Plymouth Whalers | |
---|---|
City | Plymouth, Michigan |
League | Ontario Hockey League |
Conference | Western |
Division | West |
Operated | 1997–2015 |
Home arena | Compuware Arena |
Colors | Navy blue, white, green and silver |
Franchise history | |
1990–1992 | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors |
1992–1995 | Detroit Junior Red Wings |
1995–1997 | Detroit Whalers |
1997–2015 | Plymouth Whalers |
2015–present | Flint Firebirds |
The Plymouth Whalers were a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They played out of Compuware Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, USA, a suburb of Detroit until 2015 when they were relocated to Flint, Michigan.
The Whalers can trace their roots back to the 1990–91 Detroit Compuware Ambassadors as an expansion team in the OHL. Since then the franchise has also been called the Detroit Junior Red Wings and the Detroit Whalers. In 1997 they were officially renamed the "Plymouth Whalers" after the local municipality gave generous tax breaks to the team and venue. The franchise was owned until 2015 by Peter Karmanos, who also owned the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes (formerly the Hartford Whalers, from which the OHL team's name was taken).
Plymouth is one of only two teams to win 5 consecutive division titles (West division from 1999 to 2003), the other team being the Ottawa 67's (East division from 1996 to 2000). Plymouth has made the playoffs 23 consecutive seasons, since the 1991–92 season. The Whalers reached the OHL finals two consecutive seasons in 1999–2000, and 2000–01, losing to the Barrie Colts and Ottawa 67's. These seasons included future NHLers David Legwand, Justin Williams, Robert Esche, and Stephen Weiss.
Celebrating their 10th Anniversary playing at the Compuware Arena during the 2005–06 season, all current Whalers players had been brought into the system by head coach and general manager Mike Vellucci. This created the build-up for the next year. Headed by overage captain John Vigilante, the team's rookies in 2003 and 2004 came to fruition in James Neal, Dan Collins, and Tommy Sestito. Vellucci acquired the Belleville Bulls' leading scorer Evan Brophey and the Toronto St. Michael's Majors goaltender Justin Peters, who had an extensive resume. On the last game of the season, the Whalers played the Saginaw Spirit, with the division title on the line, in what has been proven to be one of the most exciting OHL games in recent history. With the Whalers' 2–0 lead going into the third period, the Spirit fought back and managed the tying goal just before time expired. However, Brophey scored in overtime to clinch the Whalers' 9th division title.
During the 2006–07 season, rookie goaltenders Jeremy Smith and Michal Neuvirth, combined for the lowest goals against average in the OHL, with only 173 goals against in total. The Whalers had a number of high prospects signed or drafted by NHL teams, including former Wayne Gretzky 99 Award winner Daniel Ryder, who was acquired, with him already having been signed with the Calgary Flames. After a very inconsistent start, the team improved to fall short of the London Knights by one point for the Hamilton Spectator Trophy. During the second half of the season and through the playoffs, the Whalers featured a 23-game winning streak at home, lasting three and a half months, falling at Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals to London. The Whalers, although seeded #2, easily won the Wayne Gretzky Trophy as Western Conference playoff champion, sweeping #7 Guelph, and winning in 5 against both #3 Kitchener and #1 London. In the final, the Whalers defeated the Sudbury Wolves in six games to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup, thus earning the right to represent the OHL in the 2007 Memorial Cup.
In the Memorial Cup, the team suffered a rough start, losing to the Vancouver Giants 4–3 in overtime on May 18, and again to the Medicine Hat Tigers 4–1 on May 21. Their fortunes would change, however, on May 22, when they would defeat the Lewiston Maineiacs 2–1 in overtime, thus putting them in the tiebreaker game on May 24, in which they would defeat Lewiston again, 5–1, eliminating the Maineiacs from the Memorial Cup and advancing to the semifinal. However, on May 25, the Whalers would lose again to the Vancouver Giants in the semifinal round, this time in dramatic fashion by a score of 8–1. This way, the Whalers finished the 2007 Memorial Cup in third place. [1]
During the 2007–08 season, the Whalers dealt the goaltender that led them to their 2007 OHL Championship, Michal Neuvirth, early to make room for Jeremy Smith to start. Neuvirth was among 12 players that left/were traded from that team, leaving the team looking to a number of young players for leadership. Chris Terry led the team in scoring and was helped by overage captain Andrew Fournier and up-and-comer AJ Jenks. In mid-December 2007, President and GM Mike Vellucci left his head coaching position for Greg Stefan. A late season injury to overage defenseman Wes Cunningham hampered the flow of the team, leading to an early playoff exit at the hands of the eventual OHL champions, the Kitchener Rangers.
