The Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins are in the Eastern Conference Final, yet their attendance numbers are underwhelming. Game 1 drew under 3,500 fans, and Game 2 was just over 5,000 in attendance. 

Some of the low numbers aren’t their fault, with games mid-week in a league where teams rely on weekend games. That said, the Penguins in particular have struggled to draw, even at a point in the playoffs where the 8,300-seat Mohigan Sun Arena should be packed. 

Everyone will have their reasons or theories for why the Pittsburgh Penguins' American Hockey League affiliate is struggling to attract fans in the final rounds of the playoffs. As someone who covered multiple games in Wilkes-Barre, has traveled around the AHL’s Atlantic Division, and is in the middle of season three covering the league, here are a few factors. 

The blame starts with the team, which, on the bright side, means that a lot of their issues are fixable. If the Penguins put in the right resources, they can build up a bigger fanbase and be the hot ticket in North East Pennsylvania. 

The lack of branding, interest, or marketing from the Penguins hurts them. If a casual hockey fan drives through Wilkes-Barre, they’d have no idea a hockey team played there, much less the Penguins. There are no signs, no banners, and fans aren’t wearing jerseys in the streets. They feel like an invisible team in the AHL (and there are a few of them). 

The Penguins put minimal interest into the media and those who cover the game. Sure, this is banging my own drum here but the team has one of the worst setups in the league, throwing those who cover the report and write about the game into a corner (which has a ripple effect since the team doesn’t care about them, they don’t report the games, and thus fans don’t hear much about them). The contrast is Hershey, which is known for treating its media well in every facet, and it pays off for them.

Mohegan Sun Arena is a mess, one of the worst setups of the new AHL arenas, especially the interior. The seats are low-quality, the sightlines for many sections are terrible, and the WiFi is a disaster. The team needs to completely redo the interior to make it a more attractive place to attend a game. 

The experience had some fans leaving the arena noting "It's not worth it" which is surprising considering it's the playoffs and the tickets are still affordable. Yet, that speaks to the experience where fans would prefer spending their $50 elsewhere. 

It’s worth adding that the team has done the same promotion throughout the entire playoffs by giving the fans noisemakers. In fairness, they had a bouncehouse and free hot dogs outside for anyone who bought a ticket to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference but most teams give out multiple playoff giveaways. The Penguins haven’t done rally towels, pompoms, cowbells, t-shirts, or other things that would reward fans who come to the arena. 

The location of the arena doesn’t help either, as it’s surrounded by strip malls and chain shopping centers (think Target and Marshalls). Other arenas are either downtown or in the city’s center, surrounded by restaurants, sports bars, or sports apparel stores. The Hartford Wolf Pack had the worst record in the league, yet averaged over 5,500 per game, with the location being a big plus. Wilkes-Barre is a town without a real downtown or city center, yet the location is still unappealing for fans. 

That leads to the other issue: Wilkes-Barre is a smaller market. The population of Scranton is over 70,000, while Wilkes-Barre is around 40,000, which is on the low side by AHL standards. 

While the Penguins have built up a small following, the area is still Philadelphia Flyers territory. It’s hard to attract Flyers fans who live in the area and ask them to support their in-state rival, especially when the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (their AHL affiliate) is an hour away. 

The Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders, the New York Yankees minor league team, attracted 3,778 fans to their Friday night game. On the same night, the Penguins drew 5,265 to a conference final game. Yet, it’s hard to blame any of the fans for choosing the baseball game. The ballpark, which was redone and renovated, is a more attractive place than an arena that looks like it hasn’t been renovated in 20 years. 

The Penguins might not care about the low attendance. After all, this season by most measures is a success since the prospects are developing in a winning environment. That said, it’s a bad look for a team to make a deep playoff run yet play in a 60% full arena.  

The Hamilton Hammers hired Jay McKee this week, and there are reports that Jay Leach is close to joining either the Belleville Senators or Hartford Wolf Pack as their next head coach. In short, it’s the time of the year when coaching movement is in full swing. 

