NHL teams don’t just limit their organizations to 23 players, as you will see in the Utah Hockey Club’s primary lineup this season, with 12 forwards, six defensemen, and two goaltenders dressing at all times to go with three extras. But what if one of those 23 players misses time? How, then, will Utah fill its lineup?
That comes from their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, who were formerly with the Arizona Coyotes. Tucson will also help develop most of Utah’s top prospects so when the time comes, those prospects are ready for the NHL. But sometimes, as in the case of injury, a prospect or a low-key veteran, the latter, often called “organizational depth,” must be promoted to the big club earlier.
So, if you hear someone utter the term “Tucson Roadrunners,” know that they’re talking about a team featuring players who will, or should, suit up for Utah one day.
Utah Hockey Club will also have an ECHL affiliate in 2024-25
Meanwhile, the Allen Americans will be Utah’s ECHL affiliate, and while you often won’t see players from this league making it to the NHL, the ECHL is worth watching if a goaltender is assigned there. Since there are limited spots for netminders on NHL and AHL rosters, many will see reps in the ECHL playing against skaters who, in turn, provide organizational depth for the AHL affiliate, who, in this case, will be Tucson.
So, who exactly are the Allen Americans? They won their two Kelly Cups in 2015 and 2016 and were, for the most part, a powerhouse in the ECHL throughout the mid-2010s. They are also relatively new to the ECHL, having joined the league in 2014-15, the year they first won the Kelly Cup, after spending between 2009-10 and 2013-14 in what was the Central Hockey League (CHL).
The Roadrunners, on the other hand, started play as the Springfield Falcons in 1994 and stayed there until 2016, when they moved to Tucson. They haven’t seen an incredible amount of success in Arizona, having won just a pair of division titles in 2018 and 2020, and they, like the Coyotes, could also be on the move.
For them, it may be to Reno, Nevada, in the near future. Should that be the case, look for a potentially new Reno team to adopt a new nickname and color scheme.