Doughty and the Kings have a bright future

After pushing the favoured Vancouver Canucks to overtime twice and splitting the opening set at General Motors Place enroute to a 2-1 series lead, the Los Angeles Kings suffered three straight losses and are on the outside looking in this week while the Canucks prepare for the Chicago Blackhawks and Round 2 of the NHL's 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.

That does not mean, however, that the Kings have little to celebrate going into the off-season. They in fact have every reason to be bullish about the next cycle of their franchise history in La-La Land.

Reaching the playoffs for the first time in eight years is a big step in the right direction. It also gives their young line-up a taste of what the Stanley Cup tournament is all about. As star defenceman Drew Doughty said after elimination Sunday, you sometimes have to learn how to lose before you can learn how to win.

Doughty himself is another reason to celebrate if you're a Kings' fan, a member of LA's hockey operations brass or an NHL league marketing executive coveting a presence in the second-largest media market in the United States. In #8 Doughty, the Kings have a gold-medal winning Olympian, a James Norris nominee as the league's best defenceman and a player who invokes comparisons with none other than #4 Bobby Orr...all at the age of 20!

The remarkably composed sophomore rearguard is the epitome of a young, up-and-coming Kings team that appears ready to contend for much of the new decade ahead. At an average age of 27.4, LA's future lies in Doughty, goaltender Jonathan Quick, rising star Anze Kopitar, Russian sniper Alexander Frolov, captain Dustin Brown and other youngsters in the line-up. Los Angeles also has to be considered a possible destination for free agent sniper Ilya Kovalchuk.

The bottom line is the new-look Kings are beginning to make strides in both hockey operations and business operations. Their attendance climbed five per cent and reached 96% capacity (averaging 17,313) at the Staples Center they share with the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA. Their television audiences on Fox Sportsnet West and Prime Ticket are up 27% (although keep in mind, the Kings' average regional audience of 27,140 households and approximately 62,000 viewers is 15 per cent the size of Canucks' TV numbers on Rogers Sportsnet Pacific).

On the NHL Composite Power Rankings for the 2009-'10 regular season released this month by TheSportMarket.biz, the Kings placed 12th overall (ninth on the ice with 105 points and 15th off the ice with an estimated per game box office of $817 K US). http://www.facebook.com/thesportmarket?v=photos&ref=ts#!/photo.php?pid=3724749&id=280702824731
 
Much of their strength in overall operations comes from the solid business infrastructure provided by owners Anschutz Entertainment Group and the connection to their glory years provided by former stars such as Luc Robitaille, who now serves as the Kings' President of Business Operations.

For the LA Kings, the present is good; the future better. On and off the ice, they have such bright days ahead, Kings' branded sunglasses could become compulsory equipment in Hollywood for the first time since Wayne Gretzky made hockey fashionable in southern California 20 years ago.

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Canucks Sports & Entertainment: 10 keys to reaching 400 home game sellouts

After using late December to pass the Buffalo Sabres at 279 and the Los Angeles Kings' record of 282, the Vancouver Canucks reached their 300th consecutive home game sellout on Easter Sunday at General Motors Place, posting a 4-3 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild, the only National Hockey League team with a longer active streak (381 regular season and playoff games at the Xcel Energy Center).

A long playoff run could see the Canucks overtake the National Football League's Denver Broncos (309) this spring or early next season. Next up would be the Pittsburgh Steelers (317 as they head into the 2010 NFL season) and the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers (who sold out 319 straight at the old Spectrum between 1973 and 1981).

The Canucks could reach the even more exclusive 400 Club in 2012 by continuing to build on what they're already doing and consider these as the 10 key ingredients to potential box office supremacy in the NHL:

#10 - Acknowledge season ticket holders this spring with a tangible show of their appreciation for helping drive the remarkable streak of sellouts from November 14th, 2002 to April 4th, 2010. Selling out 300 games -- selling out more than a handful of games in a row for that matter -- is impossible without a large season ticket base. There is no more important factor in the Canucks' ability to navigate around the NHL lockout of 2004-'05, the recession of 2008-'09 and the Olympic year of Vancouver 2010 than a season ticket base capped at 17,000 in a building seating 18,810;

#9 - Push the envelope on season ticket holder benefits and continue to emphasize the preferential pricing advantage offered through subscribed tickets (full season, half-season and quarter-season Ice Paks);

#8 - Make the most of their 40th anniversary season in 2010-'11 with special events, promotions and incentives to consolidate their season ticket base, expand their priority waiting list of 4,000 and increase their already massive database to support group sales. Pump up the wait list! Think Green Bay Packers and their Lambeau Field-size season ticket waiting list of more than 70,000. A General Motors Place-size waiting list of 9,000 accounts representing another 18,810 season tickets would be the equivalent target;

#7  - Continue the two-pronged approach to regular and premium clients: Deployment of a team dedicated to suites and club seat holders not only helps retain those premium clients, it allows for optimal customer service for both segments. And on that note and of immediate priority, focus on contract renewals for luxury suites; a group of which come due after the current season...and develop contingencies (including suite-sharing packages) to replace those companies which cannot continue or otherwise choose not to renew.

