The Hartford Wolf Pack are a
professional ice hockey team based in
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
. A member of the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...
(AHL), they play their home games at the
XL Center
The XL Center (originally known as the Hartford Civic Center) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the City of Hartford, it is managed by the quasi-public Capital Region Developmen ...
. The team was established in 1926 as the
Providence Reds
The Providence Reds were a hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) between 1926 and 1936 and the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Reds. The t ...
. After a series of relocations, the team moved to Hartford in 1997 as the Hartford Wolf Pack. It is one of the oldest professional hockey franchises in existence, and the oldest continuously operating minor league hockey franchise in North America.
The franchise was renamed the Connecticut Whale in October 2010, in honor of the former
Hartford Whalers of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
(NHL), but reverted to their current name after the
2012–13 AHL season. The Wolf Pack is the top affiliate of the NHL's
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...
and is one of the four professional
hockey teams in Connecticut.
History
The franchise that became the Wolf Pack was founded in 1926 in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...
as the
Providence Reds
The Providence Reds were a hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) between 1926 and 1936 and the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Reds. The t ...
, one of the five charter members of the
Canadian-American Hockey League. In 1936, the Northeast-based CAHL merged with the Midwest-based
International Hockey League to form the International-American Hockey League, which dropped the "International" from its name in 1940.
The Reds — known as the Rhode Island Reds in their later years — folded after the 1976–77 season. Shortly afterward, the owners of the
Broome Dusters of the
North American Hockey League bought the Reds franchise and moved it to
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflu ...
as the
Binghamton Dusters
The Binghamton Dusters were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Binghamton, New York, USA at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. The team logo was designed by Johnny Hart, artist of the comic strip " B.C." a ...
. After securing an affiliation with the
Hartford Whalers in 1980, the team changed its name to the
Binghamton Whalers
The Binghamton Whalers were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, playing in Binghamton, New York, USA, at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.
History
The Whalers were generally a successful team, making the playoffs seven t ...
. An affiliation change to the Rangers in 1990 — one that continues to this day — brought another new name, the
Binghamton Rangers
The Binghamton Rangers were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Binghamton, New York, USA at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.
History
The market was previously served by:
: Broome Dusters of the NAHL (19 ...
.
After the
1996–97 NHL season
The 1996–97 NHL season was the 80th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Philadelphia Flyers in four games and won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 42 years.
...
, the Whalers moved to
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Sout ...
as the
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...
. Soon after the Whalers' departure, the Binghamton Rangers relocated to Hartford and began to play at the vacated Hartford Civic Center (today known as the
XL Center
The XL Center (originally known as the Hartford Civic Center) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the City of Hartford, it is managed by the quasi-public Capital Region Developmen ...
).
Following a "name-the-team" contest, the franchise became the Hartford Wolf Pack, a reference to a submarine class as well as the tactic known as "
wolfpacking". With Connecticut being home to both the main builder of submarines (
General Dynamics Electric Boat) and the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
's primary
submarine base
A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel.
Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue (the base for France's Force océanique stratégique), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay ...
, honoring the state's naval tradition was the paramount goal. The name ''Seawolf'', a reference to the s was considered to have been the ideal name for the team. However, it had already been taken by the
Mississippi Sea Wolves of the
East Coast Hockey League. Following the submarine theme, the mascot was named "Sonar".
The Wolf Pack's first coach was
E.J. McGuire, and their first home game was played in front of a crowd of 12,934 fans on October 4, 1997.
P.J. Stock
Philip Joseph Stock (born May 26, 1975) is a Canadian sports broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player. After retiring as a player in 2004, he hosted a radio show on Montreal station Team 990 and later became a regular member of t ...
scored the first home goal in Wolf Pack history. The first franchise goal was scored the night prior in Providence, R.I., by Pierre Sevigny. The team reached the playoffs during the first 12 years of their existence and won the
Calder Cup
The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars.
The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...
in
2000, defeating the
Rochester Americans
The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...
in the Cup finals.
Derek Armstrong won the
Jack A. Butterfield Trophy
The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champion of the American Hockey League (AHL). First awarded in the 1937–38 season, it is named after Frank Calder, first president of the National Hockey League. The Calder Cup is di ...
as AHL playoff MVP.
In the summer of 2010, the Rangers entered into a business relationship which gave former Whalers owner
Howard Baldwin and his company, Hartford Hockey LLC (
doing business as Whalers Sports & Entertainment), control of the team's business operations.
On September 20, 2010, Baldwin announced the Wolf Pack would change their name to the Connecticut Whale in honor of the Whalers.
The name change took place on November 27, 2010; the final game with the "Wolf Pack" name came on November 26, 2010. The opponent was Connecticut's other AHL team, the
Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Sound Tigers won 4–3, in a
shootout. On November 27, 2010, the team played their first game under the new "Whale" name. The opponent was, again, the Sound Tigers. The Whale won 3–2, in a shootout. The attendance for the debut game was 13,089, which is the third-largest crowd in franchise history. On January 1, 2011, the Whale debuted new home jerseys featuring light blue instead of green, however, the color was shelved for the 2011–12 season.
The Whale were hosts and participants in the 2011
AHL Outdoor Classic, the Whale Bowl, held at
Rentschler Field
Rentschler Field was an airport in East Hartford, Connecticut in use from 1933 to 1999. Originally a military facility, later a private corporate airport, it was decommissioned in 1999, after which the football stadium of the same name was bui ...
in
East Hartford
East Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 51,045 at the 2020 census. The town is located on the east bank of the Connecticut River, directly across from Hartford, Connecticut. It is home to aerospa ...
