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Canucks extend affiliation agreement with Kalamazoo Wings

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Utica, N.Y. – Vancouver Canucks General Manager Jim Benning announced today that the Kalamazoo Wings have signed a two-year agreement to be the ECHL affiliate of the Canucks and Utica Comets for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

 

"We are excited to continue our partnership with the Kalamazoo Wings as our ECHL affiliate," said Canucks General Manager Jim Benning. "Kalamazoo is an established hockey city and provides a great environment for our prospects to further develop their game."

 

“I am proud of the relationship we have built with the Kalamazoo Wings and head coach Nick Bootland and I, along with the rest of our organization, look forward to building on that foundation,” said Comets president Robert Esche. “It is of the upmost importance that we continue to work together to build a synergistic path of growth from the ECHL to the AHL and up to the NHL in Vancouver.”

 

The upcoming season will be the third since the two teams renewed their affiliation prior to the 2017-18 season, and 11th season overall that the Wings and Canucks have been in partnership (1984-87, 2011-15, 2017-present).

 

Since the K-Wings renewed their affiliation with the Canucks and Comets prior to the 2017-18 season ten different players have played for both Kalamazoo and Utica. Additionally, five other K-Wings attended training camp with the Comets last season.

 

“We’re thrilled to extend our affiliation with the Canucks and Comets,” said K-Wings head coach and director of hockey operations Nick Bootland. “The relationship with Vancouver and Utica has been great. We’re looking forward to continuing to help develop their prospects, while bolstering our lineup. It’s exciting to continue to partner with an organization that values and supports the development of its players and the culture that we’ve established in Kalamazoo.”

 

The 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 joining the ECHL to start the 2009-10 season.

 

This season, Kalamazoo will compete in the Central Division of the Western Conference in the ECHL, which features the Wings, as well as the Cincinnati Cyclones, Fort Wayne Komets, Indy Fuel, Toledo Walleye, and Wheeling Nailers.

 

The K-Wings were ECHL North Division champions in 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2013-14 and Western Conference champions in 2010-11.

http://www.uticacomets.com/news/detail/canucks-extend-affiliation-agreement-with-kalamazoo

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Lancaster Canucks First-Line

Lancaster

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11 minutes ago, HerrDrFunk said:

Nice!

 

Just curious though, has any player ever worked their way up from Kalamazoo to the Canucks? I know Burrows worked his way up from the ECHL but it wasn't with Kalamazoo. 

Not for the Canucks, but Jordan Binnington played in Kalamazoo back in 2014

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Baer. Canucks Franchise Player

Baer.

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16 minutes ago, HerrDrFunk said:

Nice!

 

Just curious though, has any player ever worked their way up from Kalamazoo to the Canucks? I know Burrows worked his way up from the ECHL but it wasn't with Kalamazoo. 

Darren Archibald, Alexander Grenier, Evan McEneny, Yann Sauve, Alex Friesen.

 

Yanni Gourde is a notable name as well. Curtis Valk played one game for Florida. Binnington already mentioned.

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Fanuck Canucks First-Line

Fanuck

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Solid news.

This is about organizational stability.

While players don't often go from the ECHL to the NHL they transfer between the ECHL/AHL regularly thereby solidifying one of the franchises main developmental components  (Utica), with a supporting framework. 

 

 

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logic Canucks Third-Line

logic

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good news, stability is crucial in development, not having a farm like Utica for many many years really hurt our prospect pool during the era of terrible drafting. Glad to see we have a good working relationship with our farm clubs now.

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DeNiro Canucks Hall-of-Famer

DeNiro

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20 minutes ago, logic said:

good news, stability is crucial in development, not having a farm like Utica for many many years really hurt our prospect pool during the era of terrible drafting. Glad to see we have a good working relationship with our farm clubs now.

I’ve said it before but I like this current organizations management of our prospects.

 

Every player should be evaluated individually. Sometimes it’s beneficial to leave a player over in Europe for longer, sometimes it’s better to get them over to NA sooner. Leaving players in NCAA for an extra season rather than forcing them to go pro before they’re ready is also smart.

 

The more options we have for a players development the better. There’s no shame in a player going to the ECHL if that’s what they need. Sometimes it’s necessary for a player to regain their confidence and reset at a lower level.

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