So as we approach this up coming hockey season I started thinking about how NHL expansion would affect the lower leagues like AHL and the ECHL. I am not sure if any one paid attention but the AHL has only 30 teams, and the ECHL 27. Now this creates a shortage of affiliations at the AHL level for NHL teams to develop their players. So what's going to happen? Who is out in the cold? well really no team will be left out per say. Many would say that Las Vegas has to find an affiliate, well they have. The Chicago Wolves will be the Golden Knights farm team for the up coming 2017-18 season. Fans of the St. Louis blues would say "wait a minute that's our farm team". Nope they are going to develop their players in Texas with the San Antonio Rampage. This leaves Colorado Avalanche fans scratching their heads wondering where their farm hands are off to. The answer is San Antonio........until the 2018-19 season when they will convert their ECHL club (Colorado Eagles) to the AHL. So yes for this one season the Blues and Avalanche players will be on the same ice wearing the same uniforms. The sharing of a team is nothing new, it happens in the ECHL all the time. Most recently the Blackhawks and Red Wings had players on the Toledo Walleyes until the Blackhawks invested in the Indy Fuel (Indianapolis Indiana). What about the ECHL? well they continue to shuffle the deck 1 team relocating from Evansville to Jacksonville, the Missouri team dropped Missouri and picked up Kansas City, The Alaska Aces....Fold, Portland is on the way in 2018-19 (no name yet) and Worchester now has a club. So back to San Antonio Rampage if you get to Vegas place a wager for the Rampage to win the Calder Cup. And now back to my Meds.
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