This was a story I wrote for Channel 9 (WCPO.com) but was not published due to technical errors. Enjoy.
When Cincinnati Cyclones head coach Chuck Weber took the head coaching job for the Rochester Americans of the AHL July 27, one of his main concerns was setting up a working relationship between his new team and old one.
"That was a big thing for me moving on to the (Florida) Panthers organization," said Weber. "I said, 'Would you be willing to use Cincinnati as your primary (ECHL) affiliate?'"
His influence proved weighty, as the Panthers of the NHL, who already use Rochester as their AHL farm team, penned a minor league affilliation agreement with the Cyclones Aug. 4.
For Weber, the man who led Cincinnati to unprecedented success during his four seasons as head coach, the opportunity to move up the totem pole to the AHL while maintaining a strong connection to the team he built is very important.
"The Cyclones have such a great reputation in the hockey community for developing players and just a great winning environment," said Weber. "So, being able to continue that association was huge for me."
Even though his contract with the Cyclones has expired and he has a new job, Weber will remain in Cincinnati for about another month helping his former team prepare for the upcoming season.
"I want what's best for this organization," said Weber. "We were able to put hockey on the map back here in the past four years. We want to keep it going. We want the new coach to come in and hit the gorund running and be able to have an exceptional team on the ice again next year."
And "put hockey on the map" is an understatement.
Financial issues forced the franchise to suspend operations after the end of the 2003-2004 season and they did not compete again until the 2006-2007 season when Weber was hired on for his first gig as a head coach after serving as an assistant coach for seven seasons.
In four seasons he compiled a 177-92-19 record (.648 winning percentage) on his way to two Kelly Cup Championships, three American Conference finals appearances and two North Division titles.
During the Cyclones' first Kelly Cup campaign in 2007-2008, attendance rose 37 percent to lead all minor league hockey teams that season. Attendance rose 23 percent the next season and 25 percent last season. A total of 139,919 fans attended regular-season games at US Bank Arena in 2009-1010, breaking the former franchise record set in 2002-2003.
The team's success spoke for itself, but Weber's coaching accomplishments were more than noteworthy during his four-year stay in Cincinnati. Weber won the ECHL Coach of the Year award in 2008 after finishing second in voting the year before. His 177 wins are the third-most in for an ECHL coach in his first four years and his 45 playoff victories rank as the most by any ECHL coach in a five-year span (even though he did it in four years).
Those achievements allowed him to move on to Rochester, where the games are all televised and the team is maybe the second-most popular in the city behind the Buffalo Sabres.
Nevertheless, with the Cyclones' new deal with the Panthers, Weber is not leaving Cincinnati in the rear-view mirror. He still uses "we" to refer to his now former team.
"Everyone in the hockey community knows we do everything first class," Weber said. "For how we travel to the living arrangements...
"And just the fact, the growth of the fans. Guys love to play in front of people. They don't want to come to an arena that has 500 people in it. The growth that we've made allows us to become a premiere destination for guys if they're not getting National Hockey League contracts.
"They want to come to Cincinnati."
Five years ago there was literally no reason for professional hockey players to come to Cincinnati. But thanks to Weber, there are now plenty of reasons.
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