Aces Announce Affiliation with St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild
Published on September 9, 2014 under ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Alaska Aces of the ECHL have reached a one year affiliation agreement with the St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League for the 2014-15 season, Aces managing member Terry Parks announced today in conjunction with the Blues and Wild.
"It's an exciting day to finalize an agreement with two NHL teams who are committed with their direction to prospect development," said Parks. "The familiarity of the Blues organization and development structure, along with the geography of Minnesota's farm system were very attractive opportunities. We're proud to enter this as a development partner of two esteemed NHL clubs."
"We are excited to renew our affiliation with the Alaska Aces," said Blues Assistant General Manager Kevin McDonald. "They are a first class organization with a long track record of success and we're looking forward to working with Terry Parks and Rob Murray."
"We are excited to announce a new affiliation agreement with the Alaska Aces," said Jim Mill, Minnesota Wild Director of Minor League Operations and Iowa Wild General Manager. "The Aces have enjoyed tremendous success in the ECHL, winning three Kelly Cup Championships in the last nine seasons including this past season, and will provide the Minnesota Wild organization with another outstanding option to develop our players. Aces head coach Rob Murray has enjoyed tremendous success at every level of professional hockey and we look forward to working with him and the Alaska Aces organization."
Alaska will serve as the minor league affiliate for Blues and Wild prospects at the premier 'AA' hockey league level, a partnership which includes Minnesota's American Hockey League affiliation with the Iowa Wild.
The partnership renews an affiliation between the Aces and Blues that previously lasted seven seasons (2005-12) with the Aces winning two Kelly Cup championships and making three Kelly Cup Finals appearances during that span. Additionally, several players who suited up for the Aces during that time of the affiliation advanced to make their debut in the NHL, including Chris Beckford-Tseu, Chris Holt, Ryan Reaves, Zack Fitzgerald, Tomas Kana, and Anthony Peluso. Currently, Reaves has 194 games of NHL experience with St. Louis.
The Blues, a member of the NHL since 1967, have advanced to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in four of the last five seasons and were led behind the bench for parts of three seasons (2009-12) by head coach Davis Payne, who served as head coach of the Aces from 2003-07. Former Aces head coach Brent Thompson also served in the Blues minor league system as a coach and spent the previous two seasons behind the bench as assistant coach for the New York Islanders.
"Serving as a partner of two respected NHL clubs with tremendous personnel is a terrific opportunity," said Aces head coach Rob Murray. "We're returning to a mutually beneficial relationship with history in the Blues, while gaining committed partners in the Minnesota and Iowa Wild. It's our goal to provide every resource possible to maximize prospect development and we're extremely excited, moving forward with these affiliations."
Minnesota enters its 14th season of play in the NHL, advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the past two seasons. During last season's playoffs, former ECHL goaltender Darcy Kuemper (Ontario, Orlando) earned three wins with the Wild in a first round defeat of the Colorado Avalanche. The Wild sold out 409 consecutive games (preseason, regular season and playoffs) through its first ten years and last season also ranked sixth in league attendance.
The Aces have sold out 26 games at Sullivan Arena and nine of 11 all-time home games in the Kelly Cup Finals. Their three Kelly Cup championships are tied for the ECHL record, shared with South Carolina.
The Aces will face the Indy Fuel in a two-game, preseason series at Sullivan Arena starting Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 7:15 p.m. and will unveil their third Kelly Cup championship banner on Opening Night at 7:15 p.m., on Friday, Oct. 17 against the Ontario Reign.
Aces training camp information will be announced soon.
For Kelly Cup championship merchandise, 2014-15 season tickets, corporate sponsorship packages, and more information, please call 907-258-ACES. The Aces can also be visited on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/alaskaaceshockey.
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
