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Team Name : Victoria Blitz
Team logos : The Blitz logo has been untouched
for three seasons, but in lieu
of the new league reorganizing, the logo will undergo its first
major change.
Traditionally, the logo was a lightning bolt, simple and
boring. This will be modified
so that the logo will incorporate the city of Victoria, the
"essence" of being Blitzed
and a small reference to being one of the most dominating
teams in league history.
(2 President's trophies and one Stanley Cup).
Team History: The Victoria Blitz take their
name from the city and the fact that their high octane style
of hockey leaves opponents dazed and confused, similar to being blitzed (in
reference to football and being struck by lighting by
the Gods). Originally, in the late 1970's, the team was
located in Regina (the Regina Deckers). Fan support was
weak, mainly because know one knew what the team name
meant. Religious groups and right wing politicians were angered by the
terms "Deckers", linking the term to acts of
homosexuality (similar to double decking?), but it was financial woes
made the team move.
The team then moved to Chiliwack, BC in 1983 where they played there for 12 years. Once again controversy followed the organization, and the Chiliwack Crusaders had to fold amidst allegations of a cocaine/heroine/hello kitty fake merchandise ring that was being run by the players and coaches. (The RCMP is still investigating the situation, but the current owners of the Blitz swear they have no connection or knowledge of the alleged crime ring).
For two years, the team did not play a single league
game. The team had left Ciliwack and
now traveled on the road, playing at local rinks. The
summer months were saved for road hockey games.
The owners realized that charity road hockey games were making
them little money, and since their players were simply
getting fat, they abandoned the team and sold the player contracts and
team rights to a Victoria company called Placebo
Solutions, owned by Mark Ihnat and Josef Puglia. The company released
all the players, moved the team to Victoria, renamed the team the Blitz, and
joined the NAHP.
Three successful seasons later, the team continues to thrive
and welcomes the opportunity to dominate yet another
league.
Team Slogan: "All is silent, then
you are Blitzed!"
Team Colours: Home Jersey - royal blue with
yellow/blue/green/black crest (to be decided) and yellow on sleeves (to
be decided)
Away Jersey - white jersey with similar crest and blue on sleeves.
Both jerseys are V-necked like the old Canuck uniforms with
blue and yellow.
Team Mascot: TBA
RELATED:
GM Name and brief history: Mark Ihnat. A
successful GM (1999 Neil Smith Best GM Award), Mark is known not
for his shrewd trades, but his late season FA acquisitions that have
catapulted his team to glory.
Although his team failed to break the 10 pnt barrier during
last season's playoffs, various FA pick ups including
the much scandalous Claude Lapointe pickup of 1999, has made the Blitz a
competitive team year after year. Known for his
honesty, he is in charge of the league and team finances for all of the
organizations in the NAHP. He has been so
successful that Placebo Solutions have offered him a 2 year contract extension
for 1.8 million, good until 2002 (we are still trying to determine in what
currency the 1.8 million will be).
Picture: The Blitz organization denies
all activity depicted in any pictures posted on the league site.
Organization chart containing names (real or
fictional) :
Victoria Blitz
Head Coach - Tom Kurvers (1999-2000 Jack Adams Award
Winner - contract good until 2001)
Assistant Coach - Brian Sullivan (Former New
Jersey Devil - contract is up for negotiation and may not return)
Goaltending Coach - Chad Erickson (Former New Jersey
Devil - contract is under negotiation)
Former goaltending coach, Chico Resch, is with the New
Jersey Devils announcing booth)
Trainer/Conditioning Coach - TBA
GM - Mark Ihnat
Minor League Team: Penticton Rage
Head Coach - Sergei Starikov (Former NJD - contract
good until 2001)
Assistant Coach - Mike Moher (Former NJD - contract
under negotiation)
Goaltending Coach - Shawn MacKenzie (Former NJD -
contract good until 2001)
Trainer/Conditioning Coach - TBA
GM - Mark Ihnat
President of Both Teams - Josef Puglia
Arena Details:
Name with brief description: Blitzkrieg Arena
- Situated on a floating dock in the inner harbour in Victoria,
the Blitzkrieg Arena is a state of the art arena, built in the summer of 1997.
It seats 21,000, including corporate 100 boxes, it has 8 large
TV/digital screens around the interior of the arena, a 4
sided, 12 foot central TV monitor suspended in the middle of the arena, 3
conference rooms, 8 press boxes, and is easily
accessible. The Blitz had 31 sellouts last year and have a current
season ticket holder membership of 13,736. The
retractable roof is rarely used, and now is simply called
a major design flaw, and the dock needs to be expanded to accommodate more
parking, but the arena still remains one of the city's
major tourist attractions and has been ranked in the top 5
for the "Best Arena for a Minor League Team in North America" twice.
"...there isn't a bad seat in the house, except if you sit
in row 26, section J, where you must
straddle a pillar" - Arena, Aroma, Allergy Magazine, 1999-
" ...the smell in the arena is indescribable" -
Sticky Floors Magazine, 2000-
"...a floating juggernaut or Trojan horse?" -
Victoria Tourist Information Booklet, 1999-
Minor League Franchise: Penticton
Rage
Logo and colours TBA as the team is going through a complete
overall.
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