# ECHL Affiliations



## Woo Hockey

*Team**Affiliates*Adirondack ThunderNew Jersey Devils, Utica CometsAllen AmericansOttawa Senators, Belleville SenatorsAtlanta GladiatorsArizona Coyotes, Phoenix RoadrunnersCincinnati CyclonesBuffalo Sabres, Rochester AmericansFlorida EverbladesFlorida Panthers, Charlotte CheckersFort Wayne KometsEdmonton Oilers, Bakersfield CondorsGreenville Swamp RabbitsLos Angeles Kings, Ontario ReignIdaho SteelheadsDallas Stars, Texas StarsIndy FuelChicago Blackhawks, Rockford IceHogsIowa HeartlandersMinnesota Wild, Iowa WildJacksonville IcemenNew York Rangers, Hartford Wolf PackKalamazoo WingsColumbus Blue Jackets, Cleveland MonstersKansas City MavericksSeattle Kraken, Coachella Valley FirebirdsMaine MarinersBoston Bruins, Providence BruinsNewfoundland GrowlersToronto Maple Leafs, Toronto MarliesNorfolk AdmiralsCarolina Hurricanes, Chicago WolvesOrlando Solar BearsTampa Bay Lightning, Syracuse CrunchRapid City RushCalgary Flames, Calgary WranglersReading RoyalsPhiladelphia Flyers, Lehigh Valley PhantomsSavannah Ghost PiratesVegas Golden Knights, Henderson Silver KnightsSouth Carolina StingraysWashington Capitals, Hershey BearsToledo WalleyeDetroit Red Wings, Grand Rapids GriffinsTrois-Rivières LionsMontreal Canadiens, Laval RocketTulsa OilersAnaheim Ducks, San Diego GullsUtah GrizzliesColorado Avalanche, Colorado EaglesWheeling NailersPittsburgh Penguins, WBS PenguinsWichita ThunderSan Jose Sharks, San Jose BarracudaWorcester RailersNew York Islanders, Bridgeport Islanders


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## Growlers

Thanks for this!


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## Woo Hockey

Allen Americans Blog: Allen Americans Update - A Look Ahead, ECHL Schedule Release, Playoff Update and More

Sounds like the Allen Americans will have a different affiliate next season.


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## Growlers

What does this mean 

Florida Everblades - Carolina Hurricanes (O&O)


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## Woo Hockey

slue said:


> What does this mean
> 
> Florida Everblades - Carolina Hurricanes (O&O)




Owned and Operated. Peter Karmanos Jr is listed as the owner of the team and is a minority owner of the Hurricanes. It is assumed they will stay affiliated until that ownership tie is broken.


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## CHRDANHUTCH

Woo Hockey said:


> Owned and Operated. Peter Karmanos Jr is listed as the owner of the team and is a minority owner of the Hurricanes. It is assumed they will stay affiliated until that ownership tie is broken.



Doesn't Thomas Dundon own the majority interest in Carolina, now, based off what transpired last season, doesn't change the affiliation


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## Woo Hockey

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> Doesn't Thomas Dundon own the majority interest in Carolina, now, based off what transpired last season, doesn't change the affiliation




Yes, he does. Having a common owner doesn't really mean anything in terms of affiliation though. Maine Mariners, Comcast Spectacor, and the Philadelphia Flyers are an example of that.


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## CHRDANHUTCH

slue said:


> What does this mean
> 
> Florida Everblades - Carolina Hurricanes (O&O)



simply, slue, the Ice Caps AND THE Leafs, before them owned the franchise, as did the Canadiens in Newfoundland, that is why Deacon and the Edge ownership of the Growlers, is locally owned and operated, similar to what Florida has but if the Hurricanes elect to relocate it, they could... just as St. John's saw with the now Marlies, then the two iterations of the Ice Caps, between Winnipeg and Montreal.... that's the difference between Newfoundland then and now.


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## CHRDANHUTCH

Woo Hockey said:


> Yes, he does. Having a common owner doesn't really mean anything in terms of affiliation though. Maine Mariners, Comcast Spectacor, and the Philadelphia Flyers is an example of that.



as long as it's understood, in our case, the Flyers have no intention of leaving Reading, but I really don't see Florida going anywhere, and it's not Comcast Spectacor, it's Spectra....


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## royals119

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> as long as it's understood, in our case, the Flyers have no intention of leaving Reading, but I really don't see Florida going anywhere, and it's not Comcast Spectacor, it's Spectra....



From the website of Comcast Spectacor:


> Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa., Comcast Spectacor’s three core businesses are the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers, the Wells Fargo Center venue, and Spectra, a hospitality firm specializing in Venue Management, Food Services & Hospitality, and Partnerships.



So yes, Spectra manages the building in Portland, and the new Mariners. Comcast Spectacor is the parent company that owns them, plus the Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center. So Woo was technically correct, since he was referring to the common ownership between the Flyers and Mariners. Comcast Spectacor owns the Flyers and they own Spectra, which owns the Mariners, so they are the link between the two teams.


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## Woo Hockey

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> as long as it's understood, in our case, the Flyers have no intention of leaving Reading, but I really don't see Florida going anywhere, and it's not Comcast Spectacor, it's Spectra....




Just about every press release from the Mariners club has said Comcast Spectacor... but you get the point.


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## Growlers

Can we "Sticky" This?


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## Avsrule2022

Colorado Avalanche is not listed as a team without an affiliation.


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## Woo Hockey

Avsrule2002 said:


> Colorado Avalanche is not listed as a team without an affiliation.



Updated, thanks.


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## Agalloch

My guess is Brampton will affiliate with Ottawa next year. I have no idea where Canadiens' ECHL affiliate will be next year.


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## Woo Hockey

Mavericks/Flames/Heat extend their affiliation to 2018-19

Kansas City Mavericks | Official Website: News


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## Affiliate Watcher

Agalloch said:


> My guess is Brampton will affiliate with Ottawa next year. I have no idea where Canadiens' ECHL affiliate will be next year.



I check every damn day for this news. The Habs affiliation did nothing for us. I'm hoping a Sens affiliation happens and is a better relationship.


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## Growlers

Is there a deadline as such for affiliations to be announced ?


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## CHRDANHUTCH

slue said:


> Is there a deadline as such for affiliations to be announced ?



no, because unlike higher leagues, there's not a requirement to be affiliated, it is highly suggested, for financial reasons, but can we solely keep this to affiliations only


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## Woo Hockey

Growlers to serve as Toronto's ECHL affiliate - The ECHL - Premier 'AA' Hockey League

Growlers - Toronto Affiliation becomes official


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## Jackets Woodchuck

Bit of tea leaf reading here:

The Lightning are going to play a home preseason game in Orlando this coming season. Maybe this means a Lightning-Solar Bears affiliation.


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## Woo Hockey

Jackets Woodchuck said:


> Bit of tea leaf reading here:
> 
> The Lightning are going to play a home preseason game in Orlando this coming season. Maybe this means a Lightning-Solar Bears affiliation.




Lightning-Solar Bears seems to be a pretty logical affiliation.


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## crimsonace

Woo Hockey said:


> Lightning-Solar Bears seems to be a pretty logical affiliation.




Very logical from a marketing standpoint. Not quite as much from the "proximity to the AHL affiliate" standpoint, although Orlando being a major tourist destination means it's pretty accessible from anywhere.


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## CHRDANHUTCH

Solar Bears were very cryptic after what was known with what's transpired since MLSE returned to NL and the connection there up to 2005.....

also, can anyone confirm this: am reading/seeing posts that Colorado is in discussions with Rapid City as their replacement for Loveland, CO.... IF TRUE, does that put Minnesota/Iowa on the search list....


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## Woo Hockey

Norfolk is teasing a new affiliation


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## Woo Hockey




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## Growlers

*Fort Wayne Komets Affiliation With Coyotes Ends*

Source: Fort Wayne Komets Affiliation With Coyotes Ends - Arena Digest


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## CHRDANHUTCH

slue said:


> *Fort Wayne Komets Affiliation With Coyotes Ends*
> 
> Source: Fort Wayne Komets Affiliation With Coyotes Ends - Arena Digest



there's also the Komets own release from their team site, folks....


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## crimsonace

Woo Hockey said:


>




I'm not sure there's a team in pro hockey that has seen more affiliate churn than Fort Wayne.

Since joining the ECHL, they've been affiliated with Anaheim (1 year), independent (1 year), Colorado (2 years), independent again (1 year), Arizona (1 year) and now searching again. Fort Wayne's media and fans tend to complain incessantly about AHL callups and the "ECHL existing to serve the AHL" and "not caring about the fans."

From what I read in their local newspapers, the Frankes prefer more of the old IHL2/CeHL model where a team controls its own players and largely keeps its roster intact, but the reality is, it's difficult to field a championship-caliber team (which their fans expect/demand) in the ECHL with that model because there's no NHL affiliate to send you 3-4 difference-makers (like Houser & Tyanulin for FtW this year).


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## Big Z Man 1990

I hope Cincinnati hooks up with Columbus this coming season


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## CHRDANHUTCH

Big Z Man 1990 said:


> I hope Cincinnati hooks up with Columbus this coming season




Columbus doesn't do as much as what you've seen from Worcester doing what they did with Bridgeport/Islanders as an expansion team or even what Newfoundland is doing with both Toronto's if u read how those relationships were structured.... you have to have that philosophy in place.... THAT'S PROBABLY WHY Columbus hasn't done more or has the "agreement" with Cincinnati.


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## tigervixxxen

crimsonace said:


> I'm not sure there's a team in pro hockey that has seen more affiliate churn than Fort Wayne.
> 
> Since joining the ECHL, they've been affiliated with Anaheim (1 year), independent (1 year), Colorado (2 years), independent again (1 year), Arizona (1 year) and now searching again. Fort Wayne's media and fans tend to complain incessantly about AHL callups and the "ECHL existing to serve the AHL" and "not caring about the fans."
> 
> From what I read in their local newspapers, the Frankes prefer more of the old IHL2/CeHL model where a team controls its own players and largely keeps its roster intact, but the reality is, it's difficult to field a championship-caliber team (which their fans expect/demand) in the ECHL with that model because there's no NHL affiliate to send you 3-4 difference-makers (like Houser & Tyanulin for FtW this year).



Pretty much. They sure loved when Arizona sent Trevor Cheek back to them for the playoffs. Remaining unaffiliated doesn't prevent losing guys to PTOs and they tend to be gone longer with indefinite return dates. They should just remain independent.


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## crimsonace

Big Z Man 1990 said:


> I hope Cincinnati hooks up with Columbus this coming season




The Blue Jackets haven't really hid the fact that they're openly courting the Cyclones - for marketing reasons, having their affiliates in Cleveland & Cincinnati would go a long way in making themselves "Ohio's team." Even when they were officially affiliated with Kalamazoo, they were sending players to Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Cincinnati is one of those ECHL teams that is almost always dual-affiliated (or, these days, one official and one unofficial affiliate), but they don't market the affiliation.


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## Growlers

*Coyotes Announce Affiliation Agreement With Norfolk of ECHL*

*GLENDALE, ARIZONA - *Arizona Coyotes President of Hockey Operations and General Manager John Chayka announced today that the Coyotes have ended their affiliation with the Fort Wayne Komets (ECHL) and have signed a one-year affiliation agreement with the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL.
"We are excited to partner with the Norfolk Admirals as our new ECHL affiliate," said Coyotes' Assistant General Manager Steve Sullivan. "The Admirals are a first-class organization with Owner Ardon Wiener and Head Coach Robbie Ftorek. Having had Robbie as my first professional head coach, I fully trust his ability to develop our prospects in Norfolk. We look forward to a strong partnership."
Norfolk is entering its fourth season back in the ECHL and plays its home games at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, VA. The Admirals are one of 27 teams that compete in the ECHL and play in the South Division of the Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded in 1989 and have claimed three ECHL championships (1991, 1992 and 1998) and have also spent time in the American Hockey League (AHL).


Source: Coyotes Announce Affiliation Agreement With Norfolk of ECHL


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## Woo Hockey




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## CHRDANHUTCH

*SO now with Colorado in WVC, that puts the onus on Anaheim...*


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## Avsrule2022

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> *SO now with Colorado in WVC, that puts the onus on Anaheim...*




Maybe they hook up with Allen now, leaving San Jose out in the cold.......


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## Hurricane Ron

Avsrule2002 said:


> Maybe they hook up with Allen now, leaving San Jose out in the cold.......



What a blow that would be for the Sharks if they lost their ECHL affiliate.


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## Avsrule2022

Hurricane Ron said:


> What a blow that would be for the Sharks if they lost their ECHL affiliate.




Haha ok let me re-phrase: "Leaving San Jose without an ECHL affiliate."


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## Woo Hockey

Hurricane Ron said:


> What a blow that would be for the Sharks if they lost their ECHL affiliate.



Allen and San Jose are supposedly done...


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## CHRDANHUTCH

Woo Hockey said:


> Allen and San Jose are supposedly done...




CORRECT, Arena Digest just revealed their updated list, how it corresponds to the list posted in this thread, here are the teams looking or have been told they're not being retained:

Allen, Jacksonville, Idaho, Rapid City, Toledo, and Wheeling were listed as unknown or not renewing... Anaheim still has Utah listed but as we know Colorado has landed the Grizzlies..... the two new teams (Portland/Newfoundland) have no known expiration but again, NL is a three year deal, and Portland is a multi-year....

nothing off that list suggesting Greenville or Orlando have found an affiliation as of yet


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## Woo Hockey

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> CORRECT, Arena Digest just revealed their updated list, how it corresponds to the list posted in this thread, here are the teams looking or have been told they're not being retained:
> 
> Allen, Jacksonville,



Got a link? Didn't realize Jacksonville and Winnipeg weren't renewing and haven't seen anything as a definite. 

