The Kansas City Mavericks announced that they have extended their affiliation with the Calgary Flames and the Stockton Heat of the AHL through the 2018-19 season. This will be the Mavericks’ fifth season in the ECHL and their second with Calgary as an affiliate. Mavericks President and GM Brent Thiessen issued the following statement:
“We’re thrilled to continue building our relationship with the Flames and Heat. Partnering with the Flames’ organization allows us to maintain our momentum within the affiliation and work with a top-notch franchise with a build-from-the-bottom philosophy. The Mavericks and I look forward to year two of what we believe will be one of the premier partnerships in all of professional hockey.”
Not all NHL teams actively utilize their ECHL affiliates but that wasn’t the case in for Calgary as they had six different players suit up in both the AHL and ECHL in 2017-18 headlined by goaltending prospects Tyler Parsons and Mason MacDonald. With one of David Rittich or Jon Gillies expected to be back in the AHL next season, at least one of those two netminders is likely earmarked to spend a lot of time in Kansas City again in 2018-19.