Evansville's hockey team joins forces with Blues and AHL Peoria Rivermen, becomes one of only five ECHL teams with dual affiliations
In another major step forward since their recent move to the ECHL, the Evansville IceMen announced earlier today that they have added a second NHL affiliation, this time with the St. Louis Blues and the Blues' AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen.
“We’re happy to be able to establish this relationship with the St. Louis Blues and Peoria Rivermen by entering into this affiliation agreement,” said Rich Kromm, IceMen head coach and general manager. “We were presented this opportunity with the Blues and it seemed a natural fit for our club, our fans and our community; especially considering that St. Louis and Peoria are so close to us geographically. The Blues have always been a strong organization with an outstanding history. The IceMen are delighted to now have two excellent working partnerships with Columbus and now St. Louis.”
“We are very excited to begin a new relationship with Evansville as they join the ECHL,” said Blues assistant general manager Kevin MacDonald. “They have a first class facility and we are thrilled to have our prospects be coached by someone who played in the NHL and has such an established coaching career. This is a great opportunity to have our players in close proximity to both the NHL and American League cities where we can monitor their progress on a consistent basis.”
Through this newly-formed Evansville/St. Louis connection, the IceMen take their place as the Premier AA member of the Blues’ system which also includes the Peoria Rivermen of the AAA American Hockey League (AHL).
The IceMen (Columbus/St. Louis) join only four other ECHL member clubs that will operate with dual NHL affiliations: Cincinnati (Florida/Nashville), Florida Everblades (Carolina/Tampa Bay), Toledo (Chicago/Detroit) and Wheeling (Montreal/Pittsburgh).
COMMENTARY: As the IceMen are now part of the Blues family, and with Evansville rapidly becoming known as a hockey town, it will be interesting to see if Evansville now gets a St. Louis Blues radio affiliate. KMOX-1120 AM in St. Louis is the Blues' flagship station and, while it can be heard in much of the Tri-State after dark, I agree with reader Northov_Henderson, who wrote earlier this morning, "It's high time that Evansville has a radio station carrying the St. Louis Blues radio network." The IceMen, of course, have their own radio network here in the Tri-State, which is headed up by WEOA-1400 AM. We'll see what happens.
Information for this story was provided by the Evansville IceMen.
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