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Norfolk Admirals come to affiliation agreement with Winnipeg Jets

By Ian Oland

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August 26, 2023 3:34 pm

The ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals announced on Friday that they have entered an affiliation agreement with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets and AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Terms of the deal were not announced.

The Admirals are Virginia’s only top-tier professional hockey team and play at the Norfolk Scope.

“We are excited to begin our partnership with the Norfolk Admirals,” Craig Heisinger, senior assistant general manager of the Winnipeg Jets, said in a statement. “The city of Norfolk and the Admirals franchise have a rich hockey history and we look forward to the opportunity that this affiliation will provide for our prospects.”

“Last year, our organization made a concerted, positive transformation to our on and off-ice product that our incredible city and fanbase has been desperate for,” Jeff Carr, general manager and head coach of the Norfolk Admirals, added. “This affiliation helps us build a solid base as we continue to ascend into our new culture.”

Per the release, Winnipeg becomes the eighth NHL affiliate in Norfolk Admirals’ franchise history. When the team was known as the Hampton Roads Admirals, they were the ECHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals from 1991-2000. Capitals’ great Olie Kolzig made 35 combined appearances for the Admirals in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.

While the Jets and their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, play in the same building at Canada Life Centre, the clubs’ new affiliation agreement with Norfolk will see its prospects play 1,800 miles away or a seven-plus hour flight on the East Coast.

Norfolk is coming off affiliate agreements with the Edmonton Oilers (2015-2017), Nashville Predators (2017-2018), Arizona Coyotes (2018-2019), and the Carolina Hurricanes (2021-2023). The team did not play in 2020-21 due to the COVID pandemic.

The Admirals will open the 2023-24 season on Friday, October 20 against the Savannah Ghost Pirates. Their home opener will take place on Wednesday, October 25 when the Admirals take on the Worcester Railers.

Norfolk finished last in the ECHL’s North Division last season, finishing the year with a 21-46-2-3 record.

Headline photo courtesy of the Norfolk Admirals

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