Wings and Canucks Renew Affiliation

[chilly666]

Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Canucks President and General Manager Mike Gillis announced today that the Canucks have renewed their East Coast Hockey League affiliate deal with the Kalamazoo Wings.

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with the Kalamazoo Wings,” said Canucks President and General Manager Mike Gillis. “Kalamazoo is an organization that shares our level of commitment to success and we will continue to work together to provide our players opportunities to further develop themselves on and off the ice.”

The K-Wings were 2009.10, 2010.11, and 2011.12 champions of the ECHL’s North Division.

"Our working relationship with Vancouver has been beneficial on and off the ice," said K-Wings General Manager Jim Burlew. “By adding the Chicago Wolves, we not only have another organization that is dedicated to winning, but we have an AHL partner that is only two hours away.”

The K-Wings originally played in the International Hockey League (IHL) from 1974 through 1999 before joining the United Hockey League (UHL) from 2000 to 2006. The K-Wings entered the newly re-established IHL from 2007 to 2009 before most recently joining the ECHL to start the 2009.10 season.

With renewal of this agreement, it marks the tenth occasion that the K-Wings have had an NHL affiliation and the second ECHL season with Vancouver, who Kalamazoo was affiliated with from 1984-87 when the K-Wings were a member of the IHL.

The K-Wings currently play in the North Division where they have finished first overall in the past three seasons. Four teams comprise the North Division including Kalamazoo, as well as the Toledo Walleye, Chicago Express and Cincinnati Cyclones.