GREENVILLE , S.C. – The Greenville Road Warriors have announced the signing of not one, but two affiliation agreements with NHL clubs. The first affiliation signed and announced on August 12, 2010, was with the NHL New York Rangers and their AHL club, the Hartford Wolf Pack. The Rangers organization had been affiliated with the ECHL Charlotte Checkers for the past 16 seasons, sending the team the likes of Dan Girardi, Jason LaBarbera, Richard Scott, Eric Cairns, and Johan Holmqvist, all of whom have spent time in the NHL. “I have personally seen the players New York has sent down to Charlotte in the past,” said Road Warriors Head Coach Dean Stork. “They send young, focused players that want to play the game and make that move up to the next level.” The affiliation agreement was a fairly obvious choice for both sides, as Neil Smith, present owner and general manager of the Road Warriors, had been the Rangers President and General Manager from 1989 to 2000, winning the Stanley Cup in 1994, along with the AHL Calder Cup in 2000, when the Hartford Wolf Pack were champions. The second agreement, announced on August 16, 2010, was with one of the Rangers’ NHL rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers and their AHL club, the Adirondack Phantoms. Last season, the Flyers captured their eighth conference championship as part of a dramatic run to the team’s first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1997. “ Philadelphia is definitely a top notch organization,” said Stork. “Like the Rangers, they send players who are eager to learn this game and move up to next level.” “To be affiliated with the Philadelphia Flyers and Adirondack Phantoms will greatly enhance what it means to be a member of the Greenville Road Warriors. The Flyers are committed to winning at every level. We hope to help them with that commitment, by developing their future AHL and NHL players,” said Smith. Dean Stork has started extremely well in building his team, as the Road Warriors add players from completed trade acquisitions and free agent signings. With those players, in addition to those the Rangers and the Flyers will send Greenville’s way, the Road Warriors should have a solid roster and turn some heads in their first season of play in the ECHL. Contact the writer at Ryan.Kouvolo@prohockeynews.com
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