The ECHL has announced that they have approved the transfer of controlling interest of the Iowa Heartlanders from Decon Sports and Entertainment to Heartlanders Hockey LLC, an entity controlled by Michael Devlin. Devlin is the current lead owner of the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers. He graduated from Boston College, where he played Rugby. Throughout the past two seasons, the Heartlanders have been at the bottom of the league in attendance and, in both seasons, have finished 13th out of 14th in the Western Conference.
Michael Devlin/ECHL Press Release
“I am honored to join the Heartlanders family and help build a rich hockey culture in our community. My top goal is to create a winning environment to make our fans proud. Additionally, we plan to continue to deepen the already strong connection the Heartlanders have forged in this community with their fans and partners. We are committed to working closely with businesses in the community and offering them beneficial and unique opportunities to create a strong brand presence for the Heartlanders. Together, we can build a prosperous and thriving hockey culture in eastern Iowa.
One of the changes that comes along with the change of controlling interest is that the Heartlanders can now make trades with and put waiver claims in on players from the Newfoundland Growlers and Trois Rivieres Lions. Teams that are owned by the same people aren’t allowed to trade with each other or put in waiver claims from their perspective clubs (Newfound and Trois Rivieres are both owned by Decon Sports and Entertainment, Greenville and Rapid City are both owned by Spire Sports Entertainment, and Jacksonville and Savannah are both owned by Zawyer Sports).
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