Doesn't make sense to have an affiliation in Florida in the first place when both the AHL and NHL teams are in Canada.


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## CHRDANHUTCH

Woo Hockey said:


> Got a link? Didn't realize Jacksonville and Winnipeg weren't renewing and haven't seen anything as a definite.
> 
> Doesn't make sense to have an affiliation in Florida in the first place when both the AHL and NHL teams are in Canada.



it's a newsletter publication, WH.... really there's no link to be posted but it's a series of newsletters which cover multiple sports, this one is the first time they've actually done a list of affiliations

what I can tell you it's a company called August Publications, and depending on your interest, anytime something new is posted you'll get it in your email.... same goes for minor league baseball, soccer, there's about 6 or 7 TOPIC select newsletters


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## Agalloch




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## Woo Hockey




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## Growlers

In an article on the Bellville Bulls website they state "Brampton Beast" as their AHL affiliate. Might be reading more into it then there is. But might mean Montreal is losing the Beast as their affiliate.

"Most of these players will come from teams in the ECHL, as they are eligible to be given PTO’s as long as they are given permission by their team’s Head Coach. While most of the PTO’s signed to Belleville are from their ECHL affiliate, the Brampton Beast, the Senators are allowed to sign a player from any ECHL team."

*Source:* Learning the AHL: Player Contracts - Belleville Senators


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## CHRDANHUTCH

slue said:


> In an article on the Bellville Bulls website they state "Brampton Beast" as their AHL affiliate. Might be reading more into it then there is. But might mean Montreal is losing the Beast as their affiliate.
> 
> "Most of these players will come from teams in the ECHL, as they are eligible to be given PTO’s as long as they are given permission by their team’s Head Coach. While most of the PTO’s signed to Belleville are from their ECHL affiliate, the Brampton Beast, the Senators are allowed to sign a player from any ECHL team."
> 
> *Source:* Learning the AHL: Player Contracts - Belleville Senators




that's been a rule. slue, even when the AHL was in St. John's, or elsewhere, it is not a hard or fast rule that says Ottawa/Belleville or any AHL team can do the above at any time, remember the "working unofficial agreement" title that the ECHL has, if a franchise needs a player, it can take any player whether it is on their affiliate or not... what I suspect you're seeing is Ottawa/Belleville has had that relationship with Brampton, much the same way the Leafs did with Orlando and likely will in Newfoundland.... all AHL Fans pretty much understand how the above operates, because you never know directly whether it's a contracted affiliated player or a working agreement that is signed and/or recalled.


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## royals119

slue said:


> "Most of these players will come from teams in the ECHL, as they are eligible to be given PTO’s as long as they are given permission by their team’s Head Coach. While most of the PTO’s signed to Belleville are from their ECHL affiliate, the Brampton Beast, the Senators are allowed to sign a player from any ECHL team."
> 
> *Source:* Learning the AHL: Player Contracts - Belleville Senators



I agree it is interesting that Belleville is referring to Brampton as their "ECHL affiliate". They might just be using the term incorrectly, or it could be that Brampton is swapping affiliates and it just hasn't been announced yet.


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## LadyStanley

Many years ago, the Sharks had multiple ECHL affiliates. E.g., Stockton and Allen.


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## 210

LadyStanley said:


> Many years ago, the Sharks had multiple ECHL affiliates. E.g., Stockton and Allen.



Are you saying they had two ECHL affiliates at the same time, or over the years they've used different ECHL teams as affiliates?


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## LadyStanley

Yep. Sometimes a primary (only), others primary and secondary.


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## 210

LadyStanley said:


> Yep. Sometimes a primary (only), others primary and secondary.




They've never had two affiliations at the same time that I'm aware of.

Phoenix RoadRunners 2007-08 and 2008-09, Kalamazoo Wings 2009-10 (didn't last the full season), Stockton Thunder (really started with the remainder of 09-10 but there was no official affiliation) 2010-11 to 2011-12, SF Bulls 2012-13 to 2013-14 (Bulls folded midseason so SJ farmed out their players but never affiliated with any of those teams), Allen Americans 2014-15 to now.


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## LadyStanley

Gotta go back before that.

Secondary ECHL affiliations: 00-01 New Orleans Jazz. 02-03 ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones. 03-04, 04-05 ECHL Johnstown Chiefs. ECHL Toledo Storm 05-06.

(And the primaries:

Primary ECHL affiliation: ECHL Allen Americans 14-15 to present
Primary ECHL affiliation: San Francisco Bulls 12-13 and 2013-Jan14 (until franchise folded)
Primary ECHL affiliation: Stockton Thunder 09-10 to 11-12 (started out as secondary affiliation for 2nd half of 09-10; full affiliation 10-11)
Primary ECHL affiliation: Kalamazoo Wings 09-10
Primary ECHL affiliation: Phoenix Roadrunners 07-08 to 09-10
Primary ECHL affiliation: Fresno Falcons 03-04, 04-05, 05-06, 06-07
Primary ECHL affiliation: Richmond Renegades 98-99, 99-00? unknown not listed in media guide; 00-01, 01-02, 02-03.
)


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## 210

I think someone is confusing "secondary affiliation" with just assigning players to teams they didn't have an official affiliation with...


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## LadyStanley

YMMV, but the "secondary" affiliates were often listed in the team media guide.


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## CHRDANHUTCH

ISN'T THAT WHY THEY were changed to "Working agreements", LS?


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## Growlers

Fort Wayne Komets might be affiliating with Las Vegas according to this news source. They also mention Nashville is going elsewhere.


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## Woo Hockey

Judging by social media posts, I'm assuming LA Kings and Manchester will go through next season (at least).


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## Growlers

*Stars announce two-year extension with ECHL affiliate Idaho Steelheads*






Source: Stars announce two-year extension with ECHL affiliate Idaho Steelheads


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## mcpw

WPG / Jacksonville extended:


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## Woo Hockey




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## ChompChomp

So in terms of the SJ Sharks and Allen Americans, other than musings from a blogger in May, do we know who left who? Is it Allen wanting another NHL affiliate or the Sharks wanting a different ECHL affiliate?


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## Avsrule2022

ChompChomp said:


> So in terms of the SJ Sharks and Allen Americans, other than musings from a blogger in May, do we know who left who? Is it Allen wanting another NHL affiliate or the Sharks wanting a different ECHL affiliate?




I know that the blogger you mentioned had at one point quoted Steve Martinson as saying he was disappointed in the affiliation last year. Which was surprising to me. It seemed like it was a very successful relationship. My guess is Martinson didn't get the results he wanted the last 2 years (championships) and is looking for something else.


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## LadyStanley

Woo Hockey said:


>







Will be on FB live as well.


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## Hurricane Ron

Yes, the folks in Allen act as if winning a championship is the norm, and anything else is not acceptable. Don't get me wrong. Every team in whatever league should be pursuing the championship. I think the folks in Allen got a bit spoiled though, and have yet to realize that its impossible to win it every year. I'm curious if this upcoming change isn't them biting off their nose to spite their face. Their relationship with San Jose has been spectacular. Time will tell if this is a case of be careful what you wish for.


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## ChompChomp

That's the thing, I wonder if this Allen done with the Sharks, not Sharks done with Allen. I've heard conflicting things.


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## 210

Hurricane Ron said:


> Yes, the folks in Allen act as if winning a championship is the norm, and anything else is not acceptable. Don't get me wrong. Every team in whatever league should be pursuing the championship. I think the folks in Allen got a bit spoiled though, and have yet to realize that its impossible to win it every year. I'm curious if this upcoming change isn't them biting off their nose to spite their face. Their relationship with San Jose has been spectacular. Time will tell if this is a case of be careful what you wish for.




Eventually every city/team involved with San Jose's minor league hockey operations gets sick of them. This is just situation normal as far as I'm concerned.


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## Woo Hockey

Wild announces affiliation agreement with Allen Americans


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## Hurricane Ron

So Allen gets the affiliation agreement Quad City had for the last few years.


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## Growlers

So what ECHL teams don't have an affiliate for the next season yet?


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## garnetpalmetto

slue said:


> So what ECHL teams don't have an affiliate for the next season yet?




Offhand that'd be Fort Wayne, Greenville, Orlando, and Rapid City. 

And NHL teams without an ECHL affiliate are Anaheim, Columbus, Florida, Nashville, Ottawa, San Jose, Tampa Bay, and Vegas.


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## Growler

garnetpalmetto said:


> Offhand that'd be Fort Wayne, Greenville, Orlando, and Rapid City.
> 
> And NHL teams without an ECHL affiliate are Anaheim, Columbus, Florida, Nashville, Ottawa, San Jose, Tampa Bay, and Vegas.



It's only a matter of time before there will be 31 (and 32 with Seattle) ECHL affiliates.


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## CHRDANHUTCH

Growler said:


> It's only a matter of time before there will be 31 (and 32 with Seattle) ECHL affiliates.




THE ECHL isn't there, Growler, again, it goes back to the philosophy of each organization and do you really want NHL franchises to infilitrate the ECHL ie ownership the way they have shifted the AHL TO where the POINT IS local ownership is in name only, not the affiliation, where's the balance between the two....

honestly where would you place the 4 or 5 markets that would balance the 3 leagues and knowing how hard it is on the ECHL level, as we saw with Deacon trying to establish the Growlers....


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## Woo Hockey

slue said:


> So what ECHL teams don't have an affiliate for the next season yet?




Fort Wayne, Greenville, Orlando, Rapid City and are the teams who don't have anything.

Brampton, Cincinnati, Kalamazoo, Manchester (assumed), Toledo and Wheeling all have expired affiliation agreements, but most of those will probably be renewed for next season.

Brampton is rumored to affiliate with Ottawa next season.


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## Growler

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> THE ECHL isn't there, Growler, again, it goes back to the philosophy of each organization and do you really want NHL franchises to infilitrate the ECHL ie ownership the way they have shifted the AHL TO where the POINT IS local ownership is in name only, not the affiliation, where's the balance between the two....
> 
> honestly where would you place the 4 or 5 markets that would balance the 3 leagues and knowing how hard it is on the ECHL level, as we saw with Deacon trying to establish the Growlers....




From ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna in 2016: 

The league is at 27 teams now, and "the immediate goal" is to get to 30 during the next 12 to 18 months to match the current totals in the NHL and AHL.
"We want to get to that 30-team model and keep it there, but we have a lot of teams now that have been in existence for 15, 20, 25 years in their current markets," McKenna said. "Even smaller markets, places like Wheeling, West Virginia, have been in our league and have been valued members for many years. I think [team movement] is a function of minor league sports. … If better opportunities, newer facilities become available, then there will always be some movement at the margins, but certainly a lot less than we've seen in the last couple of decades." Regardless, the NHL and AHL clearly value the ECHL as a developmental league. ECHL teams have affiliations with 26 of the NHL's 30 teams and 26 of the AHL's 30 teams.

ECHL grows into starting point toward NHL


CHRDANHUTCH, I am getting a little tired of you responding to my posts with a patronizing, correcting tone. It is especially annoying when the majority of your "corrective" posts are wrong (other posters usually make sure of that) and often barely intelligible.


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## Captain Crash

Growler said:


> CHRDANHUTCH, I am getting a little tired of you responding to my posts with a patronizing, correcting tone. It is especially annoying when the majority of your "corrective" posts are wrong (other posters usually make sure of that) and often barely intelligible.




Welcome to HFBoards Other Leagues Forums!


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## CHRDANHUTCH

Growler said:


> From ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna in 2016:
> 
> The league is at 27 teams now, and "the immediate goal" is to get to 30 during the next 12 to 18 months to match the current totals in the NHL and AHL.
> "We want to get to that 30-team model and keep it there, but we have a lot of teams now that have been in existence for 15, 20, 25 years in their current markets," McKenna said. "Even smaller markets, places like Wheeling, West Virginia, have been in our league and have been valued members for many years. I think [team movement] is a function of minor league sports. … If better opportunities, newer facilities become available, then there will always be some movement at the margins, but certainly a lot less than we've seen in the last couple of decades." Regardless, the NHL and AHL clearly value the ECHL as a developmental league. ECHL teams have affiliations with 26 of the NHL's 30 teams and 26 of the AHL's 30 teams.
> 
> ECHL grows into starting point toward NHL
> 
> 
> CHRDANHUTCH, I am getting a little tired of you responding to my posts with a patronizing, correcting tone. It is especially annoying when the majority of your "corrective" posts are wrong (other posters usually make sure of that) and often barely intelligible.



excuse me, but your thread starter post comparing two "expansion" franchises was that needed or necessary two weeks into a league year, and what would've happened if Newfoundland never was approved for 2018/19, Growler?

the league has been at 27 teams. it isn't getting to 30, 31, or 32 anytime soon, and you want to call me out instead of answering the question based off what I posted, why not simply answer the question placed before you, and 2) you DO know and are aware of Commissioner McKenna no longer runs the league, so why does his opinion matter


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## LadyStanley

garnetpalmetto said:


> Offhand that'd be Fort Wayne, Greenville, Orlando, and Rapid City.
> 
> And NHL teams without an ECHL affiliate are Anaheim, Columbus, Florida, Nashville, Ottawa, San Jose, Tampa Bay, and Vegas.






Woo Hockey said:


> Fort Wayne, Greenville, Orlando, Rapid City and are the teams who don't have anything.
> 
> Brampton, Cincinnati, Kalamazoo, Manchester (assumed), Toledo and Wheeling all have expired affiliation agreements, but most of those will probably be renewed for next season.
> 
> Brampton is rumored to affiliate with Ottawa next season.




Fort Wayne is affiliated with VGK/Chicago Wolves.


