The Rapid City Rush hockey team announced Thursday that they’re once again an affiliate team of the Arizona Coyotes.
This new agreement ties the Rush to the Coyotes organization for the next two-seasons, meaning Rapid City will act as a platform in the East Coast Hockey League for player prospects of Arizona.
Rapid City head coach Daniel Tetrault believes this affiliation is exciting to the players, coaches, and fans of the Rush.
"As a coach here in Rapid I’m looking forward to working with the process that they’re going to send down, get them ready, and develop them the best way possible to try make them move up to the American league and one day to the NHL, so it’s exciting as a coach as well," explained Rush Coach Tetrault.
Rapid City will now act as a building block for Arizona’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. From there, players can be called up to the NHL level with the Arizona Coyotes.
Coach Tetrault says the goal every year is to be an affiliate of an National Hockey League organization.
The Rush were previously affiliated with the Arizona Coyotes from 2015 to 2017 as well.
