ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Sign Affiliation Agreement With NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets for the 2009-10 season

Published on August 25, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


The Gwinnett Gladiators announced today that they have signed an affiliation agreement with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League and the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.

During the Gladiators first six seasons, Gwinnett has fielded 114 call ups to the American Hockey League and the National Hockey League. Players from the Gladiators have been directly called up to 21 different American Hockey League teams and one National Hockey League team while Gwinnett has served as the ECHL affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers and the Chicago Blackhawks.

"We are very excited to add Gwinnett as our ECHL partner for this upcoming season," said Blue Jackets Assistant General Manager Chris MacFarland. "Developing players is crucial to the long term success of any hockey organization, and we feel very comfortable that Gwinnett will be a great place for our young players to develop and gain valuable professional experience."

For the seventh consecutive season, the Gladiators will also continue to serve as the ECHL affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers and the Chicago Wolves.

Began in 1988-89 with five teams playing in four states, the Premier 'AA' Hockey League has grown into a coast-to-coast league that is the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League. The ECHL averaged 4,174 per game last season, marking the fourth year in row and the 16th time in the last 18 years that the league has averaged over 4,000 fans. The league has drawn over four million fans each of the last five years and 11 times in the past 12 seasons.

The Gwinnett Gladiators open their 7th season in the ECHL in October of 2009 - season ticket packages for the 2009-10 season are on sale now. In addition, the Gladiators offer several unique multi-game ticket packages as well as discounted group rates, suite rentals, and birthday parties. For more information call 770-497-5100 or log on to gwinnettgladiators.com.

The Gladiators are the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers and Chicago Blackhawks and play all home games at the spectacular 11,355-seat Arena at Gwinnett Center, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, where parking is always free.

Check out the Atlanta Gladiators Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from August 25, 2009


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.

OurSports Central