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## Growler

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> excuse me, but your thread starter post comparing two "expansion" franchises was that needed or necessary two weeks into a league year, and what would've happened if Newfoundland never was approved for 2018/19, Growler?
> 
> the league has been at 27 teams. it isn't getting to 30, 31, or 32 anytime soon, and you want to call me out instead of answering the question based off what I posted, why not simply answer the question placed before you, and 2) you DO know and are aware of Commissioner McKenna no longer runs the league, so why does his opinion matter



Paragraph 1 - I have no idea what your point is. No bother; you don't need to explain. 

Paragraph 2: Yes I know there is a new commissioner - one who came up from the within the ECHL ranks. If you think the ECHL has fundamentally changed the market strategy in the last 18 months since this article was written, I guess that's your prerogative. No need to respond. Thanks.


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## CHRDANHUTCH

Growler said:


> Paragraph 1 - I have no idea what your point is. No bother; you don't need to explain.
> 
> Paragraph 2: Yes I know there is a new commissioner - one who came up from the within the ECHL ranks. If you think the ECHL has fundamentally changed the market strategy in the last 18 months since this article was written, I guess that's your prerogative. No need to respond. Thanks.



then answer the question, how and/or which markets do you think the league should enter in, then knowing the volatility of franchises as they are [MOD]


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## Woo Hockey

LadyStanley said:


> Fort Wayne is affiliated with VGK/Chicago Wolves.



No affiliation agreement has been announced. FW is rumored to be in talks with both Nashville and Vegas on a potential affiliation.


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## CHRDANHUTCH

LadyStanley said:


> Fort Wayne is affiliated with VGK/Chicago Wolves.



since when, there's been nothing official


----------



## LadyStanley

slue said:


> Fort Wayne Komets might be affiliating with Las Vegas according to this news source. They also mention Nashville is going elsewhere.







CHRDANHUTCH said:


> since when, there's been nothing official




The Summit City and Sin City?

No news since 7/11. 

????


----------



## LadyStanley

Fort Wayne Komets continue to narrow affiliation hopes | News, Sports, Jobs - News-Sentinel

Ft Wayne hopeful for affiliate response in two weeks


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

LadyStanley said:


> Fort Wayne Komets continue to narrow affiliation hopes | News, Sports, Jobs - News-Sentinel
> 
> Ft Wayne hopeful for affiliate response in two weeks



well, it might be sooner....

here's the link to today's Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, LS AND the related article on the Komets: 

https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/professional/komets/20180808/komets-close-to-deal-with-vegas

it also states Nashville will return to Atlanta, but hopefully, it's not the Gladiators final season


----------



## Taro Tsujimoto

Tampa Bay and Orlando have announced an affiliation:


----------



## Growler

Taro Tsujimoto said:


> Tampa Bay and Orlando have announced an affiliation:




Now here's an affiliation that makes a lot of sense.


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Growler said:


> Now here's an affiliation that makes a lot of sense.



YOU'RE UP, Greenville


----------



## Agalloch

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> YOU'RE UP, Greenville




Greenville with Florida ?


----------



## royals119

Growler said:


> Now here's an affiliation that makes a lot of sense.



From a marketing standpoint it does. From a player travel standpoint, with Syracuse being the AHL link, not so much.


----------



## Growler

royals119 said:


> From a marketing standpoint it does. From a player travel standpoint, with Syracuse being the AHL link, not so much.



True. But it will take a day's travel from most ECHL locations simply because Syracuse is a smaller airport and not really a close drive from most places other than Adirondack.


----------



## royals119

Growler said:


> True. But it will take a day's travel from most ECHL locations simply because Syracuse is a smaller airport and not really a close drive from most places other than Adirondack.



On the few occasions that we have had players called up from Reading to Syracuse it ends up being easier to drive. By the time they get to Philly to catch a flight to Buffalo or Albany and then drive to Syracuse it is actually faster to drive the five hours directly. I've made the trip a couple times when guys needed a ride.


----------



## LadyStanley

Signs still point toward K's, Vegas marriage | Ice chips | Journal Gazette

Ft Wayne affiliation could be announced next week.


----------



## Agalloch




----------



## Woo Hockey

Agalloch said:


>




Fort Wayne Komets Named Golden Knights ECHL Affiliate

and the Press Release


----------



## 210

Newfoundland announced a "tour" of preseason games with Brampton, and called them "the ECHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens"...not sure that counts as official, but I'd certainly make a note of it.

Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL


----------



## Woo Hockey

210 said:


> Newfoundland announced a "tour" of preseason games with Brampton, and called them "the ECHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens"...not sure that counts as official, but I'd certainly make a note of it.
> 
> Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL



There was something in a press release with that same language a few months ago... 

Nvm misread that


----------



## Centrum Hockey

Are the Lightning testing the Tampa Bay-Orlando Echl affiliation for a possible future AHL one


----------



## Agalloch




----------



## Woo Hockey

Toledo to continue Detroit affiliation for three seasons

3 more seasons


----------



## Barclay Donaldson

Js96er said:


> Are the Lightning testing the Tampa Bay-Orlando Echl affiliation for a possible future AHL one




Unless they feel that Syracuse is the best option to develop their prospects, much like the Vancouver-Utica setup, or they can’t convince one of the FL teams to become their affiliate, then it’s only a matter of time before Tampa moves their AHL team instate. 

Orlando and Florida Blades near Ft. Meyers are their two best options if they do change affiliations. Convincing them to leave the ECHL might be difficult, though, since they are two teams who have historically drawn fans by being a competitive and more independent organization ala Fort Wayne rather than developing prospects and simply being a farm team.


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Outback Steakhouse said:


> Unless they feel that Syracuse is the best option to develop their prospects, much like the Vancouver-Utica setup, or they can’t convince one of the FL teams to become their affiliate, then it’s only a matter of time before Tampa moves their AHL team instate.
> 
> Orlando and Florida Blades near Ft. Meyers are their two best options if they do change affiliations. Convincing them to leave the ECHL might be difficult, though, since they are two teams who have historically drawn fans by being a competitive and more independent organization ala Fort Wayne rather than developing prospects and simply being a farm team.




Florida's ECHL team is owned outright by whomever controls Carolina, Outback, THAT'S WHY the Everblades have existed with Carolina and wherever the top affiliate has ever been, currently Charlotte, it's highly doubtful to impossible you're going to see Syracuse transferred anywhere as long as the Crunch are owned by Dolgon....

Florida's NHL Team isn't going to be duped either after what transpired in 2015, as they weren't informed of their affiliation transfer to Springfield, and their past history with duplicitous owners, see Louisville/Elmira/Port Huron tri-debacle


----------



## royals119

Js96er said:


> Are the Lightning testing the Tampa Bay-Orlando Echl affiliation for a possible future AHL one



They have said in the past that the prefer having their AHL team close to a cluster of other AHL teams, to reduce the amount of time prospects spend traveling while in the AHL. An Orlando AHL team would spend lot more time travelling vs a Syracuse team. Of course they can always change their mind, and maybe that is one of the things they will evaluate with the ECHL affiliation.


----------



## Centrum Hockey

Outback Steakhouse said:


> Unless they feel that Syracuse is the best option to develop their prospects, much like the Vancouver-Utica setup, or they can’t convince one of the FL teams to become their affiliate, then it’s only a matter of time before Tampa moves their AHL team instate.
> 
> Orlando and Florida Blades near Ft. Meyers are their two best options if they do change affiliations. Convincing them to leave the ECHL might be difficult, though, since they are two teams who have historically drawn fans by being a competitive and more independent organization ala Fort Wayne rather than developing prospects and simply being a farm team.



if Tampa wanted to have their ahl team close and the league wanted to create a division down in the south they whould have to convince Nashville and the panthers to come with them like how Anaheim la and San Jose ahl teams all moved to The west coast at once


----------



## Barclay Donaldson

Js96er said:


> if Tampa wanted to have their ahl team close and the league wanted to create a division down in the south they whould have to convince Nashville and the panthers to come with them like how Anaheim la and San Jose ahl teams all moved to The west coast at once




Creating a southern division is unlikely. Florida would need to join, and they've never been involved at the AHL level, to the point they weren't aware of the sale of their affiliate from Portland to Springfield. Nashville would have to be in on it and they've been with Milwaukee since their inception in '98 with it looking unlikely to change.


----------



## LadyStanley

Actually, it was five NHL Pacific Division teams that moved their teams simultaneously: San Jose (SJ), Los Angeles (Ontario - replacing ECHL franchise), Anaheim (San Diego), Edmonton (Bakersfield - replacing ECHL franchise) and Calgary (Stockton - replacing ECHL franchise). Then Arizona (Tuscon) moved theirs. And Colorado (Colorado Springs - replacing ECHL franchise) this summer.


----------



## Centrum Hockey

LadyStanley said:


> Actually, it was five NHL Pacific Division teams that moved their teams simultaneously: San Jose (SJ), Los Angeles (Ontario - replacing ECHL franchise), Anaheim (San Diego), Edmonton (Bakersfield - replacing ECHL franchise) and Calgary (Stockton - replacing ECHL franchise). Then Arizona (Tuscon) moved theirs. And Colorado (Colorado Springs - replacing ECHL franchise) this summer.



I forgot about Calgary and Edmonton the echl teams didn’t matter to the nhl owners though the new owners of Norfolk said the oilers never wanted to own the admirals they only bought the then echl condors to get control of the arena in Bakersfield for a ahl team


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Js96er said:


> I forgot about Calgary and Edmonton the echl teams didn’t matter to the nhl owners though the new owners of Norfolk said the oilers never wanted to own the admirals they only bought the then echl condors to get control of the arena in Bakersfield for a ahl team



NOT EXACTLY, Anaheim was never previously an owner/operator, a strict affiliation, that's why they had to enlist Edmonton to allow the transfer to San Diego


----------



## Growlers

Any news/rumors on the Greenville Swamp Rabbits or Rapid City Rush affiliations?


----------



## Woo Hockey

slue said:


> Any news/rumors on the Greenville Swamp Rabbits or Rapid City Rush affiliations?



Greenville teased that they were looking for an affiliate back in April. Out of all the teams available it seems like Columbus would be their affiliate.


----------



## President of Hockey

Has there been any news yet whether or mot the Vancouver?/ Kalamazoo affiliation has been renewed for next season?


----------



## montreal

still waiting on the Habs to announce their affiliation. Last year they announced it on Sept 14th, but then they pull all of their players from Brampton a few weeks into the season and only sent 1 player back throughout the year in Fucale who only appeared in 11 games. I thought it was very odd that they opted to bring McNiven up and keep 3 goalies as the 20 year old rookie needed playing time but was stuck behind Lindgren and Fucale but it was Fucale who got a few trips to Brampton. Makes me wonder if they weren't happy with something and if they will be back with Brampton or not.


----------



## Big Z Man 1990

Unless Milwaukee were to actively pursue an NHL team with the new arena (which is NHL-ready)


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Big Z Man 1990 said:


> Unless Milwaukee were to actively pursue an NHL team with the new arena (which is NHL-ready)



Bucks are blocking it, Z, the Disney shows might go to Fiserv



President of Hockey said:


> Has there been any news yet whether or mot the Vancouver?/ Kalamazoo affiliation has been renewed for next season?



the Wings are still listed with both VAN/UTICA.....


----------



## Woo Hockey

montreal said:


> still waiting on the Habs to announce their affiliation. Last year they announced it on Sept 14th, but then they pull all of their players from Brampton a few weeks into the season and only sent 1 player back throughout the year in Fucale who only appeared in 11 games. I thought it was very odd that they opted to bring McNiven up and keep 3 goalies as the 20 year old rookie needed playing time but was stuck behind Lindgren and Fucale but it was Fucale who got a few trips to Brampton. Makes me wonder if they weren't happy with something and if they will be back with Brampton or not.




The way it sounded Brampton wasn't happy with the affiliation. There was something (a misprint?) that said that they were affiliated with Ottawa.


----------



## montreal

Woo Hockey said:


> The way it sounded Brampton wasn't happy with the affiliation. There was something (a misprint?) that said that they were affiliated with Ottawa.




Ottawa makes sense, should hear something in the next week or two I would think. I know the Habs have several players that they could send to the ECHL but not sure what their plan is.


----------



## crimsonace

Woo Hockey said:


> The way it sounded Brampton wasn't happy with the affiliation. There was something (a misprint?) that said that they were affiliated with Ottawa.




IIRC, a story on the B-Sens' website listed Brampton as its ECHL affiliate.


----------



## Growlers

Link ? I don't see it on there


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

there also has been no announcement for either affiliation on Greenville or Rapid City


----------



## Growlers

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> there also has been no announcement for either affiliation on Greenville or Rapid City




I would think that would have to be soon. Training camp starts in a few weeks.


----------



## 210

crimsonace said:


> IIRC, a story on the B-Sens' website listed Brampton as its ECHL affiliate.




I think the Sens sent a couple players to Brampton but I haven't seen anything official that lists them as actual affiliates.


----------



## Woo Hockey

slue said:


> Link ? I don't see it on there



It might've been in the previous version of this thread.


----------



## Woo Hockey

Confirming prior statements. 

Montreal will send players (if any) to Maine.


----------



## 210

As his next tweet indicated...


----------



## Growlers

Possible Greensville/Columbus affiliation coming


----------



## 210

You can add tweets to posts without making them huge images by clicking the "media" button and then inserting the URL of the tweet...


----------



## Growler

Rapid City and Greenville or the only ones left without an affiliation so far, correct?


----------



## Woo Hockey

Growler said:


> Rapid City and Greenville or the only ones left without an affiliation so far, correct?



Yes, bearing any unlikely announcements from teams who had affiliations expire last year without the announcement of an extension.


----------



## Growlers

Is it unusual for the teams to take this long to announce affiliates? I'm new to how the ECHL works.


----------



## royals119

slue said:


> Is it unusual for the teams to take this long to announce affiliates? I'm new to how the ECHL works.



