The Utah Hockey Club has signed an affiliation agreement with the Allen Americans for the 2024-25 season.
There's a lot of excitement in the Salt Lake City area these days, with the inaugural season of the Utah Hockey Club fast approaching.
On Wednesday, the Allen Americans announced they have signed a one-year agreement with Utah Hockey Club to become its ECHL affiliate.
Since joining the ECHL in the 2014-15 season, the Americans have been affiliated with four NHL teams: the San Jose Sharks, Minnesota Wild, Seattle Kraken and Ottawa Senators.
During their time in the Central Hockey League, the Americans had working relationships with the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.
"We would like to thank Utah Hockey Club for their new affiliation with us," Americans Majority Owner La Sonjia Jack said in a statement. "We believe this new partnership will help us succeed in delivering an exciting and winning product on the ice in Allen in front of our great fan base. We look forward to strengthening our franchise with the talent our new affiliates have in their pipeline."
Utah, who has an affiliation agreement with the AHL's Tucson Roadrunners, will open the season October 8 at home against the Chicago Blackhawks in a nationally televised game on ESPN. They will be gaining an affiliate that has missed the playoffs only once since entering the ECHL, winning back-to-back Kelly Cups in 2015 and 2016.
"The Americans are a first-class organization with a passionate fan base and a reputation of winning," John Ferguson, Utah Hockey Club's assistant general manager who also serves as GM of the Roadrunners, said in a statement. "We look forward to working with Americans ownership, Myles and La Sonjia Jack, this season."
Training camp for the Americans will get underway in October, with their home opening weekend October 25 and 26 against the Western Division Champion Kansas City Mavericks.
The new partnership is an intriguing one. The Americans compete in the Mountain Division of the Western Conference, the same division as the Utah Grizzlies. The two clubs will square off a total of eight times during the 2024-25 season, with their first meeting taking place November 1 at the Mavrik Center in West Valley City.
That's about 10 miles from Salt Lake City, so hockey fans in Utah will now have a double dose of action to look forward to this season.