The Swindon Wildcats 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 based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. They play in the

National Ice Hockey League The National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) is a set of professional ice hockey leagues administered by the English Ice Hockey Association. It is currently the second tier of British ice hockey, below the Elite Ice Hockey League. Formerly called th ...

(NIHL). Since their inception, the Wildcats have played their home games at the 1600-capacity

Link Centre The Link Centre is a leisure centre in Swindon, England. The building, owned by Swindon Borough Council and operated by Greenwich Leisure Limited, Greenwich Leisure under the brand "Better", is best known for its national-sized ice rink which ho ...

in West Swindon. The club was founded in 1986 as the Swindon Wildcats, shortly after the opening of the Link Centre. The Wildcats were members of the English Premier Ice Hockey League (EPIHL) from 1997 to 2017. Due to the instability of the EPIHL following the culmination of the 2016–17 season, the Swindon Wildcats announced their intention to join the National League. In their first season competing in the National League, the Wildcats won both the Autumn Cup and National Cup competitions, securing the club's first silverware since the 2000-01 season. The following year the Wildcats won the regular season, becoming the 2018/2019 champions.

Logos and uniforms

Logos

The Wildcats' logo is an animated wildcat in the team colours of red and white.

Jerseys

The jerseys currently worn by the Swindon Wildcats are in red and white, the colours sported by the team since the 2008–2009 relaunch. They have worn the same jerseys (with a few small variations) since the 2008–2009 season. For the 2019/20 campaign, the Wildcats will have an alternate jersey that is predominantly black with red motifs. The first Wildcats colours were black, yellow, orange and white. Blue and white were worn in 2006 and 2007.

Mascot

The official mascot for the Swindon Wildcats is an

anthropomorphized Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

wildcat by the name of Scratch. Scratch took over from his cousin Willie Wildcats during the 2021/22 Season. Willie Wildcat had been the mascot for the 'Cats since their return to the Wildcats name in 2004, after three seasons as the Lynx. However, he retired after a successful career at the Better Link Centre.

Season-by-season record

Club roster 2022-23

(*) Denotes a Non-British Trained player (Import)

2022/23 Outgoing

Retired numbers

6 Lee Brathwaite, D, 1992–1997, 1998–2009 7 Bryan Larkin, D, 1991–2001 9 Gary Dickie, F, 1993–1997 10 Steve Nell, F, 1986-1988, 1990-1996, 1997-1998, General Manager 2004–2021 (Now Managing Director) 14 Daryl Lipsey, F, 1986–1995 15 Scott Koberinski, F, 1989–1993 17 Ian Richards, F, 1987–1999

References

External links

*
Swindon Wildcats Academy
{{Authority control Ice hockey teams in England Sport in Swindon Ice hockey clubs established in 1986 EPIHL teams 1986 establishments in England