The Toronto Roadrunners were an

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 ...

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 lea ...

. They played in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada at the Ricoh Coliseum. In their only season the Roadrunners featured players such as Jani Rita,

Brad Winchester Bradley A. Winchester (born March 1, 1981) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger. He was selected in the second round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, 35th overall, by the Edmonton Oilers. Playing career Winchester spent two s ...

Jamie Wright Jamie Wright (born May 13, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Dallas Stars, Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers. Wright was born in Kitchener, Ontario, ...

and Steve Valiquette who helped them advance to the AHL playoffs where they lost the first round to 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 ...

History

In the early 2000s, there were efforts to refurbish CNE Coliseum for a minor professional team. Plans to move the dormant Phoenix Roadrunners of the International Hockey League to Toronto for the 2002–03 season fell apart when the league dissolved and six teams, but not the Roadrunners, were absorbed by the

(AHL) in the summer of 2001. The same group then attempted to purchase the Louisville Panthers AHL franchise, which had suspended operations for the 2001–02 season, and relocate it to the Coliseum, but the AHL voted against the transaction in December 2001. The

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 ...

pressured the Hamilton Bulldogs, who held territorial rights to Toronto since it fell within their 50-mile home territory, to veto the transaction. The Leafs reportedly did not want the Coliseum to be upgraded as it would compete with their newly opened

Air Canada Centre Scotiabank Arena (French: ''Aréna Scotiabank)'', formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Ra ...

. Next, the group began pursuing the Bulldogs, which were owned by the NHL's

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. The Bulldogs did not require league approval to move to Toronto since the