“We are excited to add the ECHL’s Quad City Mallards as an affiliate,” said Vegas Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee. “We believe that between the Mallards and our AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, our players will effectively develop in each of those systems. Quad City has a rich hockey history and we are pleased to have entered into an affiliation relationship with them in our first season.”

“I am very familiar with people in both organizations, so I am confident this affiliation will be a great fit for the Mallards,” said Mallards President and General Manager Bob McNamara. “We’re very excited to have the unique opportunity to work with the Golden Knights from day one and equally thrilled to affiliate with one of the AHL’s flagship franchises in the Wolves.”

The Mallards finished the 2016-17 season with a 40-28 overall record, the first time since 2006 they finished with at least 40 wins. The team finished third in the ECHL’s Central Division standings with 84 points and qualified for the Kelly Cup playoffs. In the playoffs, the Mallards lost their first round series to the Fort Wayne Komets, 4-1.

One of the winningest teams in all minor league hockey, the Mallards competed in the United Hockey League from 1995-2007; in the International Hockey League in 2009-10; and in the Central Hockey League from 2010-2014. The Mallards proud history has seen them capture the UHL’s Colonial Cup Championship three times (1997, 1998, 2001) and secure that league’s Tarry Cup four times (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002) for the best overall regular season record. In 2001, the Mallards made professional hockey history, recording their sixth consecutive season with 50 or more wins, a feat that has yet to be matched.

Began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 27 teams in 21 states and one Canadian province for its 29th season in 2016-17. There have been 623 players who have started their career in the ECHL have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including 24 who made their NHL debuts in the 2016-17 season. The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 NHL teams in 2016-17, marking the 20th consecutive season that the league had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com.