ORLANDO, FLA – The current off season has been a long one for Orlando Solar Bears fans. The folks in these parts are used to the heat and humidity, not to mention the drawn-out process of announcements for playing signings. This year however was different because there was one thing that they were not accustomed to: not knowing who their NHL and AHL affiliates were.
The weeks and months of waiting, which at times became as intense as the noonday sun, were finally settled on Monday afternoon when the news they longed to hear finally arrived.
In a joint press release, the Solar Bears and the Tampa Bay Lightning announced a three-year agreement that will turn Orlando into the Lightning’s ECHL affiliate. It also means that the Solar Bears will be working with the Bolts’ AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Tampa and Syracuse are currently in the middle of a six-year deal that will run through the 2021-2022 season.
“We are thrilled to be able to announce our new affiliation with the Lightning,” Solar Bears president Chris Heller said in the release. “This relationship will not only aid in our on-ice performance, but will also help strengthen the profile of ice hockey throughout Central Florida.”
The relationship will begin with a huge bang on Thursday, September 27th when the Lightning play a preseason game at the Amway Center in Orlando against the Florida Panthers. It will be the second time the two in-state rivals will have met in the middle, the first coming way back in 1996. Tickets for that game will go on sale next week.
One might think that a link between two hockey cities where the driving distance is 84.7 miles (77 miles as the crow flies) would be a natural. At one time, early in the existence of the Lightning, it was. During the 1993-94 season, Tampa played a handful of neutral site “home” games at the Orlando Arena to try to take advantage of the closeness. That was followed in 1996 with a preseason game between the Lightning and Florida in the City Beautiful. It wasn’t until September of 2013 that Tampa returned to Central Florida for a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues at the Amway Center.
In the interim, Orlando saw the establishment of the IHL Solar Bears, which included a Turner Cup championship in the last season of the original incarnation of the league in 2001. They were followed by the ACHL/WHA2 Orlando Seals, who won the ACHL title. Later the Seals moved to Kissimmee and re-branded as the Florida Seals in the then-fledgling SPHL before closing up shop mid-season of the 2005-06 campaign.
The ECHL Solar Bears began their existence in 2012 and since that time, they have made the playoffs in four of the six full seasons played. Fans have only known two NHL affiliates, the Minnesota Wild – who were the first affiliate and stayed for two seasons – and the Toronto Maple Leafs. After the 2013-14 season where Minnesota and Toronto shared Orlando, the Wild left, leaving the Maple Leafs as the sole affiliate.
Both the Wild and Leafs provided hockey fans in Orlando with glimpses of the future as each sent players to the Solar Bears who eventually saw time in the NHL. John Curry and Darcy Kuemper (Minnesota) were the first two to make it to the “show”. They were followed by Garret Sparks, Chris Gibson (with New York Islanders) and Jack Rodewald (with Ottawa) who were assigned to the Solar Bears by Toronto.
Ironically the most well known player to hit the Amway ice and the bright lights of the NHL was Ryan Reaves. During the NHL lockout in 2012, Reaves signed with the Solar Bears to keep himself ready for the end of the lockout. His time in Orlando was short but fans never forgot him and were more than pleased to see him playing in last season’s Stanley Cup final as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Tampa’s ECHL affiliation history is considerably more lengthy. Dating back to the 1992-93 campaign, they have had 13 double-A agreements. The list included two tours with the Johnstown Chiefs (2000-01, 2004-07) and stints with the Louisville Icehawks (1992-93), Knoxville Cherokees (1993-94), Nashville Knights (1994-96), Chesapeake Icebreakers (1997-98), Pensacola Ice Pilots (2001-04), Mississippi Sea Wolves (2007-08), Augusta Lynx (2008-09) and Kalamazoo Wings (2016-17).
When the Solar Bears entered the ECHL, the Lightning were affiliated with the Florida Everblades as part of a stretch that ran from 2010-13. Last season, Tampa had a secondary agreement with the Adirondack Thunder, who were officially affiliated with the New Jersey Devils. It was a logical choice as the Thunder, who play in Glens Falls, New York, were geographically close to Tampa’s AHL affiliate in Syracuse.
The new ice surface at the RDV Sportsplex Ice Den complete with Tampa logo (Photo courtesy of RDV Sportsplex Ice Den)
In announcing the new agreement, both sides were extremely complimentary of the other’s success.
“We are extremely happy to welcome the Orlando Solar Bears into the Lightning organization today,” Tampa vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman said in the joint release. “The Solar Bears organization has demonstrated a strong commitment to success that has paid off with numerous playoff appearances. We look forward to being a part of their future accomplishments while also developing our prospects in a world class environment.”
Said Orlando Magic chairman Dan DeVos, who is the Solar Bears owner: “This is a great day for the Orlando Solar Bears. We couldn’t be more excited to form this partnership with a model franchise like the Tampa Bay Lightning.”
Alex Martins, CEO of the Magic, was equally as positive about the new partnership.
“We are incredibly excited for this new partnership affiliation with the Tampa Bay Lightning,” Martins said. “The Lightning is a first-class organization with tremendous values and vision and we feel very fortunate to have this opportunity to be a part of their hockey family.”
With the fan bases in both Tampa and Orlando now linked together by more than just interstate roadway, the possibilities of where this affiliation can go both on and off the ice seem to be limitless.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
Follow the author on Twitter @phnsingleaedit or @progockeynews
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