Early in the 2008–09 season, Stefan was recalled to the Hurricanes, where Mike Vellucci came back to fill the head coaching role. Injuries and inconsistency plagued the team, as they fell to dead last in the league. After the coaching change, as well as key trades, including a short lived experiment with Cory McGillis, then-leading scorer Matt Caria from the Greyhounds, Scott Fletcher from the Ice Dogs, and the return from AHL-playing Brett Bellemore, the team saw a turn around by Christmas putting them back into the middle of the pack. At the deadline, as a result of Bellemore's return and the emergence of Matt Hackett as the new starting goaltender, Patrick Lee and Jeremy Smith were traded to Niagara for draft picks.
The 2009–10 season saw the Whalers led by league MVP Tyler Seguin along with other top scorers such as Myles McCauley.
On December 29, 2013, the Whalers and the London Knights broke the newly set Canadian Hockey League attendance record. The Knights and Whalers, playing in the second OHL game of the evening outdoors at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan (also the second outdoor game ever played in the OHL), played in front of 26,384 spectators. The Whalers won the game 2–1 in a shootout. [2]
On January 14, 2015, owner Peter Karmanos announced that the Whalers would be relocated to Flint, Michigan after a sale of the team to the owner of Flint's Perani Arena and Event Center for the 2015–16 season. The OHL approved the sale, and the relocated franchise is named the Flint Firebirds. On March 15, the Whalers missed the playoffs for the only time. Six days later on March 21, the Plymouth Whalers played their final game in franchise history losing 5–1 to the Erie Otters. [3] [4]
The Plymouth Whalers have won eight divisional titles, five of them consecutively. Plymouth has also won three Hamilton Spectator trophies and reached the OHL Championship Finals three times, winning during the 2006–07 season.
J. Ross Robertson Cup
| Hamilton Spectator Trophy
Bumbacco Trophy
|
14 - Pat Peake is the only number retired by the Whalers organization. Peake (who played in the Junior Red Wings era) was a two-season captain, the first MVP for the franchise in 1992–93, as well as Canadian Hockey League player of the year, and OHL Most Sportsmanlike player of the year. He has the most career points in franchise history.
Players who were drafted in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft while playing for the Whalers franchise.
Players who were drafted in the second round of the NHL Entry Draft while playing for the Whalers franchise.
List of Plymouth Whalers alumni who have played in the National Hockey League.
Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss
Season | Games | Won | Lost | Tied | OTL | SL | Points | Pct % | Goals For | Goals Against | Standing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997–98 | 66 | 37 | 22 | 7 | - | - | 81 | 0.614 | 279 | 223 | 2nd Western |
1998–99 | 68 | 51 | 13 | 4 | - | - | 106 | 0.779 | 313 | 162 | 1st West |
1999–2000 | 68 | 45 | 18 | 4 | 1 | - | 95 | 0.691 | 256 | 172 | 1st West |
2000–01 | 68 | 43 | 15 | 5 | 5 | - | 96 | 0.669 | 253 | 162 | 1st West |
2001–02 | 68 | 39 | 15 | 12 | 2 | - | 92 | 0.662 | 249 | 166 | 1st West |
2002–03 | 68 | 43 | 14 | 9 | 2 | - | 97 | 0.699 | 259 | 174 | 1st West |
2003–04 | 68 | 32 | 24 | 9 | 3 | - | 76 | 0.537 | 220 | 204 | 2nd West |
2004–05 | 68 | 30 | 29 | 6 | 3 | - | 69 | 0.507 | 198 | 204 | 2nd West |
