Hartford Wolf Pack

The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the XL Center. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. After a series of relocations, the team moved to Hartford in 1997 as the Hartford Wolf Pack. It is one of the oldest professional hockey franchises extant, and the oldest continuously operating minor league hockey franchise in North America.

Hartford Wolf Pack
2020–21 AHL season
CityHartford, Connecticut
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
DivisionAtlantic
Founded1926, in the CAHL
Home arenaXL Center
ColorsBlue, red, white
     
Owner(s)Madison Square Garden, Inc.
Global Spectrum
General managerChris Drury
Head coachKris Knoblauch
CaptainSteven Fogarty
MediaMSG Network
1410 AM WPOP
AHL.TV (Internet)
AffiliatesNew York Rangers (NHL)
Maine Mariners (ECHL)
Franchise history
1926–1976Providence Reds
1976–1977Rhode Island Reds
1977–1980Binghamton Dusters
1980–1990Binghamton Whalers
1990–1997Binghamton Rangers
1997–2010Hartford Wolf Pack
2010–2013Connecticut Whale
2013–presentHartford Wolf Pack
Championships
Regular season titles1: (1999–00)
Division Championships4: (1999–00, 2003–04, 2008–09, 2014–15)
Conference Championships1: (1999–00)
Calder Cups1: (1999–00)

The franchise was renamed the Connecticut Whale in October 2010, in honor of the former Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League (NHL) but reverted to their current name after the 2012–13 AHL season. The Wolf Pack is the top affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and is one of the four professional hockey teams in Connecticut.

History

The franchise that became the Wolf Pack was founded in 1926 in Providence, Rhode Island as the Providence Reds, one of the five charter members of the Canadian-American Hockey League. In 1936, the Northeast-based CAHL merged with the Midwest-based International Hockey League to form the International-American Hockey League, which dropped the "International" from its name in 1942.

The Reds —known as the Rhode Island Reds in their later years— folded after the 1976–77 season. Shortly afterward, the owners of the Broome Dusters of the North American Hockey League bought the Reds franchise and moved it to Binghamton, New York as the Binghamton Dusters. After securing an affiliation with the Hartford Whalers in 1980, the team changed its name to the Binghamton Whalers. An affiliation change to the Rangers in 1990—one that continues to this day—brought another new name, the Binghamton Rangers.

After the 1996-97 NHL season, the Whalers moved to Raleigh, North Carolina as the Carolina Hurricanes. Soon after the Whalers' departure, the Binghamton Rangers relocated to Hartford and began to play at the vacated Hartford Civic Center (today known as the XL Center).

Following a "name-the-team" contest, the franchise became the Hartford Wolf Pack, a reference to a submarine class as well as the tactic known as "wolfpacking". With Connecticut being home to both the main builder of submarines (General Dynamics Electric Boat) and the US Navy's primary submarine base, honoring the state's naval tradition was the paramount goal. The name Seawolf, a reference to the Seawolf-class submarine was considered to have been the ideal name for the team, however, it had already been taken by the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL. Following the submarine theme, the mascots were named "Sonar" and "Torpedo".

The Wolf Pack's first coach was E.J. McGuire, and their first home game was played in front of a sold-out crowd on October 4, 1997 P. J. Stock scored the (home game) goal in Wolf Pack history. The first franchise goal was scored the night prior in Providence, RI, by Johann Witehall. The team reached the playoffs during the first 12 years of their existence and won the Calder Cup in 2000, defeating the Rochester Americans in the Cup finals. Brad Smyth and Derek Armstrong both amassed 23 points in 23 games.

The Connecticut Whale logo, used from 2010 to 2013

In the summer of 2010, the Rangers entered into a business relationship which gave former Whalers owner Howard Baldwin and his company, Hartford Hockey LLC (doing business as Whalers Sports & Entertainment), control of the team's business operations.[1] On September 20, 2010, Baldwin announced the Wolf Pack would change their name to the Connecticut Whale in honor of the Whalers.[2] The name change took place on November 27, 2010; the final game with the "Wolf Pack" name came on November 26, 2010. The opponent was Connecticut's other AHL team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Sound Tigers won 4–3, in a shootout. On November 27, 2010, the team played their first game under the new "Whale" name. The opponent was, again, the Sound Tigers. The Whale won 3–2, in a shootout. The attendance for the debut game was 13,089, which is the third-largest crowd in franchise history.[3] On January 1, 2011 the Connecticut Whale debuted new home jerseys featuring light blue instead of green, however, the color was shelved for the 2011–12 season.

