Wichita Thunder announce new affiliation with NHL’s San Jose Sharks for 2022-23 season

Taylor Eldridge
·2 min read

The Wichita Thunder announced a new affiliation agreement on Thursday, as the club has come to terms with the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League for the 2022-23 season.

The Thunder have been an affiliated club since the 2016-17 season when it landed its first deal with the Ottawa Senators. For the past five seasons, Wichita has been affiliated with the Edmonton Oilers.

After the Oilers decided not to renew its affiliation with Wichita in July, the Thunder were able to find a new home quickly. The agreement also extends to the San Jose Barracuda in the American Hockey League.

“We’re very excited to partner with San Jose for this coming season,” Wichita general manager Joel Lomurno said in a statement. “I want to thank (San Jose front office) Joe Will and John McCarthy for their willingness to work with us this year. We look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship for this and hopefully many seasons to come.”

Under the affiliation agreement, the Sharks will be able to designate players in their development system for assignment in Wichita. The Thunder will also feature players who are signed to two-way AHL contracts and those on ECHL contracts signed by Wichita.

The Thunder open the 2022-23 season at Intrust Bank Arena when they host Allen Americans on Saturday, Oct. 22. Season tickets are available on the team’s website.

“I’m very excited to be working with the San Jose Sharks and Barracuda,” Thunder head coach Bruce Ramsay said in a release. “I look forward to helping develop players for their organization that could potentially play in the NHL. The Sharks have a lot of excitement around them with the hiring of Mike Grier as their new GM and David Quinn as their new head coach. We look forward to helping assist in building a winning culture for all three organizations.”

The San Jose Sharks were regulars in the NHL playoffs for much of the past two decades, even reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016, but the team has finished out of the playoffs for the past three seasons.

“We’re looking forward to working with the Wichita Thunder, including head coach Bruce Ramsay and general manager Joel Lomurno,” Sharks assistant general manager Joe Will said in a statement. “Having a solid affiliation in the ECHL is important to our player development plan and the ECHL has a solid track record with preparing prospects for their NHL and AHL careers.”