, Connecticut. Connecticut fell to the
Providence Bruins
The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R ...
, 5–4, in a shootout.
In June 2012, after just 21 months, the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...
terminated their business relationship with Baldwin
after he and his company ran up a debt of almost $3 million and had about 15 court cases against him.
In April 2013, just two and a half seasons after rebranding as the Whale, the team decided it would revert to the nickname "Wolf Pack" for the following season. Global Spectrum, the group now marketing the team and managers of the
XL Center
The XL Center (originally known as the Hartford Civic Center) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the City of Hartford, it is managed by the quasi-public Capital Region Developmen ...
arena, announced in May 2013 that the franchise had officially returned to the Hartford Wolf Pack identity.
Although the Wolf Pack does not officially acknowledge its past in Providence and Binghamton (or claim the Reds' four Calder Cups), it is the only AHL franchise to have never missed a season since the league's founding in 1936. In one form or another, the franchise has iced a team every year since 1926. The Wolf Pack and
Abbotsford Canucks — the descendants of another charter AHL member, the
Springfield Indians
The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in exi ...
— are the oldest minor-league hockey franchises in North America. However, the Indians were inactive for three seasons in the 1930s, making the Wolf Pack the oldest continuously operating minor-league hockey franchise in North America. The only professional hockey franchises older than the Wolf Pack and the Canucks are the NHL's
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
,
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
and
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...
.
Team information
Mascots
The Wolf Pack started in 1997 with one mascot, a wolf named Sonar. The name was chosen to keep with the submarine theme that the team had used in their naming and logo. Following the folding of their sister team, the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
's
New England Sea Wolves, the Wolf Pack added the Sea Wolves' mascot, named Torpedo; this mascot has since been retired. In 2010, with the renaming of the team to the Connecticut Whale, Sonar was joined as a mascot by former Whalers mascot Pucky the Whale. Sonar took the 2012–13 season off while Pucky was the sole mascot. When the naming arrangement ended, Sonar came back while Pucky was retired.
Season-by-season results
Players
Current roster
Updated December 12, 2022.
Team captains
*
Ken Gernander, 1997–05
*
Craig Weller
Craig Weller (born March 17, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted 167th overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Weller played for the Phoenix Coyotes, ...
, 2005–07
*
Andrew Hutchinson, 2007–08
*
Greg Moore, 2008–09
*
Dane Byers
Dane Byers (born February 21, 1986) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player. He last played for and captained Manchester Storm of the UK's EIHL. He was originally drafted by the New York Rangers 48th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Dra ...
, 2009–10
*
Wade Redden
Wade Redden (born June 12, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and a development coach of the Ottawa Senators, with whom he spent the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL). He also played for the New Yo ...
, 2011–12
*
Aaron Johnson, 2013–14
*
Ryan Bourque, 2015–16
*
Mat Bodie, 2016–17
*
Joe Whitney, 2017–18
*
Cole Schneider
Cole Schneider (born August 26, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey player who currently plays with the Milwaukee Admirals in the American Hockey League (AHL). After leaving the University of Connecticut in 2012, he began his professi ...
, 2018
*
Steven Fogarty
Steven Fogarty (born April 19, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Fogarty ...
,
2019–20
*
Vincent LoVerde, 2021
*
Jonny Brodzinski
Jonathan Brodzinski (born June 19, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Brodzinski ...
, 2021–present
Retired numbers
Notable alumni
The following players have played both 100 games in Hartford and 100 games in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
:
Team records
;Single season
:Goals: 50,
Brad Smyth (2000–01)
:Assists: 69,
Derek Armstrong (2000–01)
:Points: 101, Derek Armstrong (2000–01)
:Penalty Minutes: 415,
Dale Purinton
Dale Purinton (born October 11, 1976) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman, known as an enforcer, who played 181 games for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League.
Playing career
Purinton was drafted in the 5t ...
(1999–2000)
:GAA: 1.59,
Jason LaBarbera
Antonio Jason LaBarbera (born January 18, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played parts of 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).
He was originally drafted by the New York Rangers in the 1998 NHL Entry D ...
(2003–04)
:SV%: .936, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)
:Shutouts: 13, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)
:Goaltending Wins: 34, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)
;Career
:Goals: 184,
Brad Smyth
:Assists: 204,
Derek Armstrong
:Points: 365, Brad Smyth
:Penalty Minutes: 1240,
Dale Purinton
Dale Purinton (born October 11, 1976) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman, known as an enforcer, who played 181 games for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League.
Playing career
Purinton was drafted in the 5t ...
:Shutouts: 21,
Jason LaBarbera
Antonio Jason LaBarbera (born January 18, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played parts of 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).
He was originally drafted by the New York Rangers in the 1998 NHL Entry D ...
:Goaltending Wins: 91, Jason LaBarbera
:Games: 599,
Ken Gernander
References
External links
Hartford Wolf Pack Official WebsiteThe Internet Hockey Database – Hartford Wolf PackAmerican Hockey League
{{Connecticut Sports
Ice hockey teams in Connecticut
1
Ice hockey clubs established in 1997
Wolf Pack
1997 establishments in Connecticut
Madison Square Garden Sports