2005–06 | 68 | 35 | 28 | - | 1 | 4 | 75 | 0.551 | 227 | 224 | 1st West |
2006–07 | 68 | 49 | 14 | - | 2 | 3 | 103 | 0.757 | 299 | 173 | 1st West |
2007–08 | 68 | 34 | 28 | - | 2 | 4 | 74 | 0.544 | 228 | 223 | 5th West |
2008–09 | 68 | 37 | 26 | - | 5 | 0 | 79 | 0.581 | 224 | 218 | 2nd West |
2009–10 | 68 | 38 | 27 | - | 1 | 2 | 79 | 0.581 | 245 | 201 | 2nd West |
2010–11 | 68 | 36 | 26 | - | 2 | 4 | 78 | 0.574 | 249 | 219 | 3rd West |
2011–12 | 68 | 47 | 18 | - | 2 | 1 | 97 | 0.713 | 279 | 205 | 1st West |
2012–13 | 68 | 42 | 17 | - | 5 | 4 | 93 | 0.684 | 292 | 202 | 1st West |
2013–14 | 68 | 28 | 33 | - | 0 | 7 | 63 | 0.463 | 187 | 238 | 4th West |
2014–15 | 68 | 23 | 38 | - | 5 | 2 | 53 | 0.390 | 195 | 255 | 4th West |
Year | WCQ | WCS | WCF | OHL Finals | Memorial Cup | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997–98 | Sarnia 4–1 | Belleville 4–2 | Guelph 0–4 | |||
1998–99 | Windsor 4–0 | London 3–4 | ||||
1999–00 | Guelph 4–2 | Windsor 4–1 | Sault Ste. Marie 4–1 | Barrie 3–4 | ||
2000–01 | Sarnia 4–0 | Windsor 4–0 | Erie 4–1 | Ottawa 2–4 | ||
2001–02 | London 2–4 | |||||
2002–03 | Owen Sound 4–0 | London 4–3 | Kitchener 3–4 | |||
2003–04 | Kitchener 4–1 | Guelph 0–4 | ||||
2004–05 | Owen Sound 0–4 | |||||
2005–06 | Windsor 4–3 | Guelph 2–4 | ||||
2006–07 | Guelph 4–0 | Kitchener 4–1 | London 4–1 | Sudbury 4–2 | 3rd | |
2007–08 | Kitchener 0–4 | |||||
2008–09 | Sarnia 4–1 | Windsor 2–4 | ||||
2009–10 | Sault Ste. Marie 4–1 | Windsor 0–4 | ||||
2010–11 | Kitchener 4–3 | Owen Sound 0–4 | ||||
2011–12 | Guelph 4–2 | Kitchener 3–4 | ||||
2012–13 | Sarnia - 4–0 | Owen Sound - 4–2 | London - 1–4 | |||
2013–14 | Guelph 1–4 | |||||
2014–15 | ||||||
In 2009 all Canadian Hockey League teams came out with new Reebok EDGE Jerseys [5]
The Plymouth Whaler logo featured an angry hockey stick-wielding whale, blowing a puck and spout of water out its blow hole. The name Whalers was superimposed on the image surround by a circle of green and blue with waves in the background.
The Whalers' white jersey had the whaler logo in the center with 3 even stripes on the sleeves and bottom of the jersey. The stripes are evenly spaced with two navy outer lines and one green inner line. The Whalers' blue jersey had the Whalers logo in the center with a white space and green space going down the sleeves. A third jersey was green with "WHALERS" written diagonally down the front.
The Plymouth Whalers had a mascot named Shooter. [6] His first game appearance was on December 11, 2003 against the Peterborough Petes.
Peter Karmanos arranged to build the Whalers a new home in Plymouth Township, Michigan as soon as the 1995–96 season ended. The Compuware Arena was constructed in six months' time, ready for the 1996–97 season, with a seating capacity of 3,807. In addition to the NHL-sized rink, there is an Olympic sized rink also in the building. [7]
The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league.
The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre.
The Owen Sound Attack are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League based in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. Based in Owen Sound since 1989, and operating under the current name since 2000, the Attack play their home games at the J. D. McArthur Arena inside the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre.
The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team moved to Hamilton, Ontario, at the end of the 2014–15 OHL season.
