TORONTO

Maple Leafs announce Newfoundland Growlers will be new ECHL affiliate

The Canadian Press Published Thursday, June 14, 2018 3:31PM EDT

Pedestrians walk past the Air Canada Centre as a screen projects an image of the Toronto Maple Leafs logo in Toronto Wednesday, December 1, 2010. (Darren Calabrese / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Text:

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced the Newfoundland Growlers will be their new ECHL affiliate for the upcoming season.

The Growlers, who will play at Mile One Centre in St. John's, replace the Orlando Solar Bears as the Maple Leafs' secondary affiliate and the primary affiliate of the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies.

Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said the affiliation is an important investment for the club, and that St. John's has "historically meant a lot" to the Leafs.

The city was previously home to the AHL's Maple Leafs from 1991 to 2005, before the team relocated to Toronto and was renamed the Marlies.

This is the Growlers' inaugural season.