DULUTH, Ga. Atlanta Gladiators majority owner Alex Campbell announced today that starting in the 2023-24 season, the Atlanta Gladiators will now serve as the ECHL affiliate for the National Hockey League’s Nashville Predators. The Gladiators were affiliated with the Arizona Coyotes this past season.
"We are very proud to bring in the Nashville Predators and Milwaukee Admirals as affiliation partners. With the Predators being the closest NHL team to Gwinnett, we wanted to bring our fans closer than ever to our affiliation partner." Gladiators majority owner, Alex Campbell, said. "I would like to thank Brian Poile, and everybody at the Predators, for welcoming the Gladiators into the Predators family with open arms, and we cannot wait for what the future holds for both of our esteemed organizations."
“We are excited to welcome a strong organization in the Atlanta Gladiators to the Predators family as our new ECHL affiliate, extending our developmental pipeline through our longstanding AHL affiliate in Milwaukee,” Predators Assistant General Manager/Director of Hockey Operations Brian Poile said. “The Gladiators have been a model of consistency in the ECHL for more than 25 years and are well positioned to reach new heights on and off the ice under the leadership team of Head Coach Derek Nesbitt, Bob Ohrablo, Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Pyle, and ATL Hockey Group - Alex Campbell & Anson Carter. With Nashville just a short drive from the Atlanta area, this partnership will help both franchises continue to expand their presence in the southern professional hockey landscape, and we’re looking forward to seeing our two passionate fanbases cheer each other on.”
The Predators have had an ECHL affiliate in every single season since joining the NHL, except for three; First, the cancelled 2004-05 season, the next year in 2005-06, and in 2006-07, when the Predators were affiliated with the Rockford Ice Hogs of the United Hockey League. In the past, Nashville has partnered with the Hampton Road-Admirals (1998-2000), New Orleans Brass (2000-2001), Cincinatti Cyclones (2001-02), Toledo Storm (2003-2004), Cincinnati Cyclones (2007-2017), Norfolk Admirals (2017-2018) and most recently, the Florida Everblades (2019-2022). The Predators did not have an ECHL affiliate this past season.
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