Anyone check out the Monsters yet?

[consigliere]

Just wondering what some of the early thoughts were from people who have seen the Lake Erie Monsters so far.

I was at the season opener, thought it was fun. My son had a good time, and the place was packed. I was wondering what the attendance has been like since the opener.

My thoughts on it....I am not much of a hockey nut, but like going. I used to love going to Lumberjacks games. My main problem with the Monsters is how ridiculously priced the tickets are. Needless to say I won't be going unless freebies come my way.

[skatingtripods]

I have only gone to the Opener as well, but it left me no shortage of things to complain about.

From an atmosphere standpoint, they will never have games like they did for the opener. The atmosphere was very good, especially the in-game entertainment. Tickets are way too expensive and attendance will probably average 4-5 thousand a game.

As for the team, they're bad. They are incredibly soft, especially along the boards, which explains why they constantly get outshot. Yeah, they're young and should get better, but the two games that they have won were stolen by the goaltender. Hensick's too good to be on the team, but not mature enough for the NHL. His linemates just drag him down and he's far and away the most talented player that they have.

Overall, Gilbert has a real project here. The team is not going to win often, so it'll be up to him and the marketing team to get some asses in the seats.

[buckeyehoppy]

Just wondering what some of the early thoughts were from people who have seen the Lake Erie Monsters so far.

I was at the season opener, thought it was fun. My son had a good time, and the place was packed. I was wondering what the attendance has been like since the opener.

My thoughts on it....I am not much of a hockey nut, but like going. I used to love going to Lumberjacks games. My main problem with the Monsters is how ridiculously priced the tickets are. Needless to say I won't be going unless freebies come my way.

I figured that the Monsters were going to have it rough from the outset. As Tripods alluded to, they have more than a few guys on the squad who should probably still be in the ECHL since this is an expansion team. Colorado shared a player development team the last two years, so many of the guys will look and play green.

Where Hensick is concerned, he will probably be here for a while because Budaj and Theodore are both capable NHL GKs and aren't going anywhere unless they are involved in a trade.

I am still balking at the price of the ducats for what adds up to a AAA team. Granted, NHL tix aren't cheap. But I can't see that many families coming out at the prices they are charging. I will probably go soon. I prefer Friday home dates, but they don't have any until December. The 7:30 start times on Friday and Saturday are a good thing, as is the 5:00 start on Sundays. The price of the tickets, though, is a real head scratcher.

[swerb]

I've talked with their CEO 3-4 times. Hes a sharp guy. Like the #4 in charge with the Cavs, runs double duty with the Monsters.

The tickets are too expensive. They argue that veheminently. LeBron James putting 21k a night in the seats has slightly warped their sense of reality.

As a season ticket holder for the Cavs through my bank, I can tell you that the Monsters are banking MIGHTILY on getting Cavaliers season ticket holders to buy plans for these games. And they market the Monsters ad nauseum during Cavs games, when they have those large captive audiences. Deep down I believe that they think these factors can overcome what they have to know are inflated ticket prices for a marginal (at best) level of hockey.

Even though I did buy a six game plan, lending creedence to their belief that they can successfully cross sell to the Cavs crowd .... I think it's going to be tough on them. The entertainment dollar is stretched thin. The team is going to lose ALOT of games. And its not like with the Jacks ... where you could take a group or 3-4 kids and all sit near the boards for a TOTAL of $40-$50.

This all said, everything Gilbert has touched has turned to gold. Rock Financial, Quicken, his title and appraisal companies, Fathead, Flash Seats ... they all have been big winners. This makes me believe he will eventually succeed with the Monsters, but I think this is his toughest challenge. I also feel they will have to lower ticket prices next season.

[skatingtripods]

Where Hensick is concerned, he will probably be here for a while because Budaj and Theodore are both capable NHL GKs and aren't going anywhere unless they are involved in a trade.

Um, Hensick is a C. Not a goaltender.

[Spin]

Oh that's waaaaaaaaayyy too expensive. Rediculous.

They're not competing against just the Cavs, (and I don't see a Crosby on the Monsters roster) they're competing against college basketball and hockey, and in this area, other minor league hockey and arena football.

The Monsters and the AFL team are going to have a hard time drawing anybody with those prices.

Let me think about this. Pay $12 for nosebleed end zone seats to watch an AFL team that was 2-14 last year? Or an expansion hockey team whose major league affiliate is weak? Or I can pay that much for fourth row seats to see a Canton team that's a perennial title contender? Same driving distance. That's an easy one...

Yeah the Cavs may draw people with those prices, but remember before LeBron, this team wasn't drawing anybody and was about to move. And if they don't improve the team, there's gonna be a lot more empty seats.

Are the Monsters going to be on TV?

[buckeyehoppy]

Where Hensick is concerned, he will probably be here for a while because Budaj and Theodore are both capable NHL GKs and aren't going anywhere unless they are involved in a trade.

Um, Hensick is a C. Not a goaltender.

Oops, my bad!!! Wasn't paying attention

[consigliere]

You know, I didn't bitch about this, and I usually don't take offense to much.

But I thought their opener before they announced the team at the opener was in poor taste. The video opener they did with the debut of the monster. I had my 4-year old son there (this is supposed to be family entertainment), but that video board scared the shit outta him. The whole thing with a hockey player from another team paddling into Lake Erie and then a "monster" eating him alive and leaving his jersey in a pool of blood. They later showed the "monster" as a Lake Erie Monsters player rising from the water....but still, poor decision on the use of that if you ask me.

Off my soapbox.

[buckeyehoppy]

You know, I didn't bitch about this, and I usually don't take offense to much.

But I thought their opener before they announced the team at the opener was in poor taste. The video opener they did with the debut of the monster. I had my 4-year old son there (this is supposed to be family entertainment), but that video board scared the shit outta him. The whole thing with a hockey player from another team paddling into Lake Erie and then a "monster" eating him alive and leaving his jersey in a pool of blood. They later showed the "monster" as a Lake Erie Monsters player rising from the water....but still, poor decision on the use of that if you ask me.

Off my soapbox.

That really happened? Holy crap!

That just sucks. I hope that doesn't scar the four year old toward hockey. That would suck even more.

I wonder what happens when Gilbert loses LeBron and he has a hoops squad that no one wants to see?

He may need a fall back and the Monsters need to be in good shape at that point.

[skatingtripods]

I'll be there tonight. Not sure where I'm sitting, wherever I can sneak into the lower bowl.