The Whale were hosts and participants in the 2011 AHL Outdoor Classic, the Whale Bowl, held at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. Connecticut fell to the Providence Bruins, 5–4, in a shootout.

In June 2012, after just 21 months, the New York Rangers terminated their business relationship with Baldwin [1] after he and his company ran up a debt of almost $3 million and had about 15 court cases against him.[4]

In April 2013, just two and a half seasons after rebranding as the Whale, the team decided it would revert to the nickname "Wolf Pack" for the following season.[5] Global Spectrum, the group now marketing the team and managers of the XL Center arena, announced in May 2013 that the franchise had officially returned to the Hartford Wolf Pack identity.[6]

Although the Wolf Pack does not officially acknowledge its past in Providence and Binghamton (or the Reds' four Calder Cups), it is the only AHL team to have never missed a season since the league's founding in 1936. In one form or another, the franchise has iced a team every year since 1926. The Wolf Pack and Utica Comets—the descendants of another charter AHL member, the Springfield Indians—are the oldest minor-league hockey franchises in North America. However, the Indians were inactive for three seasons in the 1930s, making the Wolf Pack the oldest continuously operating minor-league hockey franchise in North America. The only professional hockey franchises older than the Wolf Pack are the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins.

Team information

Mascots

The Wolf Pack started in 1997 with one mascot, a wolf named Sonar. The name was chosen to keep with the submarine theme that the team had used in their naming and logo. Shortly after, the team added a second wolf mascot named Torpedo; this mascot has since been retired. In 2010, with the renaming of the team to the Connecticut Whale, Sonar was joined as a mascot by former Whalers mascot Pucky the Whale. Sonar took the 2012–13 season off while Pucky was the sole mascot. When the naming arrangement ended, Sonar came back while Pucky was retired.

Season-by-season results

Regular season Playoffs
Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL SOL Points PCT Goals
for
Goals
against
Standing Year Prelims 1st
round
2nd
round
3rd
round
Final
1997–9880432412199.6192722272nd, New England1998W, 3–0, BNHW, 4–3, WORL, 1–4, SJF
1998–998038315687.5442562562nd, New England1999W, 3–0, SPRL, 0–4, PRO
1999–0080492272107.6692491981st, New England2000W, 3–2, SPRW, 4–1, WORW, 4–3, PROW, 4–2, RCH
2000–018040268694.5882632472nd, New England2001L, 2–3, PRO
2001–0280412610395.5942492432nd, East2002BYEW, 3–2, MANL, 1–4, HAM
2002–0380332712886.5382552363rd, East2003L, 0–2, SPR
2003–04804422122102.6381981531st, Atlantic2004BYEW, 4–1, PORW, 4–0, WORL, 3–4, WBS
2004–0580502433106.6632061602nd, Atlantic2005L, 2–4, LOW
2005–0680482462104.6502922312nd, Atlantic2006W, 4–3, MANL, 2–4, POR
2006–078047293198.6132312012nd, Atlantic2007L, 3–4, PRO
2007–0880502028110.6882661982nd, Atlantic2008L, 1–4, POR
2008–098046273499.6192432161st, Atlantic2009L, 2–4, WOR
2009–108036336583.5192312516th, Atlantic2010Did not qualify
2010–118040322688.5502212233rd, Atlantic2011L, 2–4, POR
2011–127636267786.5662102082nd, Northeast2012W, 3–0, BRIL, 2–4, NOR
2012–137635326379.5202132222nd, Northeast2013Did not qualify
2013–147637321681.5332022203rd, Northeast2014Did not qualify
2014–157643245495.6252212141st, Northeast2015W, 3–2, PROW, 4–2, HERL, 0–4, MAN
2015–167641323085.5592021996th, Atlantic2016Did not qualify
2016–177624464254.3551942807th, Atlantic2017Did not qualify
2017–187634336377.5072082526th, Atlantic2018Did not qualify
2018–197629367469.4542092668th, Atlantic2019Did not qualify
2019–206231206573.5891711734th, Atlantic2020Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Players

