The Denver Spurs were a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Spurs began play in the Western Hockey League in 1968, and played at the Denver Coliseum. The Spurs became the first professional sports team in Colorado to win a championship in 1971–72. After the WHL folded in 1974, the team transferred to the Central Hockey League for the 1974–75 season.
Wilfrid Paiement, Jr. is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right wing who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1974 through 1988, for seven different NHL teams. He is the younger brother of former NHL hockey player Rosaire Paiement.
Terrance Victor Harper is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Harper played in the National Hockey League from 1962 to 1981. During this time, he played for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, and Colorado Rockies.
Thomas Brett Skinner is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and current head coach of the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League (USHL). He spent one season as the head coach of the Minnesota Wilderness of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) after serving five seasons as an assistant coach with the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL.
Joseph Cirella is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in 828 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He has additionally served as assistant coach and assistant general manager of the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League. Cirella was born in Hamilton, Ontario, but grew up in Stoney Creek, Ontario.
The Colorado Rockies were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) that played in Denver from 1976 to 1982. They were founded as the Kansas City Scouts, an expansion team that began play in the NHL in the 1974–75 season. The Scouts moved from Kansas City, Missouri, to Denver for the 1976–77 season. After six seasons in Denver, the franchise moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey, for the 1982–83 season and was renamed the New Jersey Devils. Denver went without an NHL team until the Quebec Nordiques relocated to become the Colorado Avalanche following the 1994–95 season. The Rockies name itself would be applied to Denver's Major League Baseball expansion team that began play in 1993.
Philippe Louis Myre is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Atlanta Flames, St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Rockies and Buffalo Sabres. He featured in the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals with the Flyers.
Aaron Kent Broten is an American former professional ice hockey player. Drafted in the sixth round, 106th overall in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Rockies, Broten went on to play 748 regular season games in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Douglas Robert Favell is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and former box lacrosse player. Favell played in the National Hockey League for the Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Rockies.
Dennis Daniel "Polo" Polonich is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who spent his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Detroit Red Wings. He was selected in the eighth round, 118th overall, by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft. Polonich was the first NHL player to be awarded damages from a civil suit for an on-ice incident.
Donald Patrick Saleski is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado Rockies.
Eric Lacroix is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lacroix played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators. He is the son of former Colorado Avalanche president Pierre Lacroix and has worked in various management positions within the Avalanche. He currently is an analyst for the DNVR Avalanche Podcast.
Ralph Leo Klassen was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 497 games in the National Hockey League. In Klassen's ten-year career, he played for the California Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Blues.
Peter Sturgeon is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player. He was drafted by the Boston Bruins with the 36th overall pick in the 1974 NHL Entry Draft. He went on to play in six games in the National Hockey League, all with the Colorado Rockies.
James Herold Dobson is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played in 12 National Hockey League (NHL) games as a forward with the Minnesota North Stars, Colorado Rockies, and Quebec Nordiques.
Michael Dwyer is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward.
Andrew William Spruce is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played 172 games in the National Hockey League with the Colorado Rockies and Vancouver Canucks.
The 1976–77 Colorado Rockies season was the Rockies' first season. The Kansas City Scouts relocated in the off-season to Denver. With the World Hockey Association's Denver Spurs leaving Denver in a midnight move to Ottawa, Ontario just about 10 months earlier, Denver would get a franchise and the team would be anointed the Colorado Rockies. The team moved from Kansas City, which was a two-year NHL franchise that struggled from the beginning.
Roger Marcel Lemelin was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 36 games in the National Hockey League for the Kansas City Scouts and the Colorado Rockies between 1974 and 1978. The rest of his career was spent in the minor leagues, mainly the American Hockey League (AHL).