The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
The Saginaw Spirit are a major junior ice hockey team based in Saginaw, Michigan. They are members of the West Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of the Major Junior leagues of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL).
The Sarnia Sting are a junior ice hockey team based in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. They are one of the 20 teams that make up the Ontario Hockey League. They play out of the Progressive Auto Sales Arena.
The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The Greyhounds play home games at the GFL Memorial Gardens. The present team was founded in 1962 as a team in the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. The Greyhounds name has been used by several ice hockey teams based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, since 1919.
The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975–76 season. An unrelated Windsor Spitfires team, founded in 1946, moved to become the Hamilton Tiger Cubs in 1953, and later became the Erie Otters in 1996.
The Detroit Junior Red Wings were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League for three seasons from 1992 to 1995. The Jr. Red Wings were based in Detroit, Michigan.
The North Bay Centennials were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, who played from 1982–2002. The team was based in North Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Chad Wiseman is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. As a player, he played 9 games in the National Hockey League for the San Jose Sharks and New York Rangers between 2003 and 2005. After retiring in 2015, he became the head coach and general manager of the New York/Metropolitan Riveters of the National Women's Hockey League from 2015 to 2018. He is currently the head coach for the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League.
The Detroit Whalers were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League for two seasons from 1995 to 1997. The Whalers were based in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
The 2006–07 OHL season was the 27th season of the Ontario Hockey League.
Michael George Vellucci is an American former professional ice hockey player. He is currently an assistant coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League. Previously, he was the head coach and general manager of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League for one season. Prior to that he was head coach of the Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League for two seasons winning the Calder Cup in 2018-19. He was also head coach and general manager of the Plymouth Whalers in the Ontario Hockey League for 14 seasons.
The 1986 Memorial Cup occurred May 10–17 at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. It was the 68th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Hosting rights were originally awarded to the Queen's Park Arena and the New Westminster Bruins, but staging the tournament alongside Expo '86 in Vancouver proved logistically impossible and so the tournament was moved to Portland for the second time in three years. Participating teams were the host team Portland Winter Hawks, as well as the winners of the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League which were the Kamloops Blazers, Guelph Platers and Hull Olympiques. The Platers won their first Memorial Cup, and the city's second Memorial Cup, defeating Hull in the final game.
The 1997–98 OHL season was the 18th season of the Ontario Hockey League. The Toronto St. Michael's Majors name was reactivated when they are awarded a franchise, to play in the east division. The Detroit Whalers became the Plymouth Whalers. Eighteen teams each played 66 games. The Guelph Storm won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Ottawa 67's.
The 1998–99 OHL season was the 19th season of the Ontario Hockey League. The Brampton Battalion and the Mississauga IceDogs were added as expansion teams. The league realigned from three divisions into two conferences and four divisions. Brampton were placed in the Midwest division of the Western conference, and Mississauga were placed in the Central division of the Eastern conference. The OHL inaugurated four new trophies this season. The Holody Trophy was created for the regular season champion of the Midwest division. Two conference playoffs champions were created; the Bobby Orr Trophy for the Eastern conference, and the Wayne Gretzky Trophy for the Western conference. The fourth new trophy was the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award, to be awarded to the MVP of the playoffs. Twenty teams each played sixty-eight games. The Belleville Bulls won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the London Knights.
The 2008–09 OHL season was the 29th season of the Ontario Hockey League. Twenty teams played 68 games each during the regular season schedule, which started on September 17, 2008 and concluded on March 15, 2009. The OHL inaugurated the Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy following his death in the previous season. The Windsor Spitfires played their last game at Windsor Arena on December 4, defeating the Guelph Storm, 2–1. The Spitfires played their first game at the WFCU Centre on December 11 against the Belleville Bulls, losing the game 4–0. The playoffs began on March 18, 2009, and ended on May 8, 2009 with the Windsor Spitfires winning the J. Ross Robertson Cup, and a berth in the 2009 Memorial Cup which was held in Rimouski, Quebec. Windsor went on to win the Memorial Cup.
The Flint Firebirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in Flint, Michigan. The team plays home games at the Dort Financial Center, and operates as a member of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team began play for the 2015–16 season. In September 2022, the Firebirds announced the Leamington Flyers as an affiliate.
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