Calgary Wranglers | |
---|---|
City | Calgary, Alberta |
League | American Hockey League |
Conference | Western |
Division | Pacific |
Founded | 1977 |
Home arena | Scotiabank Saddledome |
Colours | Red, yellow, white |
Owner(s) | Calgary Sports and Entertainment |
General manager | Brad Pascall |
Head coach | Trent Cull |
Captain | Vacant |
Affiliates | Calgary Flames (NHL) Rapid City Rush (ECHL) |
Franchise history | |
1977–1987 | Maine Mariners |
1987–1993 | Utica Devils |
1993–2003 | Saint John Flames |
2005–2007 | Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights |
2007–2009 | Quad City Flames |
2009–2014 | Abbotsford Heat |
2014–2015 | Adirondack Flames |
2015–2022 | Stockton Heat |
2022–present | Calgary Wranglers |
Championships | |
Regular season titles | 1 (2022–23) |
Division titles | 1 (2022–23) |
Current season |
The Calgary Wranglers are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. They are members of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays at the Scotiabank Saddledome, the home of their National Hockey League (NHL) affiliate team, the Calgary Flames.
On May 23, 2022, the Calgary Flames announced the relocation of the Stockton Heat to Calgary. [1] This followed a recent trend of Canadian NHL teams moving their AHL affiliates closer to home, principally to allow for players to be called up on a shorter notice. On August 2, 2022, the team announced its name, bringing back the "Wranglers" moniker used by the WHL team of the same name from 1977 to 1987. [2] Mitch Love, the head coach of the Heat, would remain with the team during their relocation to Calgary. Ahead of the 2022–23 AHL season's start, on October 14, 2022, former Flames draft pick Brett Sutter was named as the team's first captain, with Nick DeSimone and Matthew Phillips being named as alternate captains. [3]
The Wranglers played their first game on October 16, 2022, a 6–5 loss against the Coachella Valley Firebirds. [4] [5] Despite a slow start to the season, [6] the Wranglers enjoyed significant success in their inaugural year, capturing the regular season championship with 51 wins, and being awarded the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy. [7] Their overall 51–17–4 record was the ninth-best record in AHL history. [7]
The Wranglers' dominant regular season performance would result in several members of the team winning substantial awards during the inaugural season: star goaltender Dustin Wolf would win every trophy available for his position, including being named as the league's MVP. [8] Wolf, along with forward Matthew Phillips, would be named to the First All-Star Team, with defenseman Jeremie Poirier being named to the All-Rookie team. [9] Head coach Mitch Love would be named as the AHL's coach of the year, winning the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award. [10]
As a result of capturing the Pacific Division title, the Wranglers would earn a bye past the first round of the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs. During their second-round match-up against the Abbotsford Canucks, the Wranglers would win the best-of-five series three games to one. [11] Ultimately, the Wranglers would fail to live up to their regular season success during the playoffs, losing during overtime in the fifth and final game of the third round to the Coachella Valley Firebirds. [12]
Following the 2022–23 season, head coach Mitch Love would earn a job as an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals. [13] Resultingly, former Vancouver Canucks assistant coach Trent Cull was hired as the Wranglers head coach for the 2023–24 season. [14] During the first half of the season the Wranglers would enjoy continued success, finishing 2023 at the top of the Pacific Division, resulting in head coach Cull being tapped as a coach for the season's All-Star Classic. [15] However, as the season wore on, many of the team's top talent was depleted, either by trades or call-ups to the Flames, and the team fell behind in a tight playoff race, not clinching their spot in the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs until March 31, 2024, nearly 3 weeks later than the previous season. [16]
Ahead of the playoffs, key players Dustin Wolf, Ilya Solovyov, Adam Klapka, and Matt Coronato would be returned to the Wranglers roster after the conclusion of the Flames 2023–24 season. [17] During the playoffs, the 7-seed Wranglers would sweep the 2-seed Tucson Roadrunners in the best-of-three first-round, moving on to face the division champions in the Coachella Valley Firebirds for a second consecutive postseason. [18] [19] During the second round, the Wranglers would win game one, before losing three in a row to end their season in the best-of-five series. [20] [21] Game two of the series would end controversially when the Firebirds scored the game-winning overtime goal during a sequence that appeared to be offside, with too many men, and potential goaltender and player interference, though due to league rules, the goal could not be reviewed. [20] [22] [23] [24]
Towards the end of the 2023–24 season, the Flames entered into a rebuild, trading many of their core players for prospects and draft picks. [25] This shift in strategy meant several Wranglers players would now be expected to make the full time jump to the Flames for the 2024–25 NHL season. [26] In preparation for this, the Wranglers and Flames both signed several players likely to play in the minor-leagues ahead of the 2024–25 AHL season, including goaltender Devin Cooley. [26] [27]
On July 15, 2024, Wranglers captain Brett Sutter announced he would be retiring from playing, and would instead be joining the team as an assistant coach. [28]
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Games | Won | Lost | OTL | SOL | Points | PCT | GF | GA | Standing | Year | 1st Round | Div Semi-finals | Div finals | Conf. finals | Finals |
2022–23 | 72 | 51 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 106 | .736 | 256 | 174 | 1st, Pacific | 2023 | BYE | W, 3–1, ABB | L, 2–3, CV | — | — |
2023–24 | 72 | 35 | 28 | 6 | 3 | 79 | .549 | 203 | 212 | 7th, Pacific | 2024 | W, 2–0, TUC | L, 1–3, CV | — | — | — |
Updated September 15, 2024. [29]
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). As of the 2024–25 AHL season, all 32 NHL teams held affiliations with an AHL team. Historically, when an NHL team does not have an AHL affiliate, its players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL franchises.
