The Worcester Railers Hockey Club will have a new National Hockey League affiliate when the team takes the ice for the 2026-27 season opener.
The Railers’ nine-year partnership with the New York Islanders has come to an end, the team announced on Wednesday. The team had been an ECHL affiliate of the Islanders since it played its first season at Worcester’s DCU Center in 2017.
The Railers said the team is staying in Worcester and will retain its current identity. An announcement on the Railers’ next affiliate will come at a later date.
The Utah Mammoth and Columbus Blue Jackets are the NHL’s only teams without an ECHL affiliate, according to the league’s website.
The new ECHL affiliate of the Islanders will be the Trenton Ironhawks, a New Jersey-based team set tol begin its first season of play this year, according to a league announcement on Wednesday. The affiliation change comes as the Bridgeport Islanders, the American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, is relocating to Hamilton, Ontario for the 2026-27 season.
In the past few years, affiliation announcements for existing franchises have typically come after the end of the ECHL and NHL playoffs, both of which will wrap up by mid-June.
The Railers finished the 2025-26 season in fifth place in the ECHL’s North Division with a .535 winning percentage.
The team drew an average of 4,034 fans per game, ranking 22nd of the 30 ECHL teams. Last year’s attendance figures represented a 10% increase from its average of 3,666 fans during the 2023-24 season.
David Aitken, former vice president of ticket sales and corporate partnerships for the Railers, was promoted to team president on April 20. He replaced Kim Golinski in the role.
The Railers’ first home game of the 2026-27 season is scheduled for Oct. 17.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.
