Worcester Sharks

Last updated
Worcester Sharks
Worcester Sharks.svg
City Worcester, Massachusetts
League American Hockey League (AHL)
ConferenceEastern Conference
DivisionAtlantic Division
Founded 1996
Operated 2006–2015
Home arena DCU Center
ColorsPacific teal, black, white, burnt orange
    
Owner(s) San Jose Sports & Entertainment Enterprises (Hasso Plattner, Governor)
Media Worcester Telegram & Gazette
WTAG AM 580 & FM 94.9
Charter TV3
Affiliates San Jose Sharks
(2006–2015)
Franchise history
1996–2001 Kentucky Thoroughblades
2001–2006 Cleveland Barons
2006–2015Worcester Sharks
2015–present San Jose Barracuda

The Worcester Sharks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2006 to 2015. Affiliated with the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks and located in Worcester, Massachusetts, the Sharks played their home games at the DCU Center.

Contents

History

On November 9, 2004, the St. Louis Blues announced the sale of the Worcester IceCats to the owners of their ECHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. [1] The new owners moved the franchise to Peoria, Illinois, for the 2005–06 season. Shocked by the loss of the IceCats, the people of Worcester bargained with several National Hockey League (NHL) franchises, trying to bring hockey back to the city. On January 6, 2006, the San Jose Sharks announced they were moving their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Barons, to Worcester, Massachusetts, [2] and the Worcester Sharks played their first home game on October 14, 2006, in front of a sold-out 7,230 fans in a shootout loss to the Portland Pirates. The Sharks qualified for the playoffs in their inaugural season, but were eliminated in six games by the Manchester Monarchs in the first round.

The Sharks' main rivals were the Providence Bruins, the genesis of which dates back to IceCats' days.[ citation needed ]

The Sharks were well represented in the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, with former Sharks Joe Pavelski (played for the United States), Douglas Murray (represented Sweden) along with the goaltending tandem from the franchise's first two years with Thomas Greiss and Dimitri Patzold played for Germany.

On November 1, 2009, head coach Roy Sommer became only the fourth coach in AHL history to record 400 wins. On January 14, 2011, Sommer was behind the Sharks bench for his 1,000th regular-season game as an AHL head coach, becoming just the fourth man in AHL history to reach that milestone.[ citation needed ] On February 11, 2012, Sommer became the fourth coach in AHL history to record 500 wins with a 3–2 shootout win over the Hershey Bears.

Relocation to San Jose

On January 26, 2015, it was reported that the Sharks would move to San Jose and share SAP Center at San Jose with their parent club, the San Jose Sharks. These reports were confirmed with the Sharks' official announcement on January 29. [3] On April 2, 2015, the team was announced as the San Jose Barracuda.

Worcester did not initially receive an ECHL team to replace the relocated AHL team, unlike the other markets with relocated AHL teams in 2015, such as Manchester, New Hampshire, Norfolk, Virginia, and Glens Falls, New York. On February 8, 2016, the ECHL announced Worcester would be home to an expansion team, set to begin play for the 2017–18 season. The team is owned by Cliff Rucker, with Toby O'Brien serving as president and general manager. The team name was revealed on April 3 to be the Worcester Railers. [4]

This market was previously served by:

Broadcasters

Radio
Television

Season-by-season results

Calder Cup Champions Conference ChampionsDivision ChampionsLeague Leader

Records as of April 21, 2015. [5]

Regular SeasonPlayoffs
SeasonGamesWonLostOTLSOLPointsPCTGoals
for		Goals
against		StandingYear1st
round		2nd
round		3rd
round		Finals
2006–07 8041283893.5812472444th, Atlantic 2007 L, 2–4, MCH ———
2007–08 8032375675.4692162586th, Atlantic 2008 Out of playoffs
2008–09 8042351287.5442232234th, Atlantic 2009 W, 4–2, HFD L, 2–4, PRO ——
2009–10 80492533104.6502752391st, Atlantic 2010 W, 4–1, LOW L, 2–4, MCH ——
2010–11 8036314985.5312102454th, Atlantic 2011 Out of playoffs
2011–12 7631334874.4871992185th, Atlantic 2012 Out of playoffs
2012–13 7631344773.4801912284th, Atlantic 2013 Out of playoffs
2013–14 7636344278.5131892264th, Atlantic 2014 Out of playoffs
2014–15 7641294291.5792241983rd, Atlantic 2015 L, 1-3, HER ———
Totals7043392863247760.537197420794 Playoff Appearances

Players

Team captains

All-Star Classic representatives

Notable alumni

List of Worcester Sharks alumni who played in the National Hockey League:

Player records

All-time regular season leaders

Individual regular season

All-time playoff leaders

Franchise firsts

Franchise lasts

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points;

PlayerPosGPGAPts
John McCarthy LW2776388151
Dan DaSilva RW2396084144
Tom Cavanagh C2024692138
Steven Zalewski C2104187128
Lukas Kaspar LW2164679125
Mike Iggulden C1515964123
Graham Mink RW1325563118
Riley Armstrong RW2085953112
Brandon Mashinter LW2365454108
Benn Ferriero C1214459103

Head coaches

References

  1. ↑ "Worcester IceCats sold to Rivermen owners". OurSports Central. November 9, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Minor league Barons moving to Worcester, Mass". ESPN . Associated Press. January 9, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Sharks Moving AHL Franchise to SAP Center". San Jose Sharks . January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  4. ↑ Lyford, Joshua (April 3, 2016). "Introducing the Worcester Railers professional hockey team". Worcester Magazine . Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Worcester Sharks season statistics and records". HockeyDB.
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