New York Rangers Announce Cincinnati Cyclones as New ECHL Affiliate

The New York Rangers announced this morning that they have named the Cincinnati Cyclones as their ECHL affiliate. This is the third different team the Rangers have been affiliated with in the past four seasons. During the past two seasons, the Rangers were affiliated with the Jacksonville Icemen, and before that, they were affiliated with the Maine Mariners for three seasons. Jacksonville is expected to name its new NHL affiliate on July 17th. Cincinnati has spent the last six years previously affiliated with the Buffalo Sabres. Geographically speaking, it won’t be as easy to transfer players between Cincinnati and Hartford, who’s the Ranger’s AHL affiliate. In a press release by the Cyclones, “We’re elated and honored to be entering an affiliation with the New York Rangers,” said Cyclones Team President Ray Harris. “The Rangers bring with them a deep tradition of excellence on and off the ice. Our teams are united and share the common goal of developing players within a winning culture. We know this is the right move for our organization to help return a championship back to Cincinnati.”