The first ECHL affiliate in Seattle Kraken history will be the Kansas City Mavericks, which will partner with the expansion team and its new AHL affiliate Coachella Valley this season. The Mavericks were affiliated with the Calgary Flames for the past several years.
It is a multi-year agreement between Kansas City and Seattle, though the exact details were not revealed. The Kraken went without full-time minor league affiliates in their first season as they built up their prospect system but now need three tiers to develop and train players properly. More and more, the ECHL is being used as a proving ground for raw skaters or young goaltenders, giving them a chance to receive game action and improve through competition.
The Mavericks have struggled of late, putting up losing seasons in each of the past three years. In fact, throughout the five-year affiliation with the Flames, they reached the playoffs just once and lost in the first round. The best season on record for the club is 2015-16 when it won 52 of 72 games.
At that time, the Mavericks had a young star by the name of Carter Verhaeghe, who was trying to sort out his career after being sent to the low minors. He was joined the following season by a young netminder named Ville Husso in his first year of North American hockey. These are the kinds of players who can benefit from time in the ECHL, meaning an affiliation like this is not something to be overlooked, even if it isn’t the landing spot for high-profile names.
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