By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
The Vegas Golden Knights have a new minor league team in the ECHL.
The team name is the Savannah (Georgia) Ghost Pirates.
As the official ECHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights and Henderson Silver Knights, the Ghost Pirates will play a 36-game home schedule at the new Enmarket Arena beginning in October. The Twitter handle is @SavGhostPirates on Twitter and Instagram. Speaking of Instagram, check this out:
The ECHL’s newest club was officially named in October 2021 after the ECHL approved the expansion franchise in Jan. 2021. Under the terms of the affiliation arrangements, Vegas and Henderson will be able to transfer players to and from Savannah during the 2022-23 season.
Golden Knights owner Bill Foley does not own the Ghost Pirates. The Ghost Pirates owner is Andy Kaufman and it’s an affiliate business relationship.
The new team has its first coach. His name is Rock Bennett, who worked a college coach at Union College in Schenectady, New York, where he won a National Championship in 2014, three ECAC regular season titles (2012, 2014, 2017) and three ECAC Conference titles (2012, 2013, 2014). He compiled a 168-126-41 record over 11 years with Union. It’s a small college, but a NCAA hockey powerhouse.
“This affiliation with Savannah gives us alignment from the ECHL level through Henderson and up to the NHL,” Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon said in a VGK press release. “We are excited to lead the hockey operations and have a proven developer of talent as a head coach in Rick Bennett.”
The Golden Knights previously partnered with the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets beginning prior to the 2018-19 season.
PSA