The Cleveland Monsters are a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team in 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 le ...

(AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). The Monsters play home games at

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is a multi-purpose arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The building is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL). It also ...

in downtown Cleveland and have one

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 cur ...

championship, after winning their first title in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Franchise history

Early years

The Monsters began in 2006 when the dormant

Utah Grizzlies The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Star ...

AHL franchise was purchased on May 16, 2006, by a Cleveland ownership group led by

Dan Gilbert Daniel Gilbert (born January 17, 1962) is an American billionaire businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and majority owner of Rocket Mortgage, founder of Rock Ventures, and owner of the National Basketball Association' ...

, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and

Quicken Loans Rocket Mortgage, LLC (formerly known as Quicken Loans LLC) is a mortgage loan provider. It is headquartered in the One Campus Martius building in the financial district of Downtown Detroit, Michigan. In January 2018, the company became the la ...

. A new AHL team was awarded to Cleveland following the departure of the

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, after the 2005–06 season. With

Quicken Loans Arena Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is a multi-purpose arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The building is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL). It also serv ...

established as the team's home venue, the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

was announced on December 17, 2006, as the franchise's first NHL parent club with a five-year agreement. The franchise was officially announced on January 25, 2007, as the Lake Erie Monsters, referring to Bessie, a creature of local folklore. The name was chosen from researching focus groups around the Cleveland area and the logo incorporated the geographical connection in the region with

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...

. Former NHL player

Joe Sacco Joe Sacco (; born October 2, 1960) is a Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist. He is best known for his comics journalism, in particular in the books '' Palestine'' (1996) and '' Footnotes in Gaza'' (2009), on Israeli–Palestinian rela ...

was named as the Lake Erie Monsters first head coach and

Dave Oliver David Jacob Oliver (born April 7, 1951) is a former infielder and coach in Major League Baseball, and is currently a member of the scouting department for the Kansas City Royals. Primarily a second baseman as a professional player, he batted lef ...

was named general manager. The Monsters opened their inaugural 2007–08 campaign with a loss at home against the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Leag ...

on October 9, 2007. The team ended the season 26–41. At the end of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

season, the Monsters qualified for the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time in team history. After gaining a 3–1 series lead over the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets ...

in the opening round, the Monsters proceeded to lose the next three consecutive games, losing the series 4–3.

Blue Jackets era

On April 17, 2015, the Monsters announced the signing of a multi-year agreement to become the AHL affiliate for the

, which took effect in the 2015–16 season. The multi-season affiliation was extended in 2019. The Monsters finished the 2015–16 season by setting a franchise record in points (97) and qualified for the playoffs for the second time in team history. On April 23, 2016, the Monsters defeated their first round opponent, the

Rockford IceHogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...

, 5–3, ending a three-game sweep of their opponent in a best-of-five series. The Monsters advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals to play the

in a best-of-seven series, defeating them 4–2. They then swept the defending Calder Cup Champion

Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Ontario, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings, the team plays ...

in the Western Conference Finals to reach their first Calder Cup Final in franchise history. On June 11, 2016, the Monsters won the franchise's first Calder Cup in a four-game sweep of the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...

, with

Oliver Bjorkstrand Oliver Bjorkstrand (born 10 April 1995) is a Danish professional ice hockey forward for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bjorkstrand was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round, 89th overall, of the 2013 ...

scoring the Cup-winning goal in overtime. This marked Cleveland's first AHL title since the

Barons Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

won their last Calder Cup in 1964, and 10th overall for a Cleveland-based AHL team. The Monsters won Game 4 before a sellout crowd of 19,665 people at Quicken Loans Arena — the second largest crowd for a professional hockey game in Ohio behind the 19,941 in a

Cleveland Lumberjacks The Cleveland Lumberjacks were an International Hockey League (IHL) team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Facts :Owner: Larry Gordon :Logo design: "Buzz"- A beaver wearing overalls holding a homemade hockey stick framed by a circular saw blade :Divis ...

