The Calgary Mustangs were a
junior A ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team in the
Alberta Junior Hockey League
The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. The 2023–24 season began with 16 teams, however 5 ...
(AJHL). They played in
Calgary
Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
,
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, Canada, at the
Father David Bauer Olympic Arena. They were known as the Calgary Royals from 1990 until 2010. On May 4, 2019, it was announced that the Mustangs had elected to take a leave of absence for the 2019–20 season.
History
The franchise began play in the 1972–73 season as
The Pass Red Devils based in
Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. The Red Devils franchise lasted four years before relocating to the nearby community of
Pincher Creek to become the
Pincher Creek Panthers. The team lasted two seasons in Pincher Creek before relocating to Calgary to become the
Calgary Chinooks. In 1979–80, under a new ownership group, the Chinooks became the
Calgary Spurs.
Following the 1989–90 season, the Spurs ceased operations, leaving the AJHL with just seven franchises. The league opted to keep a second Calgary-based franchise along with the
Calgary Canucks, and sold a new franchise to four local businessmen who named it the Calgary Jr. "A" Royals with the mandate of providing Calgary and area kids with the opportunity to combine a high level of hockey with a quality education.
The Royals were immediately successful, finishing second in the regular season standings, behind the
Fort Saskatchewan Traders and winning the league championship in their first season. The Royals were unable to duplicate that success, as the team failed to make it past the second round of the playoffs since winning the title.
Faced with the challenges of sharing a market with the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
,
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...
, and another AJHL team, the Royals were supported through corporate partnerships and volunteers. Seeking to distinguish itself from the city's minor hockey program of the same name, the franchise renamed itself the Mustangs prior to the 2010–11 season.
After several seasons of struggling financially, the Mustangs were granted a leave of absence for the 2019–20 season.
The Mustangs are approved to move to
Blackfalds, Alberta for the 2021–22 season, after being sold to Doug Quinn.
Season-by-season record
''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T/OTL = Ties/Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''
NHL alumni
Some of the players that played on the Royals that went on to play in the NHL include:
*
T. J. Galiardi
*
Cale Hulse
*
Krystofer Kolanos
*
Tyler Sloan
*
Jay Beagle
*
Brandon Kozun
See also
*
List of ice hockey teams in Alberta
*
Ice hockey in Calgary
*
Calgary Buffaloes (AJHL)
*
Calgary Cowboys (AJHL)
References
External links
Alberta Junior Hockey League websiteCalgary Mustangs websiteCalgary Royals website
{{Defunct AJHL
Royals, Calgary
Ice hockey teams in Alberta
Ice hockey clubs established in 1990
1990 establishments in Alberta
Defunct Alberta Junior Hockey League teams