The Montreal Canadiens announced Tuesday they've agreed to a three-year deal to make Trois-Rivières' new ECHL team their affiliate upon entry into the league in the 2021-22 season.
"This agreement provides our organization with an interesting opportunity to expand our development pipeline here in Quebec, while allowing us to closely monitor the development of some of our prospects. The ECHL is a league that deserves more recognition for the talent it displays and for its high quality of play," said John Sedgwick, the Canadiens' vice-president of hockey operations and legal affairs, in a press release.
"The decision to move our AHL affiliate team to Laval proved to be very successful, and the advantage of having another affiliate nearby in Trois-Rivières will be very convenient for our hockey operations and to continue scouting local talent."
Trois-Rivières' new ECHL team will play out of Le Nouveau Colisée, a 5,000-capacity arena that is slated to open in the summer of 2021.
The ECHL club will be led, in part, by former Canadiens defenceman Marc-André Bergeron, who will serve as vice-president and general manager.
