God, there are so many errors here my head hurts. Among MANY other things, the Chicago Cougars FOLDED, with all of their players going to become the Denver Spurs. Cincinnati was an EXPANSION team (they had participated in two drafts prior to starting play). But this was a lot of fun...props to remembering the WHA!
I think the WHA was really formed to respond to the NHL snubbing Canada in the 1967 expansion. Even though the WHA never had any stability - they forced the NHL to expand through the 70's and once the merger between WHA & NHL was complete in 1979 - Canada had a good balance of NHL teams across the continent. The WHA may not have been successful on their own, but they were successful in forcing the NHL to grow.
Just to be clear, the problems most WHA franchises had were arena issues. The Whalers solved theirs by moving to Hartford but the Raiders, who were supposed to play at the new Mausoleum on Long Island were sent back to MSG because the NHL created the Islanders. The Blazers actually drew pretty well and if they stayed in Philly and Parent stayed as well, who knows what would have happened but the Flyers certainly wouldn't have won back to back Cups. Also, a mistake the WHA made was similar to what the USFL did and that was expand too quickly. They should have stood pat a few years, got established, then expanded if need be.
The Chicago Cougars played at the International Amphitheatre, but had to move a playoff game to a suburban ice rink when a Peter Pan show was booked into the Amphitheatre. Did Miami even have a suitable arena for the Screaming Eagles?
Missed two things! The Cleveland Crusaders moved to become the "NEW" Minnesota Fighting Saints in the 76/77 season! Houston Aeros folded after the 1977/78 season!
Went to 10 Raiders/Golden Blades games.My friends were jaded and wouldn't go to a WHA game. I will admit it wasn't the NHL-but tickets were easy to get and cheaper than the Rangers and Islanders.
Raiders/Golden Blades might have had a chance except the NHL awarded an expansion team to Long Island to keep the WHA out of the Nassau Coliseum. They ended up at MSG and the cost to rent the Garden was too much - not to mention probably getting the worst dates after the Rangers, Knicks and whatever events they scheduled on a regular basis.
I detect a f cynicism in his voice. I was living in Ottawa, not far from the Civic Centre and attended both the first pre-season game featuring the Blazers as well as the first regular season games against the Oilers I have to say frankly that no one really believed the league was real until Bernie Parent skated out leading the Philadelphia Blazers on to the ice.. The Nationals were coached by the late Billy Harris who brought coaching methods that he hd picked up in Sweden.-the Nationals were the first team to do full line drills in the pre game warm up up-until then teams just came out to for a few shots at the goalie, skated around and went back to the locker room to wait for the faceoff. The Harris warmup is now standard practice..The nationals, who had probably the least big talent in the league and that up making the playoffs which they played in Toronto to their chagrin of the few fans that they had an Ottawa. The 67s junior team consistently out-drew them.
I grew up in the Glebe and I have no memory of people even talking about the Nationals. More people talked about the Senators of Frank Finnigan and Percy LeSueur than about the WHA.
Lots of VERY good players started their careers in this league though, and also ended their careers there. And there were some talented squads over the WHA years. It was most certainly NOT the AHL.
@@sjames304 if the NHL allowed those teams to remain as they were instead of pillaging them of their talent teams like the Nordiques and Jets would have been competitive right away.
The only franchises that I've never even heard of were strangely enough... according to this video... both from the same franchise. The Los Angeles Aces & the San Francisco Sea Hawks. Did these teams actually ever exist in any way? Or was this only in theory??
San Francisco Seahawks were renamed the San Francisco Sharks but the team failed to get off the ground and would debut as the Quebec Nordiques. The LA Aces then took the shark nickname after SF left and debuted as the Los Angeles Sharks instead.
The Baltimore Blades had no chance of success, they were owned by the WHA and were created just to finish out the Michigan Stags season. They had 3 wins in 17 games. They folded because they were completion with another lousy NHL team down I 95, the Washington Capitals, as well as the fact that the Baltimore Civic Center sucked. Next year Charm City went back to the AHL with the Clippers.
Houston deserved to go into the NHL. They almost made it in a couple of times.
God, there are so many errors here my head hurts.
Among MANY other things, the Chicago Cougars FOLDED, with all of their players going to become the Denver Spurs. Cincinnati was an EXPANSION team (they had participated in two drafts prior to starting play).
But this was a lot of fun...props to remembering the WHA!
I think the WHA was really formed to respond to the NHL snubbing Canada in the 1967 expansion. Even though the WHA never had any stability - they forced the NHL to expand through the 70's and once the merger between WHA & NHL was complete in 1979 - Canada had a good balance of NHL teams across the continent. The WHA may not have been successful on their own, but they were successful in forcing the NHL to grow.
Just to be clear, the problems most WHA franchises had were arena issues. The Whalers solved theirs by moving to Hartford but the Raiders, who were supposed to play at the new Mausoleum on Long Island were sent back to MSG because the NHL created the Islanders. The Blazers actually drew pretty well and if they stayed in Philly and Parent stayed as well, who knows what would have happened but the Flyers certainly wouldn't have won back to back Cups. Also, a mistake the WHA made was similar to what the USFL did and that was expand too quickly. They should have stood pat a few years, got established, then expanded if need be.
The Chicago Cougars played at the International Amphitheatre, but had to move a playoff game to a suburban ice rink when a Peter Pan show was booked into the Amphitheatre. Did Miami even have a suitable arena for the Screaming Eagles?
@@gregsells8549no. That's why they never came to be.
Missed two things!
The Cleveland Crusaders moved to become the "NEW" Minnesota Fighting Saints in the 76/77 season!