Current roster

Updated January 29, 2021.[7][8]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
47 Morgan Barron C L 22 2021 Halifax, Nova Scotia Rangers
40 Francois Brassard G L 27 2021 Gatineau, Quebec Wolf Pack
22 Jonny Brodzinski RW R 27 2021 Blaine, Minnesota Rangers
14 Brandon Crawley D L 23 2017 Glen Rock, New Jersey Rangers
16 Ryan Dmowski LW L 23 2019 East Lyme, Connecticut Wolf Pack
59 Jake Elmer RW R 22 2019 Calgary, Alberta Rangers
37 Gabriel Fontaine C L 23 2016 Montreal, Canada Rangers
44 Mason Geertsen D L 25 2019 Drayton Valley, Alberta Wolf Pack
26 Tim Gettinger LW L 22 2017 North Olmsted, Ohio Rangers
28 Anthony Greco RW R 27 2021 Queens, New York Rangers
4 Zach Giuttari D R 24 2020 Warwick, Rhode Island Wolf Pack
35 Adam Huska G L 23 2019 Zvolen, Slovakia Rangers
55 Patrick Khodorenko C L 22 2020 Walnut Creek, California Rangers
5 Vincent LoVerde (A) D R 31 2019 Chicago, Illinois Wolf Pack
20 Shawn McBride F L 25 2019 Victoria, British Columbia Wolf Pack
13 Patrick Newell RW L 25 2019 Thousand Oaks, California Rangers
9 Mike O'Leary LW L 23 2020 Halifax, Nova Scotia Wolf Pack
24 Darren Raddysh D R 24 2019 Caledon, Ontario Rangers
51 Tarmo Reunanen D L 22 2021 Äänekoski, Finland Rangers
18 Justin Richards C R 22 2021 Orlando, Florida Rangers
7 Ty Ronning RW R 23 2017 Burnaby, British Columbia Rangers
17 Hugo Roy C R 23 2021 Fleurimont, Quebec Wolf Pack
21 Austin Rueschhoff RW R 23 2021 Wentzville, Missouri Rangers
78 Steven Ruggiero D R 24 2021 Kings Park, New York Wolf Pack
27 Jordan Sambrook D R 22 2021 Markham, Ontario Wolf Pack
3 Jeff Taylor D L 26 2021 Clifton Park, New York Wolf Pack
15 Paul Thompson RW R 32 2020 Derry, New Hampshire Wolf Pack
23 Nolan Vesey LW L 25 2021 North Reading, Massachusetts Wolf Pack
33 Tyler Wall G L 23 2021 Leamington, Ontario Rangers
8 Alex Whelan RW R 23 2020 Ramsey, New Jersey Wolf Pack

Team captains

Retired numbers

Hartford Wolf Pack retired numbers
No. Player Position Career No. retirement
12Ken GernanderRW1997–2005October 8, 2005[13]

Notable alumni

The following players have played both 100 games in Hartford and 100 games in the National Hockey League:

Team records

Single season
Goals: 50, Brad Smyth (2000–01)
Assists: 69, Derek Armstrong (2000–01)
Points: 101, Derek Armstrong (2000–01)
Penalty Minutes: 415, Dale Purinton (1999–2000)
GAA: 1.59, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)
SV%: .936, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)
Shutouts: 13, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)
Goaltending Wins: 34, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)
Career
Goals: 184, Brad Smyth
Assists: 204, Derek Armstrong
Points: 365, Brad Smyth
Penalty Minutes: 1077, Dale Purinton
Shutouts: 21, Jason LaBarbera
Goaltending Wins: 91, Jason LaBarbera
Games: 599, Ken Gernander

References

  1. "Wolf Pack Name Changing To Connecticut Whale – Hartford Courant". Articles.courant.com. 2010-09-20. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  2. Wolf Pack's Name Changing To Whale – Hartford Courant
  3. Hockey, AHL, Whale make debut – Courant.com
  4. "Give Howard Baldwin Credit For Trying, But The NHL Dream Is Dead — For Now". Hartford Courant. August 6, 2012.
  5. "Connecticut Whale: Exit Whale, Re-Enter Wolf Pack; Source Says Team Name Will Change". Courant.com. Archived from the original on 2013-04-30. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  6. "It's Official! Hartford Wolf Pack Now the Name". Courant.com. 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  7. "Hartford Wolf Pack :: Players". Hartford Wolf Pack. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
  8. "Hartford Wolf Pack - Roster". American Hockey League. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  9. "PACK CAN'T MAKE UP GROUND ON SOUND TIGERS". Hartford Wolf Pack. March 6, 2016.
  10. "PACK ANNOUNCE CAPTAIN, ALTERNATES". Hartford Wolf Pack. October 5, 2017.
  11. "Cole Schneider named Captain for the 18/19 season". Hartford Wolf Pack. October 4, 2018.
  12. "Wolf Pack Name Steven Fogarty Captain". Hartford Wolf Pack. October 3, 2019.
  13. "Gernander's firing is Hartford's biggest loss since Whalers". courant.com. May 17, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.