AHL Expanding to Colorado Next Season

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.–The American Hockey League announced that it will expand to Colorado for the 2018-19 season. The Colorado Eagles will be the primary development affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche, and will play in the AHL’s Pacific Division. The Eagles’ home rink will be at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colo. The new franchise will increase the AHL’s membership to 31 teams for the first time in league history.

In fact, the Eagles are not a new team, having been founded in 2003. They have won three league championships, as members of the Central Hockey League (in 2005 and 2007) and the ECHL (2017). The Avalanche’s current AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, who are currently the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate, will be affiliated with the St. Louis Blues beginning in the 2018-19 campaign.

In operation since 1936, the AHL serves as the top developmental league for all 31 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of today’s NHL players are AHL graduates, and more than 100 members of the Hockey Hall of Fame played in the AHL.

—Staff Reports