game against the

Minnesota Moose The Minnesota Moose were an American professional ice hockey team based out of Saint Paul, Minnesota that played in the International Hockey League from 1994 to 1996. History Following the departure of the National Hockey League's Minnesota Nor ...

in February 1996, and the second largest in Calder Cup playoff history behind the 20,103

Philadelphia Phantoms The Philadelphia Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1996 to 2009. The club was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played most of its home games at the Spectrum. During schedule ...

game four victory in the 2005 Calder Cup Finals over the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

. On August 9, 2016, the Lake Erie Monsters changed their name to the Cleveland Monsters. The team's Calder Cup winning head coach,

Jared Bednar Jared Bednar (born February 28, 1972) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously coached the Lake Erie Monsters of the ...

, was then hired by the

on August 25. Under their new name and coach

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pl ...

, the Monsters failed to qualify for the playoffs in the 2016–17 season. In the 2017–18 season, the Monsters earned last place in the Western Conference and failed to make the playoffs. The team returned to the playoffs following the 2018–19 season as the fourth seed in the North Division where they upset the division champion Syracuse Crunch before being swept by the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

in the division finals. Head coach John Madden then left the team and was replaced by Mike Eaves. The Monsters 2019–20 season was curtailed by the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The team ended the season in last place in their division with a record of 24–31. Owing to the ongoing effects of the pandemic, the 2020–21 season was delayed and shortened with no playoffs held in their division. They ended the season in second place within their division.

Cleveland hockey history

The following teams have previously played in Cleveland. The Monsters recognize and honor past Cleveland teams with commemorative banners at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse: *

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

Falcons Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

(1929–1936 IHL; 1936–1973 AHL) — nine-time

champions *

Cleveland Crusaders The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1976. Their home ice was the Cleveland Arena from 1972 to 1974, and the Richfield Coliseum from 1974 to 1976. T ...

(1972–1976) WHA *

(1976–1978)

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(1992–2001) IHL *

(2001–2006) AHL

Season-by-season results

Note: gold shading indicates season team won Calder Cup

Players

Current roster

Updated December 23, 2022.

Team captains

Mark Rycroft Mark A. Rycroft (born July 12, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche. Rycroft is currently a TV studio analyst for Altitude Spor ...

, 2007–08 *

Wyatt Smith Wyatt Carter Smith (born February 13, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played as a journeyman center in the National Hockey League before finishing his career with ERC Ingolstadt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Play ...

, 2008 * Brian Willsie, 2008–10 * David Liffiton, 2010–12 * Bryan Lerg, 2012–14 * Brian Sutherby, 2013 * Bruno Gervais, 2014–15 * Ryan Craig, 2015–17 *

Nathan Gerbe Nathan David Gerbe (born July 24, 1987) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He last played for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played with Genève-Servette HC of the National League (N ...

, 2018–19 *

Zac Dalpe Zac Dalpe (born November 1, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who currently plays for the Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NH ...

, 2019–21 * Dillon Simpson, 2021–present

Retired numbers

file:Monsters banners.png, 200px, Monsters retired numbers and championship banners hanging from the rafters of

No Monsters player has had his number retired. However, the team has retired the numbers of players who have played on past Cleveland franchises to honor the city's hockey history.

Team records

;Single season :Goals: 33,

(2018–19) :Assists: 50,

T.J. Hensick Timothy James Hensick (born December 10, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey center. He is currently playing for the Toledo Walleye in the ECHL. Hensick was drafted 88th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche. Pl ...

(2009–10) :Points: 70 T.J. Hensick (2009–10), Ben Walter (2010–11) :Penalty minutes: 215, Daniel Maggio (2014–15) :Wins: 27, Anton Forsberg (2016–17) :GAA: 2.11,

Cedrick Desjardins Cédrick or Cedrick is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Cedrick Banks (born 1981), American professional basketball player * Cedrick Bowers (born 1978), left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher *Cédrick Desjardins (born 1985) ...

(2011–12) :SV%: .932, Cedrick Desjardins (2011–12) :Shutouts: 8,

Tyler Weiman Tyler Ray Weiman (born June 5, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Colorado Avalanche. Playing career Weiman was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He was d ...