#6 - Keep the product accessible: Ensure the vast majority of Canucks games continue to be available on Rogers Sportsnet at the regional level and TSN and CBC at the national level and resist the temptation to expand pay-per-view much beyond where it is at the start of the decade (and with some bias, continue to leverage the unrivalled power of all-sports radio and keep pushing the boundaries of http://www.canucks.com/ and social media to provide the widest possible access to all things Canuck);

#5 - Build on the power and clout of the Canucks for Kids Fund, making sure season ticket holders and the larger ticket-buying public fully understand the scope of its community philanthropy;

#4 - Ensure that We are all Canucks: The team's brand management and advertising are second to none in the marketplace (despite the team's identity crisis over which of its three logos should prevail as the primary mark). Maintain the advantage for the blue-and-green, especially with the arrival of Major League Soccer in 2011 and the leverage the BC Lions will have in hosting the 99th Grey Cup at a newly-renovated BC Place;

#3 - Exercise extreme prudence on ticket price increases, avoiding the mistakes made by the Detroit Red Wings in 2007 (when steep playoff ticket premiums offended many season ticket holders and left thousands of seats unsold during the team's playoff run). The Red Wings streak of 452 ended that spring;

#2 - Provide strong value through game presentation and amenities, an entertaining on-ice product and by pushing the NHL to repatriate a more balanced schedule in which all 29 other teams visit Vancouver at least once per regular season. Seeing Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and emerging young stars such as Steven Stamkos once each season adds significant value to every season ticket package;

#1 - Win....win the Stanley Cup.

Contending might be enough to get the Canucks to 400 if all other things remain strong, including the economy. But none of the box office champions and sellout record-holders in North American professional sport (the NHL's Avalanche, the Portland Trailblazers of the NBA, the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball and the Green Bay Packers of the NFL) got there without winning the Stanley Cup or its equivalent at some point during their streak.

Winning in 2010 or 2011 would not only clinch 400 in 2012, it would go a long way to making 500 in 2014 an entirely achievable target for Canucks Sports & Entertainment.

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Vancouver Canucks' home sellout streak reaches 300 plateau and makes its mark on NHL

The Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League can clinch their third Northwest Division title in four years with a win tonight over the Minnesota Wild.

They can also clinch a sport business milestone that only 16 other franchises in the history of North American professional sport have to their official credit: 300 consecutive home game sellouts.

http://www.teamradio.ca/news/story/?id=2917

The streak at General Motors Place dates back to November 14th, 2002 and has straddled the NHL lockout of 2004-'05, survived the worst economic recession in a half-century and navigated around the complexities of hosting the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. It has also stayed intact at an expanded capacity this year created by the launch of 180 premium seats in the Best Buy Club at Level 500.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/Playbook+sellout/2760496/story.html

Reaching the 300-plateau consolidates the Canucks' place as one of the box office juggernauts of the NHL, behind only tonight's visitors among active sellout streaks in the 30-team league. The Wild have sold out every one of their games played at the XCel Energy Center (381 regular season and playoffs and another 27 pre-season contests). It puts the Canucks in elite company and within striking distance of venerable streaks by iconic sport brands such as the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Stoking+coals+hockey+hotbed/2760498/story.html

Canucks fans would gladly trade in those status symbols of sport business success for one thing: the club's first Stanley Cup in its 40-year history. Yet the sellout streak still matters as more than a ticket marketing statistic.

First and most simply, it makes it more fun for fans to go to games when they're sold out. There's a certain civic pride and sense of community that accompanies full houses at sport events.

Second, the sellouts and per game pops of $1.2 million and more underlines the solid financial position of the franchise. Even in the salary cap era of the NHL, strong revenues increase the chances for long-term on-ice success through investment in athlete services and amenities. There are limits to what the Canucks can spend on player contracts, but no limits to what they can pour into player development and resources.

Third, it strengthens the capacity for the market to host other sport events and potentially even new professional franchises when promoters and investors see the 18,810 box office score each and every night at General Motors Place.

Most impressive about the home game sellout streak is that it happens under NHL reporting protocols that are as stringent as any in North America. Unlike the NFL, the sport marketing Goliath which requires only non-premium seats to be sold out to lift its local television blackouts, the Canucks and the NHL include all seats: luxury suites, club seats, restaurant seating and regular seats.

