The end is near for the Stockton Heat, as the Calgary Flames’ AHL affiliate is moving from California to Alberta for the 2022-2023 season.
The move has already been approved by the AHL Board of Governors.
“Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation have appreciated the partnership with the City of Stockton since our arrival in 2015,” said Heat General Manager Brad Pascall via press statement. “We especially would like to say thank you to the Heat fans who loyally supported the team and continue to throughout the 2022 AHL Playoffs.”
The move was announced, but not much else was specified, and the time was unfortunate, as the team is in the midst of a playoff series against the Colorado Eagles. We may also see some divisional realignment for the 2022-23 AHL season, which will begin October 14, though staying in the Pacific Division seems the logical move.
The Heat and the Flames had shared Scotiabank Saddledome when the AHL played in separate U.S. and Canadian divisions, but the team returned to Stockton for the 2021-2022 AHL season. Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp., owner of the Flames, already has the Flames and the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen playing out of the Saddledome.
t’s not hard to understand why moving the Heat closer to the Flames makes sense from a development perspective. It allows Flames coaches and management to get a better look at prospects while also making it significantly easier to call up players. In those situations, Heat players won’t need to drive to an airport and cross a border.
By moving a top affiliate to the parent market, the Flames are following a trend in pro sports to locate top farm teams basically in the same area. We now have AHL affiliates for parents Toronto, Winnipeg, Las Vegas and Montreal in the same market or even the same arena, while in the case of Vancouver, Boston, the Kings and the New York Rangers, relatively close. It’s a trend in baseball as well: both the Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros did the same in 2021. From the Calgary Herald:
It’s not hard to understand why moving the Heat closer to the Flames makes sense from a development perspective. It allows Flames coaches and management to get a better look at prospects while also making it significantly easier to call up players. In those situations, Heat players won’t need to drive to an airport and cross a border….
“It’s the little things, too,” Pascall said. “If you’re a player, you have essentially one residence and you’re either going to practise at this time, at this location, or you’re going to practise at this time, at this location and your head every night is on the same pillow. It’s not in two different apartments in two different countries. It’s little things like that that I think go a long way.”