The Ice Age Cometh!

I spent a quick hour at the library this afternoon, checking out microfilm of the Kansas City Times and Star from October 1st - 8th, 1974, the week leading up to the Scouts' debut regular season game. Turns out the Scouts had their training camp in Port Huron, Michigan that year for some reason (perhaps because Kemper Arena was in use by the American Royal?). They started the preseason off at 2-1-1, which of course led to some optimism from beat writer Jay Greenberg, coaches and players. Sad to say that may have been the last time there was much optimism around the Scouts. The final two games of the preseason were against the Washington Capitals, fellow expansionees, so the Scouts had every possibility of finishing strong and having an excellent preseason. Instead, they dropped both contests to the Caps (one in London, Ontario and one in Port Huron), and would go on to start the regular season 0-8-1.

One of my favorite finds was this ad from the October 6th Star:

From an NHL preview article by Ken Rudnick:

"KANSAS CITY - The Scouts could avoid the cellar in their first season but only because of the muddled picture in St. Louis. Right wing Simon Nolet, who scored 19 goals for Philadelphia last season, was the closest thing to a star made available to Kansas City or Washington in the latest expansion draft. The Scouts hope to get solid performances from goalies Michel Plasse and Peter McDuffe and defenseman Brent Hughes. Wilf Paiement, reportedly the highest paid rookie in the history of the N.H.L., will get every opportunity to live up to his salary."

Hopefully more microfilm reports to come, from, you know, actual regular season games.