Orlando Solar Bears

The Orlando Solar Bears category covers Central Florida's ECHL club and its role in the Tampa Bay Lightning development system. Florida Sports Blog follows games, transactions, call-ups, assignments, schedules and playoff races, with the Solar Bears nested beneath the Lightning affiliate branch. The Solar Bears name first became prominent in the International Hockey League from 1995 to 2001, ending that era by winning the final Turner Cup championship in 2001. A new ECHL expansion franchise revived the name in 2012, and the modern Solar Bears became a Tampa Bay Lightning affiliate in 2018-19. The organization therefore connects Orlando's 1990s hockey boom with today's NHL development system.