AMERKS ENTER INTO AFFILIATION AGREEMENT WITH ORLANDO SOLAR BEARS
Players may be loaned to the ECHL club and subsequently recalled or reassigned as needed with a continued focus on prospect development
Oct 3, 2026Rochester Americans General Manager Stacy Roest announced today the team has entered into an affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears for the 2026-27 season.
Under the agreement, NHL and AHL contracted players may be loaned to the ECHL club and subsequently recalled or reassigned as needed with a continued focus on prospect development.
“We have an agreement in place with Orlando and have the opportunity to place some players down there for game action,” said Roest. “They’ve been very good to us and I’ve worked with them in the past [in Syracuse]. It’s a good franchise, good team good city, and they’ve got a great product down there, so we’re excited for that.”
The current iteration of the Solar Bears joined the ECHL ahead of the 2012-13 season. Orlando, which plays out of the South Division in the Eastern Conference, also shares an affiliation with the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) and Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL). They’re one of the three Florida-based ECHL teams, joining the five-time Kelly Cup champion Florida Everblades as well as the Jacksonville Icemen, the latter of which served as Rochester’s former ECHL affiliate.