I think teams have different strategies for their marketing. The Royals, for example, like to keep themselves in the newspaper weekly during the summer, so they stagger their player announcements and other news. Some teams like to hold everything until shortly before the season because they feel no one is paying attention during the summer and they want to make a big announcement shortly before the season to get attention back on hockey. With NHL camps already open, and ECHL players scheduled to report in two weeks, I would think those final few announcements are coming pretty soon. Maybe even to coincide with the opening of training camps.


----------



## Adam Michaels

As already mentioned, even though the Maine Mariners are already affiliated with the Rangers, they will have a working relationship with the Canadiens, as well. 

However, some of their AHL contracted players will end up sent elsewhere if they are sent to the ECHL. 

Étienne Marcoux last year played with the Indy Fuel, who are affiliated with the Blackhawks. However, the Fuel qualified him so he can be eligible to play with them this year. So I see him sent there.

The same is for T.J. Melancon, who played with the Norfolk Admirals last year. They're affiliated with the Coyotes.

And finally, Phélix Martineau played with and was qualified by Fort Wayne Komets, who are affiliated with the Vegas Golden Knights. 

As a result, Montreal won't need to send them all to one team as some will end up around the league. Whoever's left may end up in Maine unless Montreal gets a working relationship with certain other teams.


----------



## Growler

Adam Michaels said:


> As already mentioned, even though the Maine Mariners are already affiliated with the Rangers, they will have a working relationship with the Canadiens, as well.
> 
> However, some of their AHL contracted players will end up sent elsewhere if they are sent to the ECHL.
> 
> Étienne Marcoux last year played with the Indy Fuel, who are affiliated with the Blackhawks. However, the Fuel qualified him so he can be eligible to play with them this year. So I see him sent there.
> 
> The same is for T.J. Melancon, who played with the Norfolk Admirals last year. They're affiliated with the Coyotes.
> 
> And finally, Phélix Martineau played with and was qualified by Fort Wayne Komets, who are affiliated with the Vegas Golden Knights.
> 
> As a result, Montreal won't need to send them all to one team as some will end up around the league. Whoever's left may end up in Maine unless Montreal gets a working relationship with certain other teams.





Bergevin still building worlds in the Montreal farm system, I see.


----------



## 210

slue said:


> Is it unusual for the teams to take this long to announce affiliates? I'm new to how the ECHL works.




Kinda yes, kinda no (how's that for nailing it down? ). In the ECHL you can even see affiliation changes mid-season. It's rare, but it does happen. I've found that things are a lot more fluid in the ECHL than the AHL...


----------



## Growlers

Seems that Rapid City won't be having an NHL affiliate this season.


----------



## Avsrule2022

Growlers said:


> Seems that Rapid City won't be having an NHL affiliate this season.





Wow, IMO that could be the beginning of the end for the Rush. Their lack of talent last year was obvious, and doesn't look much better this year. How do they compete with the likes of Allen, Idaho and Utah, who all get sent a good amount of AHL players? I honestly can't see an independent team ever winning a Kelly Cup going forward.


----------



## Jackets Woodchuck

I didn't realize the ECHL still allowed independents. I always assumed the Komets were forced into affiliating.


----------



## JMCx4

Avsrule2002 said:


> Wow, IMO that could be the beginning of the end for the Rush. Their lack of talent last year was obvious, and doesn't look much better this year. How do they compete with the likes of Allen, Idaho and Utah, who all get sent a good amount of AHL players? I honestly can't see an independent team ever winning a Kelly Cup going forward.



@Avsrule2002: Surely (not Shirley) you know from your CHL fan days that the fate of the Rush organization is singularly dependent on if/when their owners decide they've poured too much money into keeping the team alive. Lack of an affiliation probably saves them a bit overall, especially if the Rush fans who objected to the roster turmoil under the Wild are season ticket holders who threatened to drop their renewals. The team is year-to-year anyway, so that condition does not change.


----------



## Captain Crash

In an announcement that will shock no one, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Wheeling Nailers have extended their affiliation agreement for two more seasons.



> Wheeling enters its 21st consecutive season as the ECHL affiliate for the Pittsburgh Penguins, which matches the longest active affiliation between an NHL team and ECHL team. 2018-19 will also mark the 20th straight season that the Nailers will be affiliated with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, dating back to their inception into the AHL in 1999. Over the course of those years, 20 former Nailers have made their NHL debuts with the Penguins, including Casey DeSmith, who posted a 6-4-1 record in 14 appearances last season. Three of the 20 players got their names etched into the Stanley Cup as members of the 2017 championship squad. In total, 23 former Nailers/Thunderbirds have suited up for the Penguins during their NHL careers.




Full Press Release: Nailers, Penguins Extend Affiliation Agreement for Two Years | The Wheeling Nailers


----------



## Woo Hockey

Updating the OP with the assumption that Manchester, Kalamazoo, and Cincinnati will still be affiliated with the teams they were affiliated with last season.

Removed the sources column as I messed the entire table up while putting in the Wheeling source.


----------



## Woo Hockey

Now "We have a press release" official.

1-year deal


----------



## Growlers

News on the Greensville Swamp Rabbits.


----------



## Woo Hockey

Growlers said:


> News on the Greensville Swamp Rabbits.





TL;DL - Team looked at Vegas, Nashville, others but the teams don't have enough depth to make it worth it for an affiliation, with only a few players potentially being assigned to the ECHL. Looking like an un-official affiliation with a club.


----------



## Woo Hockey

BARRACUDA LOAN FOUR PLAYERS TO ORLANDO | San Jose Barracuda

Looks like Orlando and San Jose have an "unofficial" affiliation.


----------



## Woo Hockey

Added a column for secondary/unofficial affiliations...


----------



## Growlers

Just a note. The Newfoundland Growlers and Maple Leafs affiliation was announced for a 3-year term.


----------



## Woo Hockey

Growlers said:


> Just a note. The Newfoundland Growlers and Maple Leafs affiliation was announced for a 3-year term.



Updated, thanks!


----------



## Atlantian

Atlanta seems to have an unofficial affiliation with Nashville as well as the official one with Boston


----------



## LadyStanley

Joe Will, GM of AHL Barracuda, indicated in radio interview today (during Sharks-Devils game, 2nd intermission) that Sharks have an affiliation agreement with Orlando.


----------



## Woo Hockey

LadyStanley said:


> Joe Will, GM of AHL Barracuda, indicated in radio interview today (during Sharks-Devils game, 2nd intermission) that Sharks have an affiliation agreement with Orlando.



They sent a handful of players there about a week or two ago...


----------



## Centrum Hockey

Most of the Monarchs Players come from Springfield i doubt there going to stick with LA long term Monarchs set for success this season


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Js96er said:


> Most of the Monarchs Players come from Springfield i doubt there going to stick with LA long term Monarchs set for success this season



Florida has done that since 2015/16 with Manchester, js, as long as Robitaille remains in control of the operations in LA, the affiliation stays


----------



## Centrum Hockey

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> Florida has done that since 2015/16 with Manchester, js, as long as Robitaille remains in control of the operations in LA, the affiliation stays



The local's resent the kings for moving their AHL Team a mutual parting of the Ways would be good for both sides John Habib's City Sports: Monarchs CEO stays optimistic | New Hampshire Manchester Monarchs [ECHL] yearly attendance at hockeydb.com


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Js96er said:


> The local's resent the kings for moving their AHL Team a mutual parting of the Ways would be good for both sides John Habib's City Sports: Monarchs CEO stays optimistic | New Hampshire ECHL 2017-18 team attendance at hockeydb.com Manchester Monarchs [ECHL] yearly attendance at hockeydb.com



that's the contract signed when the Kings sold the franchise to local ownership, js, the affiliation remains there, where would they go if you only have 27 teams, that stipulation remains intact. you're mixing Florida up with LA, SINCE Springfield is the Panthers affiliate, just as they have been since 2015, before Arizona bought the Falcons....


----------



## Avsrule2022

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> that's the contract signed when the Kings sold the franchise to local ownership, js, the affiliation remains there, where would they go if you only have 27 teams, that stipulation remains intact. you're mixing Florida up with LA, SINCE Springfield is the Panthers affiliate, just as they have been since 2015, before Arizona bought the Falcons....




As we have all seen before, this situation could change TOMORROW. It doesn't matter what the contract says. It doesn't matter what you say. It doesn't matter what the teams say. Words like can't, wont and never do not apply in the ECHL. We have seen affiliation cancelled _during the season_ just last year. We have seen teams break affiliation contracts nearly every year. We have seen teams break their leases nearly every other year. We have seen teams relocate or fold all the time. If you want to make an argument that something is not going to happen, that's fine. But telling people they are wrong based on these criteria is incorrect, as it has been proven time and time again.

Look, all you have to do is re-phrase your response. Add some "I think" and "In my opinion". Say something like "They have a 3 year contract, so UNLESS THEY BREAK IT, they probably won't be going anywhere". Otherwise people will keep calling you out on it. In my opinion.........


----------



## Jackets Woodchuck

Is there any reason to get anything in writing in the ECHL or could all the league business be conducted on a handshake basis with no real effect?


----------



## Jackets Woodchuck

Wichita (Edmonton affiliate) is not on the list in post #1.


----------



## Centrum Hockey

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> that's the contract signed when the Kings sold the franchise to local ownership, js, the affiliation remains there, where would they go if you only have 27 teams, that stipulation remains intact. you're mixing Florida up with LA, SINCE Springfield is the Panthers affiliate, just as they have been since 2015, before Arizona bought the Falcons....



i stand by what i said There are Clearly problems with Manchester it is a great hockey market but there attendance numbers are no where close to their AHL levels there closer to the Chicago Express which folded after one season
Chicago Express yearly attendance at hockeydb.com


----------



## Woo Hockey

Jackets Woodchuck said:


> Wichita (Edmonton affiliate) is not on the list in post #1.



Re-Added, thanks.


----------



## Woo Hockey

Js96er said:


> The local's resent the kings for moving their AHL Team a mutual parting of the Ways would be good for both sides John Habib's City Sports: Monarchs CEO stays optimistic | New Hampshire Manchester Monarchs [ECHL] yearly attendance at hockeydb.com




There's a lot more going on than just affiliate issues. While a change in an affiliate could help, it doesn't appear the "new" ownership has done much more to get people into the arena.


----------



## Centrum Hockey

Woo Hockey said:


> There's a lot more going on than just affiliate issues. While a change in an affiliate could help, it doesn't appear the "new" ownership has done much more to get people into the arena.



Boston might become available in the future they whould probably never choose Worcester because of providence so Manchester whould be the most likely option for a New England echl bruins affiliate


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Js96er said:


> Boston might become available in the future they whould probably never choose Worcester because of providence so Manchester whould be the most likely option for a New England echl bruins affiliate



Boston easily could choose Portland, like they attempted to pre 1977, and 1988-92, js, it depends on who acquires Atlanta, if the rumblings there expire as stated, and if the Gladiators stay, Nashville is there should Boston move north, after what Norfolk went through last December, and why Nashville landed the secondary affiliate nod.


----------



## Jackets Woodchuck

The Cleveland Monsters have sent three players to the ECHL this season, all to the Jacksonville IceMen.

TheAHL.com

Is this enough of a pattern to establish Columbus/Jacksonville as an unofficial "secondary" affiliation?


----------



## Jackets Woodchuck

Regarding Anaheim, the San Diego Gulls have only made one ECHL assignment (to Tulsa). Too early to draw a conclusion there.

TheAHL.com


----------



## Tao Jersey Jones




----------



## Woo Hockey

Tao Jones said:


>





Have a feeling we'll be seeing most of these teams renewing on one-year deals.


----------



## Woo Hockey

Will update OP in a bit (mobile)


----------



## Growlers

*ESTERO, Fla. (May 24, 2019) *— Florida Everblades President and General Manager Craig Brush announced today that the team has entered into an affiliation agreement with the NHL’s Nashville Predators.
The Everblades will serve as a developmental affiliate for the Predators and their primary developmental affiliate, the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals, starting with the 2019-20 season.
“We are thrilled to have the Nashville Predators as our new NHL affiliate,” Brush said. “Nashville’s President of Hockey Operations and General Manager David Poile has done a remarkable job developing an expansion franchise into one of the most prominent teams in the NHL. We are looking forward to becoming an integral part of the development of players for the Predators and Milwaukee Admirals.”
Founded in the same year as the Everblades in 1998, the Predators have become a strong force in the Western Conference over the last five seasons and have qualified for the postseason in each of those campaigns. After falling short of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in their first five seasons since joining the NHL as an expansion franchise, the Predators have now advanced to the postseason in 12 of the last 15 seasons.

Since joining the ECHL for the 1998-99 season, the Everblades have been the ECHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes, which are owned in part by Peter Karmanos Jr., the owner of the Everblades. In that time, 33 Everblades players have gone on to play in the NHL.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Hurricanes for their support over the past 21 seasons,” Brush said. “The stability and consistency of such a long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationship played a key role in our success, and we cannot thank the Hurricanes enough for being such a great partner with the Everblades.”
Like the Everblades, the Predators are coming off the best two-year stretch in team history. Poile, the winningest GM in NHL history, has helped direct Nashville to 100 combined wins over the last two seasons, a win total that is tied for the highest two-year win mark in team history.

Under the direction of fifth-year Head Coach Peter Laviolette, the Predators repeated as Central Division champions in the 2018-19 season. Nashville compiled a 47-29-6 record this year, posting at least 45 wins for the seventh time in team history. The division championship was the second in team history.

Last season, the Predators put together the best regular season in team history and set records for most wins (53) and points (117) in a season. Nashville went on to capture its first President’s Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL team with the most points in the regular season. That season came on the heels of the first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in team history in the 2016-17 season.
Nashville has been part of a development model that has seen a multitude of players advance to the NHL from the ECHL. In total, 661 ECHL alumni have gone on to play in the NHL. Of those players, 44 have played for Nashville. Three Everblades alumni have suited up for the Predators, a trio that includes Matt Hendricks, Shane Hnidy and Jason Morgan.
The connection between the two teams runs back several years. Nashville’s rookies have attended the NHL Prospects Showcase at Hertz Arena on several occasions. The Predators also hosted their main training camp at the venue in 2013.

