Rivermen Staying In Peoria

Not that there was ever any reason to think they were coming to Kansas City, but the St. Louis Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen, are officially remaining in Peoria for the next five seasons. There is no evidence I’m aware of that AEG/Sprint Center made any attempts to lure the Rivermen to Kansas City. Blues blogger Andy Strickland claims “Kansas City and the Sprint Center were very hopeful the Rivermen would have eventually landed in K.C.,” but I have no idea where he’s getting that. Peoria Journal Star reporter Dave Eminian says, “They envy you, Peoria, in places like Des Moines, Iowa, Omaha, Neb., and Kansas City.” Eminian also writes that the Blues “check(ed) around for other options” before agreeing to extend their time in Peoria, but gives no specifics. In an email to me, Eminian wrote: “Kansas City’s venue is too new, too big and too costly to operate a minor-league team in. Sprint Center wants an NHL team.” If there was any lingering hope that AEG might pursue the AHL for Kansas City, the apparent lack of interest in the Blues affiliate puts that to rest. Are we too big for the AHL and too small for the NHL?

Scouts Uni Watch Membership Card

Uni Watch, one of my favorite websites, ran a Christmas-time raffle for various prizes. I was the lucky winner of a Uni Watch membership, which carries the awesome responsibility of choosing a jersey design, name and number to be featured on the back of the membership card. (You can see a gallery of card designs here.) The decision was actually an easy one for me - a Scouts jersey of course. Specifically, a #11 home jersey, a la my DIY project (that Uni Watch prez Paul Lukas featured on ESPN.com). She’s a beaut:

Greg “Puck Daddy” Wyshynski Supports NHL in KC

Four respected hockey bloggers took part in what host site Crash The Crease called the “Internet Hockey Summit” recently. The last topic covered was potential NHL expansion and relocation. Greg Wyshynski (the 99th most influential person in hockey, don’t ya know) of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy was the only one to mention Kansas City. Unlike most hockey scribes, Wyshynski “would like to see a team in Kansas City” (by way of expansion).

Scouts & Capitals Tour of Japan, April 1976

If you're interested in the Scouts, you may know that they ended their final season with a then-record 27 game winless streak. So what would you say if I told you the Scouts won the last game they ever played?

Turns out the Scouts weren't quite done at the conclusion of the '75-'76 regular season: They had a four-game exhibition tour to play with the Washington Capitals in Japan in mid-April. It was the first time the NHL had gone to Japan, and the curious Japanese onlookers were treated to the two newest and worst teams in the league. In 2008, Guy Charron told NHL.com, "Basically, the two teams they selected...had to be pretty well out of the playoffs by a certain time."

The Scouts dropped the first three games (the first two played in Sapporo, the third in Tokyo). That means the team actually managed to run the winless streak up to an unofficial 30 games before winning the final game, played in Tokyo, 4-2. The players were awarded with watches for their victory. Here are summaries for games 2, 3 and 4:




Related article: "Capitals, Scouts Received Rare Shot at April Hockey"