On 32 Thoughts The Podcast, Elliotte Friedman reported that Vaclav Prospal, an assistant with the Rochester Americans, is expected to join the St. Louis Blues coaching staff. Prospal is one of the big names in the AHL but he’s not the only one. 

Mark Giordano coaches the defense for the Toronto Marlies and has been a key part of their playoff run. Considering his background with defensemen and his hockey IQ as a player, many teams might look at the 42-year-old assistant (if the Maple Leafs don’t promote him from within). 

Kain Tisi is the goaltending coach who helped develop multiple goaltenders in Wilkes-Barre. Considering how poorly NHL teams played this season in the net, he’s a name to keep in mind as the next up-and-coming goalie coach. 

Someone Providence Bruins head coach Ryan Mougenel has spoken glowingly about is his assistant, Trent Whitfield. He’s someone who can become an AHL head coach or get promoted from within. 

The Eagles have one of the best coaching staffs in the AHL. Derek Army is one of the best young assistants in the league, a 34-year-old who has an ECHL background, while Kim Weiss was promoted to the assistant role and has made the most of her brief time behind the bench. 

TJ Hughes scored a goal and added an assist in the Colorado Eagles' 5-2 Game 2 win over the Chicago Wolves. He has three points in the Western Conference Final and nine points in 12 playoff games. 

Yet, the points don’t do him justice. Hughes was the best player on the ice in Game 2 and impacted the game in multiple ways. He’s the center who does it all and not only scores but defends well. 

His ability to win puck battles and control the middle of the ice gave the Wolves fits. The Wolves are a team that thrives on possession and controlling the puck in the offensive zone. Yet, when Hughes was on the ice, the Eagles controlled play. 

Hughes is a 24-year-old center who spent multiple years in college before joining the Eagles in April. Yet, he’s built for the Calder Cup Playoffs. He makes the smart play and is always in the right position. Hughes is the missing piece the Eagles have needed to win the Cup, and he’s given them an edge, certainly in this playoff run. 

One of the conversation I had over the weekend was about the draft, not this one but the draft in general. One theme is that there’s a good chance there’s never a “bad draft” again. With the talent pool expanding and development programs taking off in the USA and around the world, every draft will be loaded up with talent. 

The rise of international hockey was on display this weekend as Finland won the Men's World Championship over Switzerland. Canada didn’t earn a medal. While this tournament isn’t best on best, it’s another example of the other countries closing the gap on Canada and the other hockey giants. 

The international talent pool is one reason every draft suddenly looks better with more “game-breaking” talent at the top. Another is that teams are smarter with their prospects. They don’t rush them to the NHL and have multiple avenues to develop from junior hockey to college to the AHL. 

The Marlies playoff run has put their prospects under the spotlight. One standout is defenseman William Villeneuve who is the primary puckhandler and playmaker at the point. The question is his size and while he weighs 180 pounds and has put on muscle, he still looks and plays like a smaller skater. It’s a reminder that all 180 pound players are created equal (and some players literally play above their weight). 

The other rising prospect on the Marlies is Artur Ahktyamov, the goaltender who has allowed only nine goals in his last five starts. His play has the Toronto Maple Leafs excited about his future. While goaltending is tough to predict, the way he’s played makes a convincing case for him to be on the NHL roster soon enough. 

The Chicago Wolves pulled off the upset in Game 1 with a 3-2 win in Colorado and looked like they would take a 2-0 series lead back to Chicago for Game 3. They had a 2-1 lead heading into the third period of Game 2. Yet, the Eagles scored four unanswered to even things up. 

The Penguins, meanwhile, are in a 2-0 series hole and had one of the more bizarre endings to a playoff game you will find. Marlies skater Michael Pezzetta flipped the puck high into the air, and Penguins goaltender Sergei Murashov misplayed the puck with his stick, and it landed in the goal. I guess that solves the argument on whether kids should play hockey in the winter and baseball in the summer, since Murashov would have otherwise snagged that puck like a can of corn fly ball.