Habs77 Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 LIGHTNING ENTER INTO AGREEMENT WITH AHL'S HAMILTON BULLDOGS; RENEW AFFILIATION WITH ECHL'S PENSACOLA ICE PILOTS TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning have entered into an agreement with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League and have renewed their affiliation agreement with the Pensacola Ice Pilots of the East Coast Hockey League, Executive Vice President & General Manager Jay Feaster announced. The agreement with Hamilton allows the Lightning to place as many as four players with the Bulldogs, who have a primary affiliation with the Montreal Canadiens. The Lightning previously entered into an affiliation agreement for next season with Hershey of the AHL, allowing the team to place up to six players with the Bears. The Springfield Falcons had served as the Lightning's sole AHL affiliate the past two seasons. "We are extremely pleased to be working with Montreal and the Hamilton organization," Feaster said. "Having spent many years in the American Hockey League, I am quite familiar with the city of Hamilton and the passionate hockey fans who have supported the Bulldogs. Our players will develop in a first-class environment both on and off the ice, and having an experienced pro such as Doug Jarvis coaching our players is an added plus. We look forward to a mutually rewarding relationship with the Hamilton and Montreal organizations." Tampa Bay can place an unlimited number of players with Pensacola, which has served as the Lightning's secondary affiliate the past two seasons. "Pensacola has been a great spot for us in the ECHL the past two seasons, and with Todd Gordon returning for his third season as coach, it was a very easy decision for us," Feaster said. "We value Todd's commitment and dedication to the players and to the team concept, and we are equally excited about working with the new ownership group including both Tim Kerr and Frank Milne. At the same time, we have started to develop a loyal Lightning fan base in the Pensacola area, so we are very pleased to continue our excellent working relationship with the Ice Pilots and their fans." The Lightning have had previous affiliations with Atlanta of the IHL (1992-96), Adirondack of the AHL (shared with the Detroit Red Wings, 1996-98), Cleveland of the IHL (1998-99), Detroit of the IHL (1999-2001) and Springfield of the AHL (shared with the Phoenix Coyotes, 2001-2003). The Lightning have also had secondary affiliations with Johnstown, Toledo, Chesapeake, Nashville and Knoxville of the ECHL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAussiePosse Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 I'd like: Andreas Holmqvist Kristian Kudroc Alexander Svitov Alexander Polushin :ghg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 Well, Kudroc's no longer with the team as he was signed by Florida in July, and Polushin hasn't been signed yet. My 4 picks would have to be: Andreas Holmqvist Jean-François Soucy Gerard Dicaire One of Nikita Alexeev/Sheldon Keefe/Alexander Svitov (2 of these players were always with the Lightning last season, while the other was in the minors.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAussiePosse Posted August 2, 2003 Share Posted August 2, 2003 Oops. Trust HF not to have updated yet. But no matter, we should be stronger. I guess this also means we don't have to sign too many prospects (ie Dagenais and Damphousse) to make up for a lack in numbers. Can't wait to see who they send over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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