Uniting Colorado Hockey
Photo: Colorado Eagles
By Richard Gonzalez
Loveland, Colo.–The American Hockey League board of Governors have approved the Colorado Eagles to become the 31st AHL team in the league. The Eagles will be the Colorado Avalanche’s new AHL affiliate team beginning in the 2018/2019 season. The previous AHL team, the San Antonio Rampage, will be the new affiliate of the St. Louis Blues also taking place in the 2018/2019 season.
“This is an exciting day for our organization. What better way to develop your players than 50 miles up the road,” Said Joe Sakic per the Avalanche’s Twitter page.
The Eagles will be in the Pacific Division of the AHL. The Pacific Division includes the Bakersfield Condors, Ontario Reign, San Antonio Rampage, San Jose Barracuda, Stockton Heat, Texas Stars, and Tucson Roadrunners. The Eagles were part of the Central Hockey League’s 2003 expansion and were founded by former Montreal Canadians player Ralph Backstrom. The Eagles won the Ray Miron President’s Cup in their second season, 2004/2005, and won the Championship again in the 2006/2007.
On May 31, 2011, the Eagles officially announced they would become part of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and an affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets and AHL’s St. John’s Icecaps. The Calgary Flames and Adirondack Flames(AHL) would become the second team the Eagles would be affiliates to for the start of 2014/2015 season.
On July 20, 2016, the Eagles announced a four-year deal to become the Colorado Avalanche and San Antonio Rampage’s affiliate. The Eagles would go on to win the Kelly Cup Championship in their first season as being part of the Avalanche’s affiliate.
The Eagles will continue to play at the Budweiser Events Center located in Loveland Colo, which is approximately 50 miles away from Pepsi Center. The Arena seats approximately 7,200 people.
“Next year we’re bringing the second-best hockey league to Northern Colorado. People should be very excited for this,” General Manager Chris Stewart said per the Eagles’ Twitter page.
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October 10th, 2017
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