Houston Aeros folded after the 1977/78 season!
Thought I'd bring you back a decade to when you watched this video and made this comment- so here it is!
After? Try during the season.
Went to 10 Raiders/Golden Blades games.My friends were jaded and wouldn't go to a WHA game.
I will admit it wasn't the NHL-but tickets were easy to get and cheaper than the Rangers and Islanders.
Raiders/Golden Blades might have had a chance except the NHL awarded an expansion team to Long Island to keep the WHA out of the Nassau Coliseum. They ended up at MSG and the cost to rent the Garden was too much - not to mention probably getting the worst dates after the Rangers, Knicks and whatever events they scheduled on a regular basis.
You missed when the first Minnesota frranchise folded, and the crusaders became the 2nd minnesota franchise
Seems like the only team that stuck around for all seasons was the Winnipeg jets
Whalers, Nordiques & Oilers also played all 7 seasons.
The Miami Screaming Eagles became the Philadelphia Blazers. And the NJ Knights played in Cherry Hill which is nowhere near the Hudson River.
Cherry Hill is closer to the Delaware than the Hudson, and is in the Philly metro and South Jersey.
@@gregsells8549 um, I think I'm familiar since I live in South Jersey and am about 30 minutes from Cherry Hill.
I detect a f cynicism in his voice. I was living in Ottawa, not far from the Civic Centre and attended both the first pre-season game featuring the Blazers as well as the first regular season games against the Oilers I have to say frankly that no one really believed the league was real until Bernie Parent skated out leading the Philadelphia Blazers on to the ice.. The Nationals were coached by the late Billy Harris who brought coaching methods that he hd picked up in Sweden.-the Nationals were the first team to do full line drills in the pre game warm up up-until then teams just came out to for a few shots at the goalie, skated around and went back to the locker room to wait for the faceoff. The Harris warmup is now standard practice..The nationals, who had probably the least big talent in the league and that up making the playoffs which they played in Toronto to their chagrin of the few fans that they had an Ottawa.
The 67s junior team consistently out-drew them.
I grew up in the Glebe and I have no memory of people even talking about the Nationals. More people talked about the Senators of Frank Finnigan and Percy LeSueur than about the WHA.
I've written exams in Varsity Arena; I can't imagine Gordie, Bobby, and the Big M playing hockey there but play they did.
I have never seen before that Quebec Nordiques' logo.
That's because it never existed.
The concept of this video serves to highlight why this league had no chance at all..........AHL level play at NHL prices.
Lots of VERY good players started their careers in this league though, and also ended their careers there. And there were some talented squads over the WHA years. It was most certainly NOT the AHL.
One of the best games I ever saw was a Winnipeg vs. Houston, Hull vs. the Howes. Houston won in OT,
AHL level play? The Howe's? Bobby Hull? Bernie Parent? Gerry Cheevers? Do you even know who was in this league?
@@sjames304 if the NHL allowed those teams to remain as they were instead of pillaging them of their talent teams like the Nordiques and Jets would have been competitive right away.
The only franchises that I've never even heard of were strangely enough... according to this video... both from the same franchise.
The Los Angeles Aces & the San Francisco Sea Hawks.
Did these teams actually ever exist in any way? Or was this only in theory??
San Francisco Seahawks were renamed the San Francisco Sharks but the team failed to get off the ground and would debut as the Quebec Nordiques. The LA Aces then took the shark nickname after SF left and debuted as the Los Angeles Sharks instead.
@@theblueoctopus4494 Thanks for the info!
@arkham335
this clip came directly from the 4 disc WHA box set
thanks for the extra info
Lots of errors in this.
Well Jim when we get older it all becomes like a blur anyway. Right? You must know that also.
thanks for the extra info
feel free to addmore accurate tidbits on any of my 600+ clips
Does anyone know whose voice is used here. It is extremely familiar. It reminds me of someone who used to be on the air in the 80's for CFNY Toronto.
Stephen Connelly Sounds like John Gallagher.
@TikiWarrior370 ya but its like right on the border. he has it in ohio, but it just looks like its in kentucky cuz cincinatti is so close
That was great! As much as I liked that the WHA gave the NHL a run for the money, it saddened me that it meant the end of the old pro Western League.
Baltimore did not become the Denver Spurs. The Baltimore Blades folded and the Spurs were an expansion team.
I remember going to a few Toronto Toro games. The movie Slapshot was inspired by this league.
No...Slapshot was inspired by the old Eastern Hockey League and the North American Hockey League, not the WHA.
Absolutely correct.......Johnstown PA was the inspiration and location site for the film.
Wasnt that league the farm teams of the WHA ? And the Cheifs the farm team of the Minnesota Fighting Saints ?
...what...
im so confused...
The Baltimore Blades had no chance of success, they were owned by the WHA and were created just to finish out the Michigan Stags season. They had 3 wins in 17 games. They folded because they were completion with another lousy NHL team down I 95, the Washington Capitals, as well as the fact that the Baltimore Civic Center sucked. Next year Charm City went back to the AHL with the Clippers.
rockvilleraven when did the Skipjacks start in Bmore?
The Skipjacks started in 1981 as part of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League which merged into the AHL in 1982.
Loved the Clippers. Wish Baltimore kept AHL going. and I'm from northeast.
@@dennis9707 Liked the Bandit unis.
@@dennis9707 They are going to renovate the Royal Farms Arena, bad call.
Wherever this came from, The whole tone of the vid gets on my nerves.
too bad
Cool video but lots of factual errors.
cinncinati is in ohio not kentucky
Is in timbuctoo