"We are excited to announce a new affiliation agreement with the Rapid City Rush," said Minnesota Wild senior vice president of hockey operations and Iowa Wild general manager Brent Flahr. "Rapid City is a terrific hockey market that includes a lot of Minnesota Wild fans and provides our organization with another great opportunity for developing our players."

Under the affiliation agreement, the Rush will serve as a resource for the development efforts and personnel needs of both the Iowa and Minnesota Wild. The agreement allows for Wild prospects to be assigned to the Rush for developmental purposes throughout the season. Minnesota's primary development affiliate is the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League (AHL).

"This is a very important day for the Rush organization as we enter into our 10th anniversary season. We are thrilled to announce that the Rush has entered into an agreement to serve as the exclusive ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild and AHL's Iowa Wild," said Rush General Manager, Joe Ferras. "The Wild have a tremendous fan base in Rapid City and in the state of South Dakota. We know this will be great for our loyal fans and corporate partners as they watch their favorite NHL team's prospects develop through the Rush organization in the hopes that they achieve their ultimate goal to play in the NHL with the Wild."

"There is such a rich tradition of hockey in Minnesota, which increases how special this announcement is for our community," Ferras continued. "We're looking forward to partnering up with 'The State of Hockey' and can't wait for our 10th anniversary season to begin."

About the Rapid City Rush

The Rapid City Rush is an organization operating in the ECHL, the "Premier 'AA' Hockey League". Established in 2008, the Rush now enters its 10th anniversary season of hockey in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The club made an immediate splash, winning the Ray Miron Presidents' Cup in 2010, just the organization's second season of operation while in the former Central Hockey League. As a proud member of the Rapid City community, the team eclipsed the $700,000 landmark of money donated to various charitable causes, including $250,000 to breast cancer awareness that has all stayed local in Rapid City. Led by the local ownership group of Scott Mueller, Barry and Luke Peterson, and Donnie Ward, and managed by General Manager Joe Ferras, the Rush look to continue their tradition of excellence both on the ice and in the community as the team celebrates its 10th anniversary season this upcoming fall.

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