New York Islanders organization and City of Hamilton staff unveil the Hamilton Hammers (Source: Ismail Fasih)With the era of the Hamilton Hammers now underway, there have been some question posted (including from us) about the logistics behind the Islander organization's decision to move further north to Canada's Steel City over an hour away Bridgeport, CT.
In a media scrum after the unveiling of the Hamilton Hammers name, colors and logo, Islanders President of Business Operations Kelly Cheeseman explained why he found no such hurdle.
"As far as when you're bringing guys up from the minor league team to the pro club, it really depends on where the team is at that point says," says Cheeseman. "You could be out on the West Coast and you have have to call up a player. Sometimes, it's not always about going straight from Bridgeport to Long Island, sometimes it's from Toronto to Los Angeles to wherever the team might be."
Cheeseman also talked about the logistics of taking a snag of the Toronto fanbase territory, who are arguably known to be more or less the most ride-or-die fanbase in pro hockey.
"We have to establish our own market here for the Hammers and it's not going to be about the Marlies or the Leafs or the Islanders. It's going to be about the Hammers," says Cheeseman. "We are going to have to be involved with the community asset, the players will have to be involved and that is going to attract fans. It doesn't matter what sweater they are going to wear at the NHL level, it's about what sweater they wear here, and I see it no different than how many OHL teams are pretty close to the market."
Popularity is clearly not an issue as during the unveiling, President of Oak View Group (who partly own TD Coliseum) Tom Pistore mentioned that 95% of TD Coliseum's premium seating was sold out. While one can credit the Hammers for that, it also has to be noted that Hamilton will also be welcoming a PWHL team this fall.
The Hamilton Hammers will also be placed in the North Division alongside the Marlies. The new era of Hammers-Marlies rivalry will reignite a new chapter of a Hamilton-Toronto feud Canadians are only accustomed to seeing in the CFL. The last AHL team in Hamilton, the Bulldogs, were the sole affiliate to the Leafs' chief division foes, the Montreal Canadiens from 2007 until their last year in the city in 2015. Unlike the Canadiens, the Hammers NHL affiliate Islanders play in a different division from the Leafs. Cheeseman doesn't believe that will water down the the upcoming rivalry.
"No, I think pro hockey players will want to battle each other no matter what division they are in," says Cheeseman. "And when they get up to the NHL, whenever the Maple Leafs play the Islanders, those players will still remember each other so I don't think it waters it down at all. I think pro hockey players want to compete, and I think the environment the fans bring to that brings just as much energy to that."