Darryl John Sutter is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is one of seven Sutter brothers, six of whom made the NHL ; all but Rich and Gary worked alongside Darryl in some capacity during his first tenure with the Flames.
The Sutter family, originally from Viking, Alberta, Canada, are one of the most famous families in the National Hockey League (NHL). Six brothers: Brent, Brian, Darryl, Duane, Rich and Ron, reached the NHL in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Four brothers, Brent, Brian, Darryl and Duane, have gone on to become coaches and general managers as well, with Brian, Brent and Darryl, each having a stint as head coach of the Calgary Flames. All brothers played for either the Chicago Blackhawks or the St. Louis Blues at one point or another. A seventh brother named Gary is said by his brothers to have been the best hockey player of all seven boys. Rather than making his living as a hockey player, Gary stayed home to work on the family farm, as Rich remarked on an episode of the Canadian sports show Off the Record.
The 2003–04 Calgary Flames season was the 24th National Hockey League season in Calgary, and the 32nd for the franchise in the NHL. The Flames ended a seven-year playoff drought, qualifying for the post-season for the first time since 1996. The Flames defeated three division winners en route to an appearance in the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals. The Flames were defeated in the finals by the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games. The run to the finals captured the imagination of the city, while the Red Mile celebrations gained international attention for the "Mardi Gras-like" atmosphere as up to 80,000 people celebrated in the streets after each playoff game.
Brett Darryl Sutter is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current assistant coach for the Calgary Wranglers of the American Hockey League (AHL). Sutter was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the sixth round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut for the Flames during the 2008–09 season, scoring a goal in his first game. He is the son of former Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter, and one of nine members of the famous Sutter family to play in the NHL. Sutter played 1,090 games in the AHL before concluding his career.
The 2008–09 Calgary Flames season was the 29th season for the Calgary Flames, and the 37th for the Flames franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flames finished second in the Northwest Division, and qualified for the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the fifth seed in the Western Conference, their fifth consecutive appearance in the post season. Their season ended when they were defeated by the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference quarter-finals.
Mitchell Ryan Love is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who is currently serving as an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The 2012–13 Calgary Flames season was the 33rd season in Calgary and the 41st of History the Flames franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season was reduced from its usual 82 games to 48 due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout. Calgary recorded a 19–25–4 record under new head coach Bob Hartley that included a franchise record 13-game losing streak on the road. The Flames finished fourth in the Northwest Division, 13th in the Western Conference and failed to qualify for the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was the fourth consecutive season that team did not reach the playoffs.
Trent Cull is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently serving as the head coach of the Calgary Wranglers of the American Hockey League (AHL). Previously, Cull served as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Matthew Phillips is a Canadian professional ice hockey right wing who is currently under contract with the Colorado Avalanche in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Jakob Pelletier is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the Calgary Wranglers of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Flames with the 26th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey team based in Southern California's Coachella Valley. They are members of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Firebirds began play in the 2022–23 season. The team is an owned-and-operated affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Seattle Kraken. The team plays their home games at Acrisure Arena in the city of Palm Desert, California.
Dustin Wolf is an American professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, 214th overall, by the Flames.
Matthew Coronato is an American professional ice hockey winger for the Calgary Wranglers in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Coronato was drafted by the Flames with the 13th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
The 2022–23 AHL season was the 87th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began on October 14, 2022, and ended on April 16, 2023. The 2023 Calder Cup playoffs followed the conclusion of the regular season, and began on April 18, 2023. They concluded on June 21 with the Hershey Bears winning their 12th Calder Cup in team history, defeating the Coachella Valley Firebirds in overtime of game seven of the finals.
Jérémie Poirier is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman playing for the Calgary Wranglers in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Adam Klapka is a Czech professional ice hockey right-wing currently playing for the Calgary Wranglers in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Mitchell McLain is an American professional ice hockey center currently playing for the Henderson Silver Knights in the American Hockey League (AHL).
The 2022–23 Coachella Valley Firebirds season was the franchise's inaugural season in the American Hockey League (AHL), starting on October 16, 2022, and ending on June 21, 2023, after they were eliminated in game seven of the Calder Cup finals. They played their home games at Acrisure Arena.