Joe Patarino The LA Kings and the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits announced their affiliation on Tuesday.
Welcome to the family, @SwampRabbits 🤝#GoKingsGo | #OurStompingGround pic.twitter.com/N5LrqT3wV2
— LA Kings (@LAKings) August 23, 2022
The teams have had a working relationship in the past, including last season, where the likes of Nikita Pavlychev, Brett Kemp, Christian Kasastul, and Jacob Ingham were among those to be up and down between the AHL’s Ontario Reign and the Swamp Rabbits.
In addition to the news of the affiliation, the Ontario Reign announced five two-way signings. Joe Gatenby, Alex Ierullo, and Justin Nachbaur join the aforementioned Kemp and Pavlychev in inking new deals.
Kemp, 22, scored 17 goals and 37 points in 30 games with Greenville last season while appearing in a pair of games for the Reign. He tallied one assist in the AHL.
Pavlychev, 25, played in 13 games for Ontario, scoring two goals and three points. Most of his season was spent in Greenville, where he had 33 points in 38 games.
The 25-year-old Gatenby played at the University of New Brunswick last season, scoring ten points in 23 games. The defenseman appeared in six playoff games for Greenville after signing a PTO with the Reign. He had a goal and an assist in those six games.
Among last year’s college signees was forward Alex Ierullo. The 25-year-old winger went pointless in three games with the Reign but had six points in seven regular season games in Greenville. Ierullo also scored four points in six playoff games in the ECHL.
Nachbaur, 22, was with Greenville for much of last season. He scored ten goals and 15 points in 24 games. The left-winger also played six AHL games for the Charlotte Checkers during the 2021-22 campaign.
The Ontario Reign kicks their season off at Toyota Arena on October 14th against the Abbotsford Canucks, while the Swamp Rabbits begin their season on October 22nd, playing host to the Savannah Ghost Pirates.