Arizona Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney announced today that the Coyotes have signed a one-year affiliation agreement with the Rapid City Rush of the ECHL.
“We are excited to partner with the Rapid City Rush as our new ECHL affiliate,” said Maloney. “The Rush are a first class organization with a very passionate fan base. We look forward to a great partnership.”
“This is a very important day for the Rapid City Rush organization,” said Joe Ferras, General Manager/Head Coach of the Rapid City Rush. “We are thrilled to be entering into an affiliation agreement with two first-class organizations in the Arizona Coyotes and Springfield Falcons. The ECHL is a very important part in the development of players for both NHL and AHL teams. Our fans will see a younger team with prospects that will graduate to the American Hockey League and hopefully play at the NHL level.”
Rapid City is entering its second season in the ECHL and plays its home games at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, S.D. The Rush is one of 28 teams that compete in the ECHL and play in the West Division of the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 2008 and won the CHL Championship in 2009-10.
Joe Ferras enters his eighth season as head coach of the Rush and has posted a record of 231-158-39.
The Sin Bin’s Matthew Harding spoke with Mark Binetti of the Rapid City Rush about what the affiliation means for the fans and team moving forward:
http://audio.thesinbin.net/interviews/2015/mark_binetti_08-11-15.mp3