The Everblades are coming off the third-highest regular season win total in team history after totaling a 50-16-5-1 mark in the 2018-19 campaign. Florida qualified for the playoffs for the 20th time in team history and advanced to the Eastern Conference Final for the second straight year and sixth time total in franchise history.

*About the Florida Everblades*
_Since their inception in 1998, the Florida Everblades have established a reputation as one of the premier organizations in the ECHL. The ‘Blades have been a consistent force on the ice, advancing to the playoffs in 20 of their 21 seasons. Florida also has quite an impressive trophy case, claiming the Brabham Cup three times for the best regular season record in the ECHL, winning four conference titles and seven division titles, and capturing the 2012 Kelly Cup. Through 21 seasons, 33 Blades players have advanced to the NHL. In addition to building a winning tradition, the Everblades have also built a big following throughout Southwest Florida and have finished in the top five in the ECHL in attendance in 14 of their 21 seasons, including five seasons of leading the league in attendance. For more information about the Florida Everblades visit __www.floridaeverblades.com__.

Source: EVERBLADES ENTER AFFILIATION WITH NASHVILLE PREDATORS_


----------



## Big Z Man 1990

I'd like Cincinnati to finally hook up with Columbus and give them a 2-team farm system fully in-state.

This could open the doors for the owners of the Syracuse Crunch and Orlando Solar Bears to swap franchises which would mean the ECHL Solar Bears become the ECHL Crunch, and vice-versa in the AHL. The ECHL Crunch can become the new ECHL affiliate of Buffalo, making for a nice journey along I-90 towards the NHL.


----------



## Centrum Hockey

Big Z Man 1990 said:


> I'd like Cincinnati to finally hook up with Columbus and give them a 2-team farm system fully in-state.
> 
> This could open the doors for the owners of the Syracuse Crunch and Orlando Solar Bears to swap franchises which would mean the ECHL Solar Bears become the ECHL Crunch, and vice-versa in the AHL. The ECHL Crunch can become the new ECHL affiliate of Buffalo, making for a nice journey along I-90 towards the NHL.



Syracuse would Be better off waiting for a ECHL expansion team or going dormant if the crunch leave. Instead of receiving the relocated echl solar bears.


----------



## 210

Centrum Hockey said:


> A Swap in markets between a echl and ahl team are usually heavily one sided in favor of the AHL Team, Syracuse would Be better off waiting for a ECHL expansion team or going dormant if the crunch leave. Instead of receiving the relocated echl solar bears.



Based on your grammar your opinion makes no sense. Can you clarify, please?


----------



## Centrum Hockey

210 said:


> Based on your grammar your opinion makes no sense. Can you clarify, please?



What i meant to say was usually a long time AHL Fanbase is indifferent to a ECHL team unless Its built from the ground up like Worcester and Portland. Considering how Norfolk and Manchester reacted i doubt the reaction in Syracuse would be much different.


----------



## Barclay Donaldson

Big Z Man 1990 said:


> I'd like Cincinnati to finally hook up with Columbus and give them a 2-team farm system fully in-state.
> 
> This could open the doors for the owners of the Syracuse Crunch and Orlando Solar Bears to swap franchises which would mean the ECHL Solar Bears become the ECHL Crunch, and vice-versa in the AHL. The ECHL Crunch can become the new ECHL affiliate of Buffalo, making for a nice journey along I-90 towards the NHL.




I don't see how this opens the door to the AHL going towards the south. Syracuse, Springfield, and Utica have all been praised by their respective NHL teams in Tampa, Florida, and Vancouver. Some of the listed benefits include easy travel in the AHL Eastern Conference and the prospect development advantages that provides. Every in-conference game except for Charlotte is a short to medium-length road trip. Prospects sleep in their own bed each night, spend more time at the gym and on the ice rather than on the bus or in an airport.

Having Tampa put their AHL team in Orlando would change their closest trip from a 1 hr Utica trip to an 8 hr bus trip to Charlotte. Even if Florida puts their AHL team in the south, which is unlikely considering the Thunderbirds are locally owned and have vocally claimed they'll never sell, it puts two teams on a geographic island. I think they'll take the improved prospect development over easy call-ups. This is increased considering how Tampa is reliant upon the development of players, given how Palat, Gourde, Connacher, Cirelli, Paquette, Vasilevsky and many other roster players have played respectable amounts of time in Syracuse. In addition, Springfield is 20 minutes away from Bradley International, which has all-day non-stop 3 hr flights to Fort Lauderdale and Miami, so callups aren't an issue there. I don't see it changing in the future.


----------



## JDogindy

The AHL is never going south of the Mason/Dixon line beyond Carolina. The Carolina Monarchs (remember them?) and Charlotte Checkers are pretty much as far south as the AHL are willing to go in the league, so we'll never see the league in Florida or Georgia.


----------



## Cyclones Rock

Big Z Man 1990 said:


> I'd like Cincinnati to finally hook up with Columbus and give them a 2-team farm system fully in-state.




If and when the Buffalo affiliation is ended, then it would be an appropriate time for the Cyclones to consider a CBJ affiliation. The Buffalo/Rochester affiliation is working quite well. The Cyclones won the Brabham Cup (best regular season record) and averaged over 5000 in the arena for the first time as an ECHL team in 16 years at US Bank Arena. From what I've seen, the CBJ haven't very focused on their ECHL affiliate in terms of player support over the past several years. That would be a huge negative for the Cyclones.

I think that a Columbus-Cincinnati affiliation would help the CBJ more than the Cyclones. Most Cyclones fans are out for a night of entertainment (on weekends) or beer drinking ($1 beer weekday games) and couldn't name 5 Cyclones players or their coaching staff. I doubt more than 20% of those in the building on any given night could name 5 CBJ players.

Perhaps a CBJ affiliation would give the Cyclones a bit more local media coverage and could open up some cross marketing opportunities for the team which would be beneficial. I think that the CBJ would benefit from added exposure which would help their merchandising sales in the Cincinnati area and give their television ratings in the area a boost as well. Given what I know about the Cyclones, I don't even know if they'd welcome CBJ apparel being sold in US Bank Arena. I didn't see any Buffalo Sabres items or Nashville items over the past several years. The Cyclones have been pretty much focused on branding themselves and not their affiliate relations.

All that said, affiliations at the ECHL level are usually rapidly changing. At some point I'd think that a Cyclones/CBJ affiliation will come about.


----------



## Centrum Hockey

Any news on the bruins and Atlanta yet.


----------



## Woo Hockey

Centrum Hockey said:


> Any news on the bruins and Atlanta yet.




If there were, it would've been posted just about everywhere by now.


----------



## Woo Hockey




----------



## Atlantian

Centrum Hockey said:


> Any news on the bruins and Atlanta yet.



I have not heard anything yet about next season's affiliation. I heard there was a deal in place with Nashville, but obviously it must have fallen through.


JDogindy said:


> The AHL is never going south of the Mason/Dixon line beyond Carolina. The Carolina Monarchs (remember them?) and Charlotte Checkers are pretty much as far south as the AHL are willing to go in the league, so we'll never see the league in Florida or Georgia.



At one point, before the AHL western expansion happened, there were conversations about moving Atlanta, Florida, and Orlando up to the AHL. I don't know who would have moved down, but that was an idea on the table so I would not completely rule it out, however unlikely it may be.


----------



## Centrum Hockey

Atlantian said:


> I have not heard anything yet about next season's affiliation. I heard there was a deal in place with Nashville, but obviously it must have fallen through.
> 
> At one point, before the AHL western expansion happened, there were conversations about moving Atlanta, Florida, and Orlando up to the AHL. I don't know who would have moved down, but that was an idea on the table so I would not completely rule it out, however unlikely it may be.



If Tampa Florida or Nashville buy any of those echl teams they are bound to be Ahl markets sooner or later.


----------



## Growlers

Kansas City & Calgary renew.

MAVERICKS AND FLAMES EXTEND AFFILIATION AGREEMENT FOR 2019-20 SEASON


----------



## Growlers

RUMOR: Carolina going to affiliate with Greenville. Announcement coming very soon.


Source: Carolina Hurricanes: Rumored ECHL Affiliation To Be Made


----------



## crimsonace

Growlers said:


> RUMOR (Carolina going to affiliate with Greenville. Announcement coming very soon.
> 
> 
> Source: Carolina Hurricanes: Rumored ECHL Affiliation To Be Made




Makes a TON of sense.


----------



## Atlantian

More than likely Carolina will go to Greenville and Boston is staying in Atlanta for another year


----------



## garnetpalmetto

Growlers said:


> RUMOR: Carolina going to affiliate with Greenville. Announcement coming very soon.
> 
> 
> Source: Carolina Hurricanes: Rumored ECHL Affiliation To Be Made






crimsonace said:


> Makes a TON of sense.






Atlantian said:


> More than likely Carolina will go to Greenville and Boston is staying in Atlanta for another year




My wife and I are already planning a "Pucks and Pints" trip down to Greenville and Charlotte if this happens. A friend of mine from high school and her husband own a craft brewery in Greenville (and they have a solid beer scene anyway). I haven't been to a hockey game in Greenville since the days of the Palmetto Cup rivalry between the Inferno, the Stingrays, the Pride, and the Grrrowl.


----------



## Cyclones Rock

Growlers said:


> RUMOR: Carolina going to affiliate with Greenville. Announcement coming very soon.
> 
> 
> Source: Carolina Hurricanes: Rumored ECHL Affiliation To Be Made




Could really give a nice boost to the The Road Warriors.


----------



## garnetpalmetto

Cyclones Rock said:


> Could really give a nice boost to the The Road Warriors.




I think you mean Swamp Rabbits. They haven't been Road Warriors in 4 years. Also not sure if it really would be a boost. One thing the Hurricanes have historically been terribad at is any sort of outreach into South Carolina. This would be the first real move the team's taken to do anything of that sort.


----------



## Cyclones Rock

garnetpalmetto said:


> I think you mean Swamp Rabbits. They haven't been Road Warriors in 4 years. Also not sure if it really would be a boost. One thing the Hurricanes have historically been terribad at is any sort of outreach into South Carolina. This would be the first real move the team's taken to do anything of that sort.




Hey, at least I didn't call them the Grrrrowl.

It's a logical affiliation from a marketing angle regardless of the past.


----------



## JMCx4

garnetpalmetto said:


> I think you mean Swamp Rabbits. They haven't been Road Warriors in 4 years. ...



WOW, it really HAS been 4 seasons since the brand change. And in that time, there's been more hockey movement in Greenville's roster with SPHL loan-ups than there has been on the ice.


----------



## JMCx4

garnetpalmetto said:


> My wife and I are already planning a "Pucks and Pints" trip down to Greenville and Charlotte if this happens. A friend of mine from high school and her husband own a craft brewery in Greenville (and they have a solid beer scene anyway). I haven't been to a hockey game in Greenville since the days of the Palmetto Cup rivalry between the Inferno, the Stingrays, the Pride, and the Grrrowl.



Downtown Greenville has really flourished in the last 10-15 years. Bon Secours Arena is nothing special, but its proximity to the downtown area sure makes it a pleasant destination for a hockey weekend.


----------



## Dingo44

REALLY wish that the ECHL would come back to Greensboro. I can walk to the Coliseum. But the guy who runs the arena isn't interested. 

The FHL Thunderbirds sell out almost every game so they can't say this area still isn't starved for hockey.


----------



## Growlers

Woo Hockey said:


> *ECHL Team**NHL Team**Contract Year**Secondary / Unofficial *Adirondack ThunderNew Jersey Devils2018-19Allen AmericansMinnesota Wild2018-19Atlanta GladiatorsBoston Bruins2018-19Brampton BeastOttawa Senators2018-19Cincinnati CyclonesBuffalo Sabres2018-19, at leastFlorida EverbladesNashville Predators2019-20, at leastFort Wayne KometsVegas Golden Knights2018-19Greenville Swamp RabbitsIndependent2018-19Idaho SteelheadsDallas Stars2019-20Indy FuelChicago Blackhawks2021-22Jacksonville IceMenWinnipeg Jets2018-19Kalamazoo WingsVancouver Canucks2018-19, assumedKansas City MavericksCalgary Flames2018-19Maine MarinersNew York Rangers2018-19, at leastMontreal CanadiensNewfoundland GrowlersToronto Maple Leafs2020-21Norfolk AdmiralsArizona Coyotes2018-19Orlando Solar BearsTampa Bay Lightning2020-21San Jose SharksRapid City RushIndependent2018-19Reading RoyalsPhiladelphia Flyers2018-19South Carolina StingraysWashington Capitals2019-20Toledo WalleyeDetriot Red Wings2020-21Tulsa OilersSt Louis Blues2018-19Utah GrizzliesColorado Avalanche2018-19Wheeling NailersPittsburgh Penguins2019-20Witchita ThunderEdmonton Oilers  2018-19Worcester RailersNew York Islanders2019-20
> [TBODY]
> [/TBODY]




For this. Is there any way we can add a column to show if the affiliation is active? Just be easier to read all the active affiliations
Thanks


----------



## garnetpalmetto

Looks like Pucks and Pints 2019 is a go!


----------



## Tao Jersey Jones

Unofficial.


----------



## Growlers

Jacksonville renews with Winnipeg 






Source: Jets and Moose Renew Affiliation Agreement with Jacksonville Icemen - Manitoba Moose


----------



## Patlikesbreakdowns

It's gonna be interesting with ward and everybody that's already gone.


