Hardy Sauter | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born | Dayton, Ohio, U.S. | February 25, 1971||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
Weight | 178 lb (81 kg; 12 st 10 lb) | ||
Position | Defense | ||
Shot | Right | ||
Played for | Oklahoma City Blazers Tallahassee Tiger Sharks Houston Aeros | ||
Playing career | 1995–2005 |
Hardy Sauter (born February 25, 1971) is an American-born Canadian former professional ice hockey defenseman and coach.
Sauter was born in Dayton, Ohio, but moved to Maryfield, Saskatchewan at a young age.
Sauter played junior hockey with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League. He made his professional debut with the ECHL Tallahassee Tiger Sharks during the 1995–96 season. Sauter also played for the Houston Aeros in the International Hockey League. [1]
As a player, Sauter was best known as a member of the Oklahoma City Blazers in the Central Hockey League. Sauter played in 590 games with the Blazers between 1996 and 2005, retiring as the CHL's all-time scoring leader among defensemen and in the league's all-time top 10 overall in assists and points. [2] Sauter was elected to the CHL Hall of Fame in 2013. [3]
Immediately after retiring from the Blazers in 2005 Sauter accepted the head coaching position with the Nipawin Hawks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. [2] In 2007 Sauter was hired as an assistant coach by the Spokane Chiefs and promoted to head coach the following season, but was fired in 2010. [4]
Later in 2010 Sauter became head coach of the ECHL Idaho Steelheads. Sauter compiled a 63-59-22 record in two seasons in Idaho, but failed to take the team past the second round in the ECHL playoffs. [1] The Steelheads declined to renew his contract after the 2011–12 season. [5]
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which operated the league from 2000 to 2013, at which point it was purchased by the individual franchise owners. As of the end of its final season in 2014, three of the 30 National Hockey League teams had affiliations with the CHL: the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho, and a member of the ECHL. The Steelheads play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference since the 2016–17 season.
The Wichita Thunder are a minor league hockey team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team played in the Central Hockey League from 1992 until 2014, and then in the ECHL since the 2014–15 season. From 1992 until December 2009, the Thunder played in the Britt Brown Arena located in the northern Wichita suburb of Park City. In January 2010, the team began playing its home games at the newly built Intrust Bank Arena. The Thunder are currently the ECHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks.
The Alaska Aces, known as the Anchorage Aces until 2003, was a professional ice hockey team in Anchorage, Alaska. Home games were played at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. The Aces won three Kelly Cup championships, with their last championship following the 2013–14 ECHL season.
The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tulsa Oilers name was shared with Tulsa's former minor-league baseball team that pre-dated the Tulsa Drillers. To reduce confusion in local news reporting, the hockey team was often called the "Ice Oilers".
The Spokane Chiefs is a major junior ice hockey team based in Spokane, Washington that plays in the Western Hockey League. The team plays its home games at the Spokane Arena. As of 2010, Spokane ranked in the top 10 in the Canadian Hockey League in attendance. The Chiefs won the Memorial Cup in 1991 and 2008. They also hosted the first outdoor hockey game in WHL history on January 15, 2011, at Avista Stadium versus the Kootenay Ice.
The Knoxville Ice Bears are a professional ice hockey team. The team competes in the SPHL. They play their home games at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Ice Bears have made the playoffs in every season of their existence. In 2006, the Ice Bears defeated the Florida Seals to take their first President's Cup. The Ice Bears won back to back President's Cup Championships in the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons. On April 18, 2015, the Ice Bears defeated the Mississippi RiverKings 4–2 to sweep the 2015 SPHL Finals and win their 4th President's Cup.
Bradley Ralph is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey left winger and is the head coach of the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. He played in one National Hockey League game for the Phoenix Coyotes during the 2000–01 NHL season.
Cam Severson is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre.
Stephen Paul Martinson is an American former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played 49 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, and Minnesota North Stars between 1987 and 1992. The rest of his playing career, which lasted from 1981 to 1996, was spent in various minor leagues. After retiring as a player he turned to coaching, and his 1,123 career professional coaching wins are the most ever for an American born ice hockey head coach.
John Olver is a Canadian ice hockey player and coach known for his league championship teams in the West Coast Hockey League and ECHL.
The Allen Americans are a professional ice hockey team headquartered at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, which currently plays in the ECHL. The team was founded in 2009 in the Central Hockey League (CHL) where they played for five seasons, winning the Ray Miron President's Cup twice. The CHL folded in 2014 and the ECHL accepted the remaining CHL teams as members for the 2014–15 season. In their first two seasons in the ECHL, Allen advanced to the Kelly Cup finals, winning the championship in both years. The team is led by President Jonny Mydra and head coach/general manager Chad Costello. Currently, the Americans are affiliated with the National Hockey League Ottawa Senators and the American Hockey League Belleville Senators.
The Idaho Jr. Steelheads, also called the Idaho IceCats, were a junior ice hockey team based in McCall, Idaho. The team played in the Western States Hockey League (WSHL) and home games were held at Manchester Ice & Event Centre in McCall. The team previously played some home games at Idaho Ice World and CenturyLink Arena in Boise, the latter being the home of the ECHL Idaho Steelheads. The team had been one of the most successful in the WSHL, winning five Thorne Cup championships over six seasons and appeared in seven straight between 2010 and 2017.
Jason Christie is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is currently an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League.
Kurtis Mucha is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender. He is currently playing with the Alberta Golden Bears of the CIS.
Mickey Lang is an American former professional ice hockey player. He has also been a junior ice hockey head coach since retiring as a player.
Doug Sauter is a Canadian former ice hockey coach.
Troy Schwab is a Canadian former professional ice hockey center, who played in the ECHL and the Central Hockey League. He is currently an assistant coach for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.
The 2014–15 ECHL season was the 27th season of the ECHL. The regular season schedule ran from October 17, 2014, to April 11, 2015, with the Kelly Cup playoffs following. Twenty-eight teams in 20 states and one Canadian province each played a 72-game schedule. Ten days prior to the start of the season, the league was significantly expanded on October 7, 2014, after the ECHL had accepted the Central Hockey League's remaining seven teams as members for the 2014–15 season.