Continued from WORLD WIDE HOCKEY TOUR – SAN DIEGO (PART D) in July, 2016.]
Usually the rest of the team rosters had a less talented,
but nonetheless needed supporting cast to aid the stars. An assortment of
mid-level career pro players; Plus, those recently graduated from the college
ranks, and like. The majority of which would have been overlooked or never have
gotten a sniff of time in the NHL. [Wikipedia; whahockey.com;
billsportsmaps.com] Supplementary players that didn’t get a shot in The Show
(the NHL) now had a chance to impress and become integral parts of a top club,
not just stuck in the minor leagues. Teams that are made up of all the same
type of players very rarely are successful and not effective long term. There
are various roles to be filled on a squad to provide balance such as pluggers,
checkers, defense-first forwards and defensemen, offensive defensemen,
power-play and penalty killing specialists and more. Not to discount the very
backline of a team, the goaltenders. It is well known in hockey that a hot
goalie can make up for a host of mistakes by their team. [Goalie Quotes - msu.edu/user/baujason/quote.html;
hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/showthread.php?t=1267123]
The big leaguers’, as well as, individual NHL team owners
attempted to react and combat the new league through many methods. Plus, there
was the painful matter of the rival circuit’s somewhat successful raiding of
talent from National Hockey League squads. Quick action was taken to the
assignment of new expansion franchises in key metropolitan markets to shut out
the upstarts. Cut off the places where the new guys hoped to succeed and
prosper and hopefully they will go away. For instance, the NHL granting an
immediate new entry in the New York
City area, which is considered by many to be the media
capital of the world. The idea was to squeeze out any potential rival from
setting up a flagship club there in the most influential press market in the
world.
Other owners made life difficult for the upstarts by playing
nit-picking games, adding ridiculous fee charges for basic necessities and
amenities, etc. Specifically in cities where the WHA teams needed to share fan
bases and already established facilities for home matches until the new clubs
could secure their own home digs. {Wikipedia; billsportsmaps.com; The Hockey
News; whahockey.com; Sports Illustrated]
The rapidly maturing young man thought, by way of his
pre-tour research, about some possible reasons for the two top North American
hockey leagues’ turf war tactics, counter strategies, & subsequent actions
taken. Mekkar did gain some business sense from the many trips by being
involved with both his mama and papa in various settings. It is well to note
that any business, especially large ones always want to have and keep a
dominant share of the marketplace for their particular industry. In this case
for a sports franchise to monopolize the fan base in their sphere of influence.
It is considered to be paramount for any company or team to be both profitable
and have long-term stability.
Even a young Mekkar, who was now a teenager, understood that
the old guard, the already entrenched circuit had to execute their plan to force
the upstart league out of the larger media markets altogether. That tactic
alone could pretty much minimize the threat to the status quo and keep their
dominance in the professional hockey industry on the continent. These actions
had the effect of pushing the newcomer (WHA) clubs away to the fringes. At the
same time, punishing the other league, as well as, new team owners in a variety
of ways for even having the audacity to invade the NHL’s so called turf. The
wish was that the newer coalition might disappear sooner than later as a result
of these many actions taken against them. It is well to note, the National
Hockey League never expected any threat to their domain. They believed the WHA
would not get start to get off of the ground nor any playing games, in the
first place.
This was excluding the on-going, continuous legal battles
conducted through the corrupt court system. Contradictory as it is in
administering real justice to aggrieved parties to right wrongs. Not to forget
the double standard decision making process normally based on a concept of who
is supplying the legal industry members with the most favors and outright
financial bribes. The court oligarchy created backroom deals and behind the
scenes buddy-ship which protects each other and the status quo. Ruled by the
premise of you scratch my back and I will scratch yours. Mekkar sees this
pattern as a double dealing downward slope to becoming much worse in the future
with very little possibility of ever being fixed.
However, the dominant league miscalculated the resolve of a
few individuals involved against them, as well as, the future effects that
would ensue. The main rival was dismissed with all of its faults including
being new and fairly unstable, but the impact was far reaching upon the hockey
landscape.
Mekkar learned from his business savvy parents early on, to
have any chance of success at all, the newer and smaller business has to do it
differently. Especially in an established business environment or in this
situation, leagues must look for ways to make positive modifications or tweaks
while still being innovative and fresh. Yet, not totally destroy the integrity
of the sport itself. Mekkar says, “Throw the standard means of carrying out the
old status quo and the rulebook right out the door.” That is, like in battle
planning, attack areas where you think the big guys are weakest. Also, like in
warfare, strike at positions the stronger group either ignores by choice,
arrogance, or complacency. This is a phenomenon used in the business world since
the beginning of time itself.
In a historic manner the World Hockey Association did that
and went far beyond expectations. The era resulted in some changes for the good
of many affiliated with the game. Well, maybe except for the old, big league
club owners like the Toronto Maple Leafs Harold Ballard who lost a bit of
control over player personnel. Soon the fervor increased and everyone was
looking for talents in greater numbers all over the globe. This included the
virtually untapped United
States hockey pool. The prior trend was
forever reduced of purposely restricting the searches in Canada alone for able athletes. It
was now time to widen the scope to recruit talent.
The experts were now realizing that players from all over
could adapt, with time, to the North American brand of ice hockey. Possibly, at
least blend that style with each individual skill set. For the longest extent
the neglect of broadening the horizons for new proficient players was
controlled by many doubters. There were the restrictive beliefs that talent
from locations outside of The Great White North (Canada ) & a slightly south of
the border were incapable of successfully adapting in North American pro
leagues. This mistaken idea was proven to be false and even more so as the years
have passed. [Wikipedia; billsportsmaps.com; whahockey.com; hockeyfights.com]
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