----------



## Tao Jersey Jones




----------



## Growlers

Rush affiliate with Arizona, Tucson


----------



## Woo Hockey

Updated the OP with everything reported to date. Bolded the ones that have expired with 2018-19 coming to an end.


----------



## Growlers

Woo Hockey said:


> Updated the OP with everything reported to date. Bolded the ones that have expired with 2018-19 coming to an end.




I think there was a mistake with Maine being bolded. Also Kalamazoo renewed for 2 more years

WINGS, CANUCKS EXTEND PARTNERSHIP


----------



## Woo Hockey

Growlers said:


> I think there was a mistake with Maine being bolded. Also Kalamazoo renewed for 2 more years
> 
> WINGS, CANUCKS EXTEND PARTNERSHIP




Yes it was. 

K-Wings has been updated too.


----------



## LadyStanley

VGK officially announces affiliation


----------



## JDogindy




----------



## Tao Jersey Jones

Affiliation official now?


----------



## Growlers




----------



## Atlantian

Atlanta Gladiators renew affiliation with the Boston Bruins for the 2019-20 season


----------



## Tao Jersey Jones




----------



## royals119

Reading Royals

Royals announce Gritty from the Flyers will appear at Affiliation night. Looks like the extension is official, but not technically announced yet.


----------



## Growlers

So is it safe to say Norfolk is going independent this season?


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Growlers said:


> So is it safe to say Norfolk is going independent this season?



from all indications, Norfolk is independent, how successful it will be financially is TBD


----------



## JDogindy

Growlers said:


> So is it safe to say Norfolk is going independent this season?




Nobody wants Norfolk. Honestly, I think there's something about the organization that just turns away affiliation possibilities.


----------



## 210

JDogindy said:


> Nobody wants Norfolk. Honestly, I think there's something about the organization that just turns away affiliation possibilities.




Even back in the AHL days there were a lot of whispers about teams not liking the amenities at the Scope. It's more likely that would be the issue considering how many ownership groups they've had in recent history.


----------



## JDogindy

210 said:


> Even back in the AHL days there were a lot of whispers about teams not liking the amenities at the Scope. It's more likely that would be the issue considering how many ownership groups they've had in recent history.




The Scope is a very old venue, and hasn't had a real renovation in years, aside from a minor update earlier this decade. The oldest ECHL arenas have gotten substantial updates over the years (especially the oldest arena in the league, Indiana Farmers Coliseum), and given the funky design of the Scope, a more cookie cutter replacement would likely be in store than a total overhaul.


----------



## Growlers

Club enters sixth season as primary ECHL affiliate with Reading






*Source: *Flyers renew ECHL affiliation with Royals


----------



## royals119

Growlers said:


> Club enters sixth season as primary ECHL affiliate with Reading
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Source: *Flyers renew ECHL affiliation with Royals



Covers the upcoming season, with an option for 20-21. (Doesn't say whose option or if either side could opt out/in)


----------



## LadyStanley

Komets renew AHL affiliation with Chicago Wolves

Fort Wayne reups with AHL Chicago/NHL Vegas.


----------



## Jackets Woodchuck

Looking at AHL affiliations to determine unofficial secondary affiliations

Teams who have exclusively used one ECHL "affiliate"

Florida Panthers - Grenville Swamp Rabbits
Los Angeles Kings - Fort Wayne Komets
Anaheim Ducks - Tulsa Oilers
Columbus Blue Jackets - Jacksonville IceMen - merely a tendency, not an unofficial affiliation

Canadiens and Sharks have been all over the place.


----------



## royals119

Saw this on the AHL board and thought it might be useful to add it here too.


----------



## hurricanesfan123

Oilers announce affiliation agreement with Anaheim, San Diego.


----------



## Centrum Hockey

Did Worcester sign a 1 year deal with the NYI ?


----------



## 210

Centrum Hockey said:


> Did Worcester sign a 1 year deal with the NYI ?



Nothing announced yet.


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Vegas retains the affiliation with Fort Wayne for at least 2 years despite buying San Antonio during the pause


----------



## JMCx4

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> Vegas retains the affiliation with Fort Wayne for at least 2 years despite buying San Antonio during the pause



Please explain the "despite" in that statement.


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

JMCx4 said:


> Please explain the "despite" in that statement.



no guarantee Vegas would've retained that affiliation, Orleans/Henderson ISN'T exactly closer to Fort Wayne than San Antonio was to the Blues


----------



## JMCx4

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> no guarantee Vegas would've retained that affiliation, Orleans/Henderson ISN'T exactly closer to Fort Wayne than San Antonio was to the Blues



Thanks. But if VGK wanted to maintain a three-tier development/rehab/parking spot arrangement, who else was available as an ECHL affiliate? Diminishing options.


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

JMCx4 said:


> Thanks. But if VGK wanted to maintain a three-tier development/rehab/parking spot arrangement, who else was available as an ECHL affiliate? Diminishing options.



most likely that was the internal discussions independent of the primary affiliation which they now own/operate


----------



## JDogindy

JMCx4 said:


> Thanks. But if VGK wanted to maintain a three-tier development/rehab/parking spot arrangement, who else was available as an ECHL affiliate? Diminishing options.




Norfo... I can't even finish that with a straight face.


----------



## JMCx4

JDogindy said:


> Norfo... I can't even finish that with a straight face.



You could've stopped after the first 'o'.


----------



## Atlantian

Allen extended their affiliation with Minnesota for this season.


----------



## bleedblue94

So with a few teams not operating this year or other pauses, are there teams that are going to be for sale or potentially relocating coming out of covid?


----------



## JMCx4

bleedblue94 said:


> So with a few teams not operating this year or other pauses, are there teams that are going to be for sale or potentially relocating coming out of covid?



Better to ask the "*ECHL to 30 Teams?*" crowd.


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

bleedblue94 said:


> So with a few teams not operating this year or other pauses, are there teams that are going to be for sale or potentially relocating coming out of covid?



the only one terminated is Brampton... other than that not that I'm aware of....


----------



## Tao Jersey Jones




----------



## Atlantian

Tao Jones said:


>




Who would pick up Atlanta? Florida maybe?


----------



## JMCx4

Atlantian said:


> Who would pick up Atlanta? Florida maybe?



I heard the Kunlun Red Star were looking for a North American affiliate. But I heard it in Mandarin Chinese, or in Russian, or in some other language I don't understand. So maybe I got it wrong.


----------



## Cyclones Rock

JMCx4 said:


> I heard the Kunlun Red Star were looking for a North American affiliate. But I heard it in Mandarin Chinese, or in Russian, or in some other language I don't understand. So maybe I got it wrong.



Funny guy.


----------



## Atlantian

A couple of interesting options for the Gladiators if Boston goes to Maine. First, we have the Rangers, who are currently Maine's affiliate. I had thought, correct me if I'm wrong, there was some sort of ownership link between the Rangers and Mariners. You also have Seattle coming in next season, Florida or Carolina depending on who becomes the permanent affiliate of Greenville, and possibly Ottawa because Brampton folded. The last bit is the Gladiators would be competing for an affiliate against either Allen or Iowa, depending on if the rumors are true regarding the Minnesota affiliation.


----------



## JMCx4

Atlantian said:


> A couple of interesting options for the Gladiators if Boston goes to Maine. First, we have the Rangers, who are currently Maine's affiliate. I had thought, *correct me if I'm wrong*, there was some sort of ownership link between the Rangers and Mariners. ...



That's worth at least


----------



## Roadhog

Atlantian said:


> Who would pick up Atlanta? Florida maybe?



Vegas, just for the Knights/Gladiators tie-in.


----------



## jabberoski

Atlantian said:


> Who would pick up Atlanta? Florida maybe?



Florida is with Greenville


----------



## royals119

Atlantian said:


> A couple of interesting options for the Gladiators if Boston goes to Maine. First, we have the Rangers, who are currently Maine's affiliate. I had thought, correct me if I'm wrong, there was some sort of ownership link between the Rangers and Mariners. You also have Seattle coming in next season, Florida or Carolina depending on who becomes the permanent affiliate of Greenville, and possibly Ottawa because Brampton folded. The last bit is the Gladiators would be competing for an affiliate against either Allen or Iowa, depending on if the rumors are true regarding the Minnesota affiliation.



I'm surprised no one else clarified this yet, but the Mariners are owned by Comcast Spectacor, which also owns Spectra Experiences (the company that manages their arena), the Flyers, a few other sports teams, the cable/internet provider and hold a majority stake in a little company called NBC/Universal. So the Mariners and Flyers are owned by the same parent company.


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

royals119 said:


> I'm surprised no one else clarified this yet, but the Mariners are owned by Comcast Spectacor, which also owns Spectra Experiences (the company that manages their arena), the Flyers, a few other sports teams, the cable/internet provider and hold a majority stake in a little company called NBC/Universal. So the Mariners and Flyers are owned by the same parent company.



Spectra also built Cross Arena among other things....as a replica of the Spectrum.... the tie in was Spectra also runs the off ice activities of Hartford.....


----------



## royals119

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> Spectra also built Cross Arena among other things....as a replica of the Spectrum.... the tie in was Spectra also runs the off ice activities of Hartford.....



Spectra also manages the arenas in Abbotsford, Des Moines, Springfield, and Allentown, so they have a "tie in" with those AHL teams too. 

They also manage what is now called Cure Insurance Arena in Trenton NJ, Ford Arena in Beaumont TX, Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, James Brown Arena in Augusta GA, and NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates. All of those buildings have hosted ECHL teams in the past, so Spectra could decide to put ECHL teams in any of them, and those teams could affiliate with the AHL team in one of their other buildings, or with an entirely different team. They could even choose to relocate the Mariners to one of those buildings if it was in their best interest.

They also manage sponsorship sales for the Tulsa Oilers, and ticketing for the Phantoms, so they are tied in there too.

My point being that Spectra is a big company that manages a lot of buildings and runs some or all of the team operations for a number of teams, and their parent company owns some teams outright. The affiliation agreement between two of those teams isn't written in stone, and they don't have to affiliate with another team that they have a business relationship with. Any of their teams could affiliate with a team they don't own. For example the Flyers are owned by Comcast and Spectra runs the Wells Fargo Arena, the Phantoms are not owned by Comcast, but they play in a Spectra managed building and Spectra runs their ticket department, and the Royals have no connection to Comcast other than the affiliation. (SMG runs the concessions at Santander Arena in Reading)

Just because Spectra manages both Portland and Hartford's buildings, and Comcast owns the Mariners, doesn't mean they have to be affiliated with the WolfPack.


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

royals119 said:


> Spectra also manages the arenas in Abbotsford, Des Moines, Springfield, and Allentown, so they have a "tie in" with those AHL teams too.
> 
> They also manage what is now called Cure Insurance Arena in Trenton NJ, Ford Arena in Beaumont TX, Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, James Brown Arena in Augusta GA, and NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates. All of those buildings have hosted ECHL teams in the past, so Spectra could decide to put ECHL teams in any of them, and those teams could affiliate with the AHL team in one of their other buildings, or with an entirely different team. They could even choose to relocate the Mariners to one of those buildings if it was in their best interest.
> 
> They also manage sponsorship sales for the Tulsa Oilers, and ticketing for the Phantoms, so they are tied in there too.
> 
> My point being that Spectra is a big company that manages a lot of buildings and runs some or all of the team operations for a number of teams, and their parent company owns some teams outright. The affiliation agreement between two of those teams isn't written in stone, and they don't have to affiliate with another team that they have a business relationship with. Any of their teams could affiliate with a team they don't own. For example the Flyers are owned by Comcast and Spectra runs the Wells Fargo Arena, the Phantoms are not owned by Comcast, but they play in a Spectra managed building and Spectra runs their ticket department, and the Royals have no connection to Comcast other than the affiliation. (SMG runs the concessions at Santander Arena in Reading)
> 
> Just because Spectra manages both Portland and Hartford's buildings, and Comcast owns the Mariners, doesn't mean they have to be affiliated with the WolfPack.



nobody was saying that, but the ill informed post about the Expo has nothing to do with that.... Spectra had been managing the Arena anyway, it didn't help matters when the trustee board kept blocking the ownership.


----------



## Growlers




----------



## Tao Jersey Jones




----------



## Atlantian

Maine is officially announcing their affiliation with the Bruins at 10am on 6/30. I am told that Atlanta already has a new affiliation. Theoretically I’d imagine they’d announce it fairly soon as well.


----------



## Tao Jersey Jones

There are rumors that they may move a team to Binghamton now that the Binghamton Devils of the AHL are leaving for Utica. The Atlanta Gladiators franchise is now also without an affiliate so that could be a possibility. There is also a new Savannah Georgia team coming into the league in 2022 that is unaffiliated at the moment. 

https://bellyupsports.com/2021/06/maine-mariners-changing-nhl-affiliate/


----------



## Atlantian

Tao Jones said:


> There are rumors that they may move a team to Binghamton now that the Binghamton Devils of the AHL are leaving for Utica. The Atlanta Gladiators franchise is now also without an affiliate so that could be a possibility. There is also a new Savannah Georgia team coming into the league in 2022 that is unaffiliated at the moment.
> 
> https://bellyupsports.com/2021/06/maine-mariners-changing-nhl-affiliate/




Atlanta is not moving. They already have an affiliation in place for next season. Allegedly, there is at least one group interested in putting an expansion team in Bingo for 22-23.


----------



## jabberoski

Tao Jones said:


> There are rumors that they may move a team to Binghamton now that the Binghamton Devils of the AHL are leaving for Utica. The Atlanta Gladiators franchise is now also without an affiliate so that could be a possibility. There is also a new Savannah Georgia team coming into the league in 2022 that is unaffiliated at the moment.
> 
> https://bellyupsports.com/2021/06/maine-mariners-changing-nhl-affiliate/




The Rangers do not own an ECHL team, so they cannot just move a team there.


