The Impossible Dream?

"Expansion doesn't create parity.. if after 10 season(s).. we haven't realized that then the league is going nowhere.." -tfw, Mar. 11, 2002

Thus spake Ted Wollnik, Jr., GM of the Chicago Gargoyles during the RHL10 season during an impromptu debate on the merits of expanding in RHL11 to allow two new teams... one of which would play in Iqaluit. His point had some validity; during its early years the RHL had a prohibitively unfavourable expansion process and those teams struggled mightily in their early years. Later the process produced more available players for expansion teams to peruse, but the success of an expansion team seem to be heavily linked to whether or not there was an accompanying dispersal draft the year that they entered. The recent expandees in RHL10 seemed to be far far away from competing with the fabled Mounties, Vampyres, StrapHangers, and Capones.

Ten seasons later, how has the RHL integrated its expansion franchises? The evidence would say very well. The success of the Baffin Island Rovers has been well-documented, winning four of the past six championships, but it goes well beyond just one team. A look at the RHL19 standings reveals the Rovers (RHL11), Guelph Reapers (RHL14), and Grand Prairie Stingers (RHL15) all earning home playoff dates. The Yellowknife Dangerous Penetrators (RHL13) have built a formidable stable of talent and are solidly a playoff team year in and year out. The Cleveland Falcons and and Victoria Cougars (both RHL16) have become playoff teams, relying on the savvy veteran leadership of GMs helming their second RHL franchises, and were joined in the playoffs by the Vulcan Mind Melds (RHL17). And while none of the three RHL18 expansion teams (Calgary Browns, Banff Grizzly Bears, New Westminster Salmonbellies) made the playoffs in their second season, two of the three (Calgary and Banff) did post more points in their second season than in their first and Calgary missed out on a playoff position by 3 points.

Of course, the historical powerhouses are still holding their own, and their continued excellence is one of the strengths of the league. The Vampyres, Eagles, Sockeyes, Mounties, and Olympians (former Spartans) all posted excellent seasons and continue to be among the cream of the league. The Capones have a list of talent that make most teams drool. The Funboys and StrapHangers, both former Kings Cup winners, can never be counted out. So the established teams haven't gone anywhere, yet a number of newer teams have been able to successfully force themselves into the conversation.

So where has the RHL gone, and where is it going? By any measure, it does seem as though the expansion throughout the second RHL decade has been a success. If the aim is to introduce franchises that can eventually, through smart drafting and trading, develop into consistently competitive entities, then the goal has been met. It's anyone's guess as to how much longer the Rovers current streak can last (no team has ever won four straight championships, so the odds are against them), but there will be others who will replace them. The Penetrators and Reapers have top talent throughout their roster, and (in this writer's opinion) it seems inevitable that the Stingers will eventually hoist the Kings Cup with their eye-popping roster. And while these teams seek to reach the summit of the RHL, the Mounties and Vampyres and other long-standing teams will lurk and continue to claim their victims, just as they should.

So as the New Jersey Titans and Fredericton Express embark on their RHL expansion seasons, look to the past and study how teams have been built. They haven't all been success stories, as the Tampa Bay Celtic Rays (RHL11), Pittsburgh SnowDogs II (RHL12), and Kansas City Monarchs (RHL16) will attest. Though if one thing has been proven, it is that success is attainable. The blueprint is there, written by franchises throughout a league that continues to go anywhere but nowhere.