their pre-game, there are all kinds of clips on Youtube. Just search for Chicago Wolves intro and you will find a bunch to choose from. And check out the amazing photos on Wobbly85's Flickr photostream.

Vancouver Giants AM Radio

Here is a pretty neat item I received for Christmas. It is an AM radio that receives only one station. Giants games are usually broadcast on 650 CISL, which is the logo that is plastered all over the back and sides of this small 'playing card deck' sized cardboard radio. The odd thing is that the station that it receives (at least here at home) is CBC radio, which does NOT broadcast the Giants games. I guess this is for those who prefer to listen to classical music while watching a hockey game. I myself, love listening to the play by play when I attend games, so I will have to remember to bring this with me next time I attend a Giants game to try it out.
It has a single earphone, so it is truly a mono radio, and it comes with a string attached so you can wear it around your neck like a lanyard.
It also has no way to open it up to replace the battery, so I guess this is a throw away radio much like those cheap throw away cameras you can buy. I wonder if it lasts longer than one game?