(2008–09) *Goaltending records need a minimum 25 games played by the goaltender ;Playoffs :Goals: 10,

(2016) :Assists: 10, Ryan Craig (2016) :Points: 16 (tie), Oliver Bjorkstrand and Lukas Sedlak (2016) :Penalty minutes: 26, Kerby Rychel (2016) :Wins: 9, Anton Forsberg (2016) :GAA: 1.34, Anton Forsberg (2016) :SV%: .949, Anton Forsberg (2016) :Shutouts: 2, Anton Forsberg (2016) ;Career :Career goals: Andrew Agozzino, 67 :Career assists: Andrew Agozzino, 98 :Career points: Andrew Agozzino, 165 :Career penalty minutes: Brett Gallant, 629 :Career goaltending wins:

Calvin Pickard Calvin Pickard (born April 15, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey Lea ...

, 60 :Career shutouts: Tyler Weiman, 13 :Career games: Justin Scott, 336 ;Firsts and team records *First game: October 6, 2007, vs.

*First win: October 20, 2007, 3–2 vs. Syracuse Crunch *First goal: Matt Hussey (October 6, 2007 vs.

) *First shutout:

Jason Bacashihua Jason Bacashihua (born September 20, 1982) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender who last played for Manchester Storm in the UK Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). He has played in the National Hockey League with the St. Louis Blues, va ...

(November 15, 2007, vs.

Quad City Flames The Quad City Flames were an American professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 2007 to 2009. They were owned by QC Sports Ventures Inc., an ownership group based out of the Quad Cities. The Flames played at the ...

) *First hat trick: Chris Stewart (November 17, 2007, vs.

) *Most goals in a game: 4 by

Patrick Rissmiller Patrick Rissmiller (born October 26, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey winger who played in the National Hockey League for the San Jose Sharks, New York Rangers, Atlanta Thrashers, and the Florida Panthers. He joined the Anah ...

(December 3, 2010, vs.

) *Most wins in a season: 44 (2010–11) *Most home wins in a season: 25 (2015–16) *Most points in a season: 97 (2015–16) *Most games won in a row: 8 (2010–11) *First playoff game: April 16, 2011. (vs.

) *First playoff goal: April 16, 2011 (by Matthew Ford) *First playoff win: April 16, 2011 (Monsters 6,

4) *First playoff series win: April 23, 2016 (Monsters won series 3–0 vs.

) *First Western Conference championship: May 26, 2016 (Monsters won series 4–0 vs.

) *First Calder Cup championship: June 11, 2016 (Monsters won series 4–0 vs.

)

Media

Radio

WARF WARF (1350 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Akron, Ohio, known as "Fox Sports 1350 The Gambler" and carrying a sports format. Owned by iHeartMedia, WARF serves the Greater Cleveland and Akron metro areas as an affiliate of Fox Spo ...

AM 1350 serves as the radio outlet for the team. Play-by-play announcer Tony Brown calls games on-site. TV Select Monsters games will be televised, with Bally Sports Great Lakes serving as the outlet. The broadcast team consists of play-by-play broadcaster Tony Brown, former Monsters goaltender and current

goaltender development coach Brad Thiessen as booth analyst, former

player

Jock Callander William Darren "Jock" Callander (born April 23, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, and current front office executive, part-time assistant coach, and TV analyst for the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. Ca ...

as rinkside analyst, and WHBC afternoon host Kenny Roda as host/locker room reporter. All televised games are also simulcast on the radio.

Mascot and entertainment

The Monsters' official mascot is a seagull character named "Sullivan C. Goal" (aka "Sully"). Also featured are the "Monsters Hockey Girls" cheerleaders.

References

External links

Cleveland Monsters
(official website) {{Cleveland Colorado Avalanche minor league affiliates Columbus Blue Jackets minor league affiliates Ice hockey clubs established in 2007 Ice hockey teams in Ohio

Monsters A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

2007 establishments in Ohio Rock Ventures