----------



## JDogindy

We got some updates in affiliation.

And, of course... Norfolk will remain independent, as it shall forever be.


----------



## Atlantian

Updates so far
Allen - TBD (previously Minnesota)
Atlanta - TBD (Previously Boston)
Iowa - Minnesota
Jacksonville - New York Rangers
Maine - Boston
TR - Montreal

Ottawa and Winnipeg previously had ECHL teams, but as of right now do not because of the reshuffle and Brampton folding. I believe the others without teams are CAR, LA, SJ, STL, CBJ, SEA


----------



## Jackets Woodchuck

Blue Jackets are not interested and the Kraken likely don't need one seeing as they are sharing an AHL team this season. Anyone know if any of the other six are not interested in having an ECHL affiliate?


----------



## royals119

Jackets Woodchuck said:


> Blue Jackets are not interested and the Kraken likely don't need one seeing as they are sharing an AHL team this season. Anyone know if any of the other six are not interested in having an ECHL affiliate?



I'm a little surprised LA doesn't have an ECHL affiliate. They always had enough players to send a decent number of skaters and two goalies to the ECHL when they were affiliated with Reading, and I presume that continued with Manchester. I suppose the distance is an issue, but they did stick with Manchester even after moving the AHL team to Ontario. Maybe it is just the the case of finding an ECHL team that is available and willing to work with them?


----------



## Atlantian

Carolina is being weird with their affiliates as of late. I imagine Ottawa and Winnipeg will be looking for new affiliates since they recently lost theirs. The others? No clue. Heard a link between SJ and Allen but I doubt that happens. Seattle probably shares Greenville this season with the few prospects they end up with. Could possibly see Allen with Winnipeg. Has to be closer than Jacksonville.


----------



## jabberoski

Atlantian said:


> Carolina is being weird with their affiliates as of late. I imagine Ottawa and Winnipeg will be looking for new affiliates since they recently lost theirs. The others? No clue. Heard a link between SJ and Allen but I doubt that happens. Seattle probably shares Greenville this season with the few prospects they end up with. Could possibly see Allen with Winnipeg. Has to be closer than Jacksonville.



San Jose had assigned a few players to Allen this past season, but they moved those players from Allen to Orlando around the midpoint of the season.


----------



## LadyStanley

Extension


----------



## Atlantian

Kalamazoo is now with Columbus which now leaves Vancouver-Abbotsford available


----------



## Atlantian

Calgary will stay with KC for 2021-22 as well


----------



## Atlantian

So with Atlanta partnered with Ottawa for the year, that leaves just Allen and Norfolk without affiliations I believe. The unaffiliated NHL teams are:
Winnipeg
San Jose
Seattle
Los Angeles
Vancouver
Carolina 
St. Louis
My thoughts are either San Jose or Winnipeg take allen and Seattle takes Savannah next season. Norfolk in my opinion will remain independent.


----------



## JDogindy

Nobody wants Norfolk.

Norfolk is radioactive. Norfolk is undesirable.


----------



## jabberoski

Atlantian said:


> So with Atlanta partnered with Ottawa for the year, that leaves just Allen and Norfolk without affiliations I believe. The unaffiliated NHL teams are:
> Winnipeg
> San Jose
> Seattle
> Los Angeles
> Vancouver
> Carolina
> St. Louis
> My thoughts are either San Jose or Winnipeg take allen and Seattle takes Savannah next season. Norfolk in my opinion will remain independent.



Why would San Jose go to Allen when they pulled all the contracted players they had there this past season and sent them to Orlando? There's some sort of bad blood there.


----------



## SemireliableSource

This is HFBoards. There's no room for facts and logic here.


----------



## JMCx4

Atlantian said:


> ... My thoughts are either San Jose or Winnipeg take allen and *Seattle takes Savannah next season*. Norfolk in my opinion will remain independent.



Edgy.


----------



## JMCx4

SemireliableSource said:


> This is HFBoards. There's no room for facts and logic here.



Oh, there's room for them, there's just no bed to lie in.


----------



## Atlantian

I hadn’t heard about that. I assumed everything was good between the two. So I’m gonna say Winnipeg will use Allen this year but that’s just based on the fact that they were the only teams left out of the shuffle


----------



## jabberoski

Atlantian said:


> I hadn’t heard about that. I assumed everything was good between the two. So I’m gonna say Winnipeg will use Allen this year but that’s just based on the fact that they were the only teams left out of the shuffle



I had posted it above in #255 - 2019-20 ECHL Affiliations


----------



## JMCx4

jabberoski said:


> I had posted it above in #255 - 2019-20 ECHL Affiliations



@Atlantian has difficulty reading through that narrow slot in his gladiator helmet.


----------



## HRAds

JDogindy said:


> Nobody wants Norfolk.
> 
> Norfolk is radioactive. Norfolk is undesirable.




I am not as plugged into the Ads as once was. I kind of checked out after the AHL team was stripped away and the ECHL came back. With that said I still live in Norfolk and casually follow things. I know things were bad, under Mango Media. Bad would be kind for that circus. Now there is new ownership in place but from my very high-level view, it feels like he is more interested in running things as an extension of his USPHL operation in Chesapeake and place for his players there to "graduate to" rather than running the Ads as a team in an actual NHL feeder league. Until ownership either change philosophy or changes entirely no NHL organization is going to affiliate here. How close am I?


----------



## SemireliableSource

If that's the plan, it's a terrible one. You're probably looking at a 1 in a million player making the jump straight from the USPHL to the Coast. Especially the Premier division.


----------



## JMCx4

SemireliableSource said:


> If that's the plan, it's a terrible one. You're probably looking at a 1 in a million player making the jump straight from the USPHL to the Coast. Especially the Premier division.



Owner's prerogative. If he can draw significantly more interest from kids whose parents have fists full of money just by promoting the "graduate" story, he might just net more than his ECHL team ever would (affiliated or not). It's his investment, his decision; fans can choose to watch the show or seek entertainment elsewhere.


----------



## Lake Simcoe Travels

JDogindy said:


> Nobody wants Norfolk.
> 
> Norfolk is radioactive. Norfolk is undesirable.



Disagree...new owner, gm and coach (all played for Norfolk in their past).


----------



## Lake Simcoe Travels

HRAds said:


> I am not as plugged into the Ads as once was. I kind of checked out after the AHL team was stripped away and the ECHL came back. With that said I still live in Norfolk and casually follow things. I know things were bad, under Mango Media. Bad would be kind for that circus. Now there is new ownership in place but from my very high-level view, it feels like he is more interested in running things as an extension of his USPHL operation in Chesapeake and place for his players there to "graduate to" rather than running the Ads as a team in an actual NHL feeder league. Until ownership either change philosophy or changes entirely no NHL organization is going to affiliate here. How close am I?



Facts please -- I believe only 1 player from the Chesapeake operation has played for the Admirals. Don't think that makes the Admirals a place where their Whalers Junior Players graduate to...


----------



## HRAds

Lake Simcoe Travels said:


> Facts please -- I believe only 1 player from the Chesapeake operation has played for the Admirals. Don't think that makes the Admirals a place where their Whalers Junior Players graduate to...




Like I said it was a feeling I was getting for following things from a distance. Admittedly I'm not plugged in to all things Ads like I was when I had season ticket from 1990-2015 but I really question some of the moves that Cavanaugh has made as the owner (The first was naming Rod Taylor the head coach. I loved Rod as a player but I'm not sold on him as a pro coach.). An affiliation lends an air of professionalism to the organization, something the Ads badly need right now. I don't know what the issue is but it really is something they need to get sorted out sooner rather than later.


----------



## Lake Simcoe Travels

HRAds said:


> Like I said it was a feeling I was getting for following things from a distance. Admittedly I'm not plugged in to all things Ads like I was when I had season ticket from 1990-2015 but I really question some of the moves that Cavanaugh has made as the owner (The first was naming Rod Taylor the head coach. I loved Rod as a player but I'm not sold on him as a pro coach.). An affiliation lends an air of professionalism to the organization, something the Ads badly need right now. I don't know what the issue is but it really is something they need to get sorted out sooner rather than later.



Now we can agree on a few things...agree that the affiliation would be a great thing for them (the Hurricanes come to mind since they are the closest)...is RT a good coach? -- we will see. He obviously is a winner so let's see what happens there. I do think having Chilled Ponds close by helps them contain cost. Would love to see them succeed but folks (not you) calling them toxic, radioactive and undesirable -- believe that would be something hopefully in the past and not with new ownership that only has 1 season under their belts so far.


----------



## JMCx4

Lake Simcoe Travels said:


> ... Would love to see them succeed but folks (no you) calling them toxic, radioactive and undesirable -- believe that would be something hopefully in the past and not with new ownership that only has 1 season under their belts so far.



So end of Year 2, undesirable; Year 3, radioactive; and @JDogindy has gotta wait for Year 4 to wrap up before he can swing the toxic hammer?


----------



## LadyStanley

San Jose hasn't had an official ECHL affiliation in a number of years. 

They do have five goalies signed to NHL deals (three on ELS), so they might alternate two of the kids to ECHL. IIRC, they had players at Orlando and Allen last season.


----------



## royals119

Royals announce an extension of the Flyers affiliation. They will be affiliated for the upcoming season, and an option year for '22-'23.

Royals, Philadelphia Flyers, announce extension of affiliation agreement


----------



## Atlantian

Looking like Norfolk will be affiliated with Carolina this season leaving Allen as the only team with no current affiliation.


----------



## Jackets Woodchuck

Teams left for the Americans to affiliate with
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets
Vancouver Canucks
Seattle Kraken
San Jose Sharks
Los Angeles Kings


----------



## HRAds

Atlantian said:


> Looking like Norfolk will be affiliated with Carolina this season leaving Allen as the only team with no current affiliation.




It feels so gross. I get there needs to be mutual interest and independence clearly was not working but there were better options out there.


----------



## Atlantian

HRAds said:


> It feels so gross. I get there needs to be mutual interest and independence clearly was not working but there were better options out there.



Like what? In my opinion there really were not any better options for Norfolk.


----------



## Lake Simcoe Travels

Atlantian said:


> Like what? In my opinion there really were not any better options for Norfolk.



Agree...Carolina is a great option...less than a 3 hour drive. Happy for them.


----------



## Lake Simcoe Travels

HRAds said:


> It feels so gross. I get there needs to be mutual interest and independence clearly was not working but there were better options out there.



It feels gross???


----------



## HRAds

Lake Simcoe Travels said:


> It feels gross???




I have never been impressed with the Carolina organization or how they have done things since they arrived in Raleigh. Of the available NHL clubs I would have much rather seen the Ads affiliate with LA or San Jose. It is a one year deal so hopefully the Ads can upgrade after the season. 

Three house away from Raleigh or not, Hampton Roads is very much Caps territory with a strong Flyers and Pens contingent not far behind.


----------



## JMCx4




----------



## royals119

Lake Simcoe Travels said:


> Agree...Carolina is a great option...less than a 3 hour drive. Happy for them.



The travel distance between Norfolk and Raleigh really isn't important. The only potential advantage is maybe a goalie coach makes a trip to Norfolk to check in on a prospect once or twice a year, potentially. The travel is all going to be between Chicago and Norfolk.


----------



## Atlantian

royals119 said:


> The travel distance between Norfolk and Raleigh really isn't important. The only potential advantage is maybe a goalie coach makes a trip to Norfolk to check in on a prospect once or twice a year, potentially. The travel is all going to be between Chicago and Norfolk.



Which is still the best travel of any remaining NHL teams potentially looking for an affiliation. The only other teams I would think may be interested are Winnipeg, Vancouver, or San Jose and all of them have a far greater travel distance


----------



## royals119

Atlantian said:


> Which is still the best travel of any remaining NHL teams potentially looking for an affiliation. The only other teams I would think may be interested are Winnipeg, Vancouver, or San Jose and all of them have a far greater travel distance



True, but really, once you are flying, it probably doesn't change that much. A lot of the time "flying" somewhere is spent getting to and from the airports and waiting around. The difference between leaving your apartment in Norfolk and arriving at the hotel in Chicago vs the hotel in San Jose is something like 10 hours vs 5 hours (quick google search reveals no direct flights from Norfolk to San Jose, so that includes a layover) With a two hour time difference between Chicago and San Jose the number of times this would result in a player making or missing a game is fairly small. 

I'm not arguing that Norfolk would be better off with the Sharks vs the Hurricanes, or any other team. I think working with an organization that is more committed to sending players down, signing enough AHL contracts that they aren't constantly short-handed, having decent goalie prospects, financial considerations, etc etc are probably more important than travel distance. I'm glad to see them get an affiliate, since it may indicate more committed ownership, and a more stable situation. 

My real point was that the distance between the ECHL team and the NHL team isn't that important, as almost no one ever makes that trip directly. (with rare exceptions of course - happened with the Royals once in 20 years that I can recall. Well, twice, but it was the same player making two trips a week apart. A goalie, who spent most of the year in the AHL, and needed to get into a couple regular season games with the Royals to qualify to be playoff eligible, but he was serving as the backup in L.A. at the time.)


----------



## Roadhog

Jackets Woodchuck said:


> Teams left for the Americans to affiliate with
> St. Louis Blues
> Winnipeg Jets
> Vancouver Canucks
> Seattle Kraken
> San Jose Sharks
> Los Angeles Kings




WPG/MTB have three players loaned to Newfoundland.


----------



## Jackets Woodchuck

Roadhog said:


> WPG/MTB have three players loaned to Newfoundland.




Blues seem to be using Worcester

No ECHL moves yet for Canucks, Sharks, or Kings


----------



## jabberoski

Jackets Woodchuck said:


> Blues seem to be using Worcester
> 
> No ECHL moves yet for Canucks, Sharks, or Kings



Sharks sent a slew of guys to Orlando last week - https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/10/echl-transactions-oct-12


----------



## Jackets Woodchuck

Thanks! Not sure how I missed that.


