he good news keeps coming for the Bloomington Bison. In a press release today, it was announced that the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes have entered into a working agreement with the Bloomington Bison. This agreement is in addition to the Bison’s official affiliation with another NHL club. As reported at the end of May during a press conference at Grossinger Motors Arena, the expansion club is officially affiliated with the New York Rangers. Bison Chairman Jim Hallett stated that the club entered into a five-year agreement with the New York parent club. Today’s announcement will give the new Bloomington club increased access to NHL-scouted talent.
The agreement with the Hurricanes is possible because there are only 29 ECHL clubs, leaving three NHL teams without a double-A affiliate. According to Bison’s Larry McQueary, as of this writing, the Bloomington Bison are the only ECHL club that currently has agreements with two NHL teams. McQueary also stated that the Rangers and the Hurricanes could send up to 10 players to Bloomington. Typically, an ECHL club’s roster consists of 23-24 players, with only 20 dressing for a game.
In addition, McQueary shared that as of this morning, the Bison have sold just shy of 700 season tickets. Their goal is to reach 1,000 before the season begins. They have also recently started selling suites in the arena, which should help increase ticket sales quickly.
In other news, the team is developing a mascot for game days, and the much-anticipated jersey should be revealed to the public within the next few weeks. The Bison’s first and only preseason game is on October 12th against the Indy Fuel, before they officially kick off their season the following Saturday against the Toledo Walleye.