If the Canucks were an NFL club, for example, about 14,300 would constitute a sellout at General Motors Place.

Now there are skeptics -- including my good friend and respected colleague Bob Mackin of Business in Vancouver and 24 Hours Vancouver -- who question the integrity of the Canucks' sellout streak: http://thesportmarketguest1.blogspot.com/2010/04/canucks-tri-centennial-not-legit.html

To those of you in that camp, I say good on the Canucks for having us question the odd empty seat rather than criticizing them for sluggish ticket sales (witness the half-empty buildings that greet a half dozen teams in both the NHL and NBA and describe many of the ballparks in Major League Baseball).

Remember this is not about actual attendance or tickets scanned at the gates. It's about tickets sold.

Empty seats are not necessarily unsold seats. Mostly they are either season tickets not used that night or scalper tickets not resold. They can be un-used tickets from large group sales. They can be "corporate holds" held for NHL sponsors or "player holds" held for the visiting team in compliance with the league's collective bargaining agreement. The latter two categories typically account for about 200 seats and when they're released on game day, all but the odd single are gobbled up quickly.

The Canucks' sell-out streak measures up to what I'd consider to be best practices in the industry. And the bottom line to it all is that it's made possible by a season ticket base capped at 17,000. As long as that base and a waiting list of another 4,000 stay in place, the sellout streak has some real staying power to hit 400 straight by 2012. Last month's renewal pace of more than 95% is a big step in the right direction as the club prepares for its 40th anniversary season.

Reaching 400 would put the Canucks into an even more exclusive group of North American major pro teams. Currently, it's a club of one: the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (550 going into tonight's 2010 home opener against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park). All-time the club of 400 or more includes the BoSox and Cleveland Indians, the NBA's Portland Trailblazers, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks and the NHL's Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings.

The Wild are already at 400 including pre-season games. Depending on their own season ticket renewals after missing the playoffs again this season, they should get to 400 officially by the 2011 NHL All-Star break. The NBA's Dallas Mavericks are also closing in on 400.

By 2012, there could be a roster of 10 or so on the all-time list of franchises at 400 or more. For the Wild and the Canucks, it's not the big prize -- the Stanley Cup -- but it's still worth celebrating, appreciating and shooting for.

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Player development is long-term, but Gillis already seeing short-term results for NHL's Canucks

There is much sport science research that shows athlete development is a long-term play, with 10 years of optimal training the typical standard before a high performance athlete reaches his or her full potential. There are no shortcuts.

Yet it is true that training backed by comprehensive sport medicine and science amenities, resources and services can yield significant mid-term and even short-term results.

Look no further than the Vancouver Canucks on their recent record-breaking 14-game road trip in the National Hockey League for an example.

The Canucks went 8-5-1, earning 17 of a possible 28 points, holding on to first place in the Northwest Divison despite being away from home for six weeks, including two weeks on either side of the NHL break for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Most impressive, they came from behind five times to overcome third-period deficits; a sign of team fitness and an upside attributed at least in large part to the player development priorities established by sophomore general manager Mike Gillis upon his arrival at Canucks Sports & Entertainment in 2008.

If Gillis has defined himself in less than two years on the job, it is through his commitment to player development in general and sport science in particular. He spearheaded expensive upgrades to the Canucks locker room and training amenities at General Motors Place. He and head coach Alain Vigneault have empowered strength and conditioning coach Roger Takahashi big time. He has ordered sleep management protocols and ordered sport nutrition counselling and even food preparation and delivery for certain players.

As a result, the Canucks are quickly earning a reputation as an athlete-centered organization and a progressive franchise -- arguably one of the league's leaders -- in the areas of sport medicine, sport science and sport training.

A former player agent, Gillis was a keen student on the various ways in which teams build equity in their rosters through free agent acquisitions, trades and the increasingly-important baseline of the NHL entry draft.

He was a quick study on the constraints of the salary cap era in the NHL and did not waste much time before moving on to the opportunities which existed to improve his on-ice product while living within the new spending limits. The rules say he can only spend so much on player contracts. But there is no limit to what a franchise can invest in training facilities, travel conditions, player development personnel and sport medicine and science expertise and programs; both at the level of the NHL roster and the Canucks' farm system.

Over time, the provision of top-drawer athlete services to players on the big club should continue to pay dividends for Gillis, Vigneault and the Canucks; on long road trips and -- they hope -- in gruelling playoff series. But the biggest rewards could come only years down the road, from the commitment to player development on the farm.

Gillis will be measured on both counts: how he balances the low beam pressure of scoring short-term results with the high beam vision of sustainable, long-term success. He is clearly betting on sport medicine and science as tools to help deliver both.

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