Nashville Predators sign affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals
The Nashville Predators have found themselves a new ECHL affiliate in the Norfolk Admirals, beginning in the 2017-18 season.
Nashville announced on Thursday it had come to terms on an affiliation agreement with a new ECHL organization, the Norfolk Admirals. This is a less than surprising development as the Admirals president, Mike Santos, served as the Predators director of hockey operations from 2006-2010.
Director of hockey operations Brian Poile said, “The Nashville Predators are proud to partner with the Norfolk organization, who are guided by two great leaders in Mike Santos and Head Coach Robby Ftorek.”
Poile also commented on why the deal was a good one for Nashville to complete, “After a thorough process, the Nashville Predators are the perfect fit for the city of Norfolk and the Admirals,” Santos said. “Their proven history of community outreach, innovative marketing, player development and winning is everything Admirals fans demand of us.”
The Norfolk Admirals will serve as a development organization for Predators prospects and projects. The Nashville Predators official announcement on their team website stated that, since coming into the NHL, 35 Predators have played in the NHL. This list includes the likes of Tomas Vokoun, Vern Fiddler and Anthony Bitetto.
The Norfolk Admirals were founded in 1995, originally as a member of the WCHL. They were originally named the Bakersfield Fog, a name they kept from 1995 to 1998. They were then known as the Bakersfield Condors from 1998 to 2015. They have been known as the Norfolk Admirals since 2015.
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In the two seasons since becoming the Norfolk Admirals, they have gone 30-37-4-1 in the 2015-16 season and 26-40-6-0 record in the 2016-17 season. The current roster includes four NHL prospects; defenseman Dmitri Sergeyev of the St. Louis Blues, center Zach Pochiro and goaltender Eetu Laurikainen of the Edmonton Oilers, and goaltender Philippe DesRosiers of the Dallas Stars.
The Admirals were the former ECHL affiliates of the Edmonton Oilers.