The Bloomington Bison will serve as the ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers for the 2024-25 season, the team announced at a special event on Thursday.
The Bloomington Bison will serve as the ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers for the 2024-25 season, the team announced at a special event on Thursday.
The Bloomington Bison were introduced as the ECHL's 30th team in January. On Thursday, the franchise named Phillip Barski the team's first head coach.
The announcement was made at a special event at Grossinger Motors Arena, where the Bison will play all its home games for the 2024-25 season.
Barski, 44, spent the last two seasons with the OHL's Barrie Colts as an assistant coach in his first year before being promoted to associate coach in the second. Prior to that, the Richmond Hill, Ontario, native served as an assistant coach for the ECHL's Greenville Swamp Rabbits for two seasons.
"I am honored and excited to be named head coach and general manager of the Bloomington Bison," said Barski. "Starting a new team in a city with such enthusiasm for hockey is a tremendous opportunity. I’d like to thank Jim Hallett for this incredible opportunity. And in the short time that I have gotten to know Larry McQueary with the Bison and Ryan Martin with the Rangers and his staff I feel tremendously honored to be surrounded by such incredible people. Together, we will strive for excellence on and off the ice."
The Bison became the latest team to fill its head coaching vacancy, following South Carolina (Jared Nightingale), Reading (Jason Binkley), and Tahoe (Alex Loh). This leaves only the Worcester Railers without a bench boss.
As part of the special event, Bloomington also announced they will serve as ECHL affiliates for the New York Rangers, who were previously affiliated with the Cincinnati Cyclones, with the AHL's Hartford Wolfpack providing a direct link between the Bison and Rangers.
“This affiliation with such a celebrated franchise as the New York Rangers brings a new level of excitement and prestige to Bloomington,” said City Manager Jeff Jurgens. “We look forward to the positive impact this partnership will have on the City and the electrifying hockey it will bring to Grossinger Motors Arena.”
The Bison will soon learn their 2024-25 opponents. The ECHL will release the full schedule on Tuesday, June 4.