Orlando Solar Bears 2016-2017 regular season schedule announced

The ECHL has published its 2016-2017 initial schedule. Knowing the ways of ECHL arenas, this is going to be subject to a lot of changes the closer we get to the start of the regular season, but it's a start!

The Solar Bears are still looking for a renewal of its affiliation with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but even if Kyle Dubas is a bit distracted by the Marlies playoff run at the moment, we can still take a gander at the best ECHL team's schedule for the coming season.

Every three years, each ECHL team has to travel a distance from its division for games -- in the case of the Solar Bears, this means traveling out West. Along with its usual division-heavy schedule of games against the Everblades, Stingrays, Gladiators, and Swamp Rabbits, the Bears are going to head to Colorado to play the Eagles, and to Alaska to play the Aces. This road trip will happen in January of 2017.

The Solar Bears will meet new "affiliation rival" Brampton six times, three times in Orlando, and three in the GTA. Considering that the Bears swept the series last season, this could mean a lot of points at a critical part of the schedule. The Bears will be in the GTA near the end of March 2017.

Missouri will visit in November, making for an interesting weekend, since they are currently well on their way to an extremely deep playoff run for the Kelly Cup.

Solar Bears 2016-2017 Regular Season Schedule