----------



## LadyStanley

Vegas changes affiliate


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Kalamazoo renews with both Columbus and Cleveland for 2022/23


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

1 year ago today the Bruins arrived in Portland for their 2nd stint as an affiliate....


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Panthers to align w/ Florida Everblades (Estero); Greenville now open


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Allen looks to the next ECHL franchise looking at an affiliation change like Fort Wayne and Greenville.... Kansas City's Mavericks (Independence) likely to be announced as the next ECHL Affiliate of the Seattle Kraken, replacing the two Calgary affiliates


----------



## Atlantian

Edit - this info may have been incorrect.


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Fort Wayne aligns with Bakersfield/Edmonton as former Komet Chaulk is now coaching the Oilers; that now puts Wichita's Thunder without an active NHL Affiliation


----------



## gstommylee




----------



## NYRfan85

Looks like we have to wait almost a month to find out who Greenville is aligning with, now that the last link of the I-85 chain is broken. I have a feeling that they'll be aligning with Nashville/Milwaukee.


----------



## Atlantian

NYRfan85 said:


> Looks like we have to wait almost a month to find out who Greenville is aligning with, now that the last link of the I-85 chain is broken. I have a feeling that they'll be aligning with Nashville/Milwaukee.




Ah yes. The announcement of the announcement


----------



## JMCx4

From Field Pass Hockey (July 27, 2022) ... *Wichita Thunder in the Market for New NHL Affiliate*


----------



## Woo Hockey

Updated OP with accurate info as of today, 3 PM.


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Flyers/Phantoms/Royals continue affiliation through 2023/2024 (multi-year extension)


----------



## Woo Hockey

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> Flyers/Phantoms/Royals continue affiliation through 2023/2024 (multi-year extension)











Flyers extend their ECHL affiliation with Reading Royals


Multi-year extension announced as the two clubs enter their ninth season together.




www.nhl.com





Please post a link otherwise your post isn't as useful as you think it is.


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Woo Hockey said:


> Flyers extend their ECHL affiliation with Reading Royals
> 
> 
> Multi-year extension announced as the two clubs enter their ninth season together.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.nhl.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Please post a link otherwise your post isn't as useful as you think it is.



I only saw it in a group I'm in because Comcast owns our franchise here.... it's why our ECHL affiliate is not affiliated


----------



## JMCx4

Woo Hockey said:


> Flyers extend their ECHL affiliation with Reading Royals
> 
> 
> Multi-year extension announced as the two clubs enter their ninth season together.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.nhl.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Please post a link otherwise your post isn't as useful as you think it is.



It's useful for the purpose of being the first to post the news. So there's that.


----------



## jabberoski

Woo Hockey said:


> Flyers extend their ECHL affiliation with Reading Royals
> 
> 
> Multi-year extension announced as the two clubs enter their ninth season together.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.nhl.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Please post a link otherwise your post isn't as useful as you think it is.



He never posts a link for anything, even rumors, and the mods don't do anything about it for some reason.


----------



## Big Z Man 1990

When will the Blue Jackets realize they are alienating fans by having a Michigan-based team as their ECHL affiliate, given the whole UM-OSU rivalry.


----------



## Michael Smitley

Big Z Man 1990 said:


> When will the Blue Jackets realize they are alienating fans by having a Michigan-based team as their ECHL affiliate, given the whole UM-OSU rivalry.



CBJ fans, myself included, mostly couldn't care less about the ECHL affiliation. It certainly hasn't alienated any of the fans I know, nor have I heard anything negative about it on the CBJ boards


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Rapid City Rush end affiliation w/ NHL Arizona and AHL Tucson via tweet; sounds like a new announcement is planned for 8/25/22


----------



## jabberoski

Since Hutch does not know how to post links, here is the Rapid City tweet referenced in his post.


----------



## JMCx4

jabberoski said:


> Since Hutch does not know how to post links, here is the Rapid City tweet referenced in his post.



So this was the domino that I was waiting to see fall. Now Wichita can announce their new affiliation with Arizona the night the Coyotes come to town for their exhibition vs. the STL Blues.


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

JMCx4 said:


> So this was the domino that I was waiting to see fall. Now Wichita can announce their new affiliation with Arizona the night the Coyotes come to town for their exhibition vs. the STL Blues.



I'm expecting Calgary to Rapid City once it was announced SEA TO KC.... Who takes Wichita, remains to be seen, then there's the possibility of New Mexico out there that's an option if the ECHL confirms Rio Rancho is starting by next season. I'm not sure one of the 7 teams that aren't affiliated now have interest in Rapid City....


----------



## Atlantian

JMCx4 said:


> So this was the domino that I was waiting to see fall. Now Wichita can announce their new affiliation with Arizona the night the Coyotes come to town for their exhibition vs. the STL Blues.



I have heard Arizona is in talks with another team. I am expecting Wichita and Nashville, Greenville and LA, and RC and Calgary.


----------



## Adam Michaels




----------



## Atlantian

Adam Michaels said:


>




Now that someone else has said it, Atlanta with Arizona and Ottawa with Allen for this year


----------



## JMCx4

Atlantian said:


> Now that someone else has said it, Atlanta with Arizona and Ottawa with Allen for this year



And just when I thought the Americans couldn't sink any lower.


----------



## NYRfan85

That would seem to line up with my prediction that Greenville is about to affiliate with Nashville/Milwaukee.


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

NYRfan85 said:


> That would seem to line up with my prediction that Greenville is about to affiliate with Nashville/Milwaukee.



that's not what was said... Greenville might land with an affiliation that's not currently affiliated.....


----------



## Atlantian

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> that's not what was said... Greenville might land with an affiliation that's not currently affiliated.....



I am thinking Greenville aligns with the Kings. They have been unofficially affiliated for several years


----------



## Adam Michaels




----------



## NYRfan85

Greenville just announced their new affiliation with LA/Ontario.
LA KINGS ANNOUNCE ECHL AFFILIATION WITH GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS


----------



## Adam Michaels

So that leaves the Allen Americans, Rapid City Rush, and Wichita Thunder without affiliates so far.

And there are 8 NHL teams without any ECHL affiliates: Washington, Winnipeg, San Jose, Ottawa, St. Louis, Vancouver, Calgary & Nashville.


Rapid City did confirm that on the 25th (Thursday), they will announce their new affiliate (my guess it'll be the Sens since their affiliation with the Gladiators has ended).


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Adam Michaels said:


> So that leaves the Allen Americans, Rapid City Rush, and Wichita Thunder without affiliates so far.
> 
> And there are 8 NHL teams without any ECHL affiliates: Washington, Winnipeg, San Jose, Ottawa, St. Louis, Vancouver, Calgary & Nashville.
> 
> 
> Rapid City did confirm that on the 25th (Thursday), they will announce their new affiliate (my guess it'll be the Sens since their affiliation with the Gladiators has ended).



why would Ottawa land in SD, Adam.... all indications are Rapid City aligns with Calgary and isn't Washington aligned with South Carolina?


----------



## jabberoski

Adam Michaels said:


> So that leaves the Allen Americans, Rapid City Rush, and Wichita Thunder without affiliates so far.
> 
> And there are 8 NHL teams without any ECHL affiliates: Washington, Winnipeg, San Jose, Ottawa, St. Louis, Vancouver, Calgary & Nashville.
> 
> 
> Rapid City did confirm that on the 25th (Thursday), they will announce their new affiliate (my guess it'll be the Sens since their affiliation with the Gladiators has ended).



Washington is affiliated with South Carolina


----------



## JMCx4

Adam Michaels said:


> ... And there are 8 NHL teams without any ECHL affiliates: Washington, Winnipeg, San Jose, Ottawa, St. Louis, Vancouver, Calgary & Nashville. ...



Some NHL/AHL organizations see no need for ECHL affiliates. There are other leagues available to develop prospects & park AHL players on rehab.


----------



## Adam Michaels

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> why would Ottawa land in SD, Adam.... all indications are Rapid City aligns with Calgary and isn't Washington aligned with South Carolina?




Correct about Washington and South Carolina. So that would leave 7 NHL teams without an affiliation.

The only reason my guess it's the Sens was because their affiliation with the Gladiators ended and maybe they already signed with another team as an affiliate. But it's just a guess.


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Adam Michaels said:


> Correct about Washington and South Carolina. So that would leave 7 NHL teams without an affiliation.
> 
> The only reason my guess it's the Sens was because their affiliation with the Gladiators ended and maybe they already signed with another team as an affiliate. But it's just a guess.



Washington has always been with Charleston aka SC after having Norfolk switch leagues twice, 1ST WHEN Chicago brought them up to the A, then the switch back after Anaheim brought hockey to San Diego, which is why Norfolk is the original Bakersfield franchise, then they switched to Richmond, before their collapse and that's how Washington has been with the Stingrays ever since.


----------



## jabberoski

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> Washington has always been with Charleston aka SC after having Norfolk switch leagues twice, 1ST WHEN Chicago brought them up to the A, then the switch back after Anaheim brought hockey to San Diego, which is why Norfolk is the original Bakersfield franchise, then they switched to Richmond, before their collapse and that's how Washington has been with the Stingrays ever since.



That's not true. The Capitals were affiliated with Reading for a brief spell in between there from 2012-14. They were with the Stingrays before that, and have been again since 2014.

June 2012 - Capitals Announce Affiliation Agreement with Reading Royals

June 2014 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...affiliation-with-echls-reading-royals-ending/


----------



## KKWG11

Allen has affiliated with Ottawa announcement tomorrow at 10am


----------



## Woo Hockey

KKWG11 said:


> Allen has affiliated with Ottawa announcement tomorrow at 10am


----------



## Agalloch

32-32-32.. Is it something that will happen in the future ?

Or ECHL will never have 32 teams ?


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Agalloch said:


> 32-32-32.. Is it something that will happen in the future ?
> 
> Or ECHL will never have 32 teams ?



28 or 29, and it also depends on how many of the non affiliated teams want to use the ECHL


----------



## Michael Smitley

CHRDANHUTCH said:


> 28 or 29, and it also depends on how many of the non affiliated teams want to use the ECHL



I could see ECHL trying to expand to San Antonio. I'm skeptical about the reports of Athens and Rio Rancho


----------



## Adam Michaels

Arizona makes it official


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Michael Smitley said:


> I could see ECHL trying to expand to San Antonio. I'm skeptical about the reports of Athens and Rio Rancho



not likely, SSE kept the Rampage in SA BECAUSE any potential ownership goes through SSE, either through the AT& T Center... SA is done after the Spurs sold their rights to Black Knight,(VGK) just like the WNBA Silver Stars are now under Marc Davis and Mandalay Bay as the LV Aces, and SSE has stated its core business is now the Spurs solely.... Athens depends on what Atlanta ACTUALLY does which hasn't been publically revealed yet, all we know is Atlanta's 20th year, and the lease is expiring.... WHAT other arena is there in San Antonio to bring hockey there after a 20 year run as the Rampage, the CHL doesn't exist anymore, it's the same as convincing a fanbase that's been in one league to embrace another league.... I just don't see San Antonio as a viable market now that SSE has moved on


----------



## Woo Hockey

Wichita -> San Jose


----------



## Adam Michaels

As @CHRDANHUTCH mentioned, Calgary has officially affiliated with Rapid City:


----------



## LadyStanley

Sharks Enter Affiliation Agreement With Wichita Thunder


The San Jose Sharks enter affiliation agreement with the ECHL's Wichita Thunder.




www.nhl.com





Sharks affiliate with Wichita


----------



## Woo Hockey

Nashville, St. Louis, Vancouver, and Winnipeg are the teams without affiliations currently.


----------



## JMCx4

Woo Hockey said:


> Wichita -> San Jose




Wichita never listens to me.


----------



## Adam Michaels

When was the last time every ECHL team was affiliated with an NHL team?


----------



## CHRDANHUTCH

Adam Michaels said:


> When was the last time every ECHL team was affiliated with an NHL team?



idk IF IT EVER really has fully gone affiliated the way the AHL Requires it under their bylaws, and for those claiming that Athens isn't there yet.... why would the ECHL list that market as starting in 2024


----------



## Woo Hockey

Adam Michaels said:


> When was the last time every ECHL team was affiliated with an NHL team?



2017-18 (Norfolk terminated affiliation with Nashville 1 month into the season) and 2021-22 every team had affiliates.


----------



## jabberoski

Adam Michaels said:


> When was the last time every ECHL team was affiliated with an NHL team?



This past season (21-22)


----------



## Jackets Woodchuck

Checking the AHL Transactions Logs, the only unofficial affiliation seems to be Nashville - Norfolk. Everyone else is using multiple teams without any discernible pattern.

The Abbotsford Transaction Log onply lists Wichita, but I know they have a guy in Kalamazoo, also. He was assigned before Opening Day rosters were set, so he doesn't show up.


----------



## Roadhog

Jackets Woodchuck said:


> Checking the AHL Transactions Logs, the only unofficial affiliation seems to be Nashville - Norfolk. Everyone else is using multiple teams without any discernible pattern.
> 
> The Abbotsford Transaction Log onply lists Wichita, but I know they have a guy in Kalamazoo, also. He was assigned before Opening Day rosters were set, so he doesn't show up.



WPG/MTB has 4 guys with Newfoundland again this year.


----------



## jabberoski

Roadhog said:


> WPG/MTB has 4 guys with Newfoundland again this year.



Manitoba also just sent a goalie to Kalamazoo the other day, and I believe they may have a player or two in Trois-Riveires as well.


----------



## Roadhog

jabberoski said:


> Manitoba also just sent a goalie to Kalamazoo the other day, and I believe they may have a player or two in Trois-Riveires as well.



A forward in T-R (Bilek), and a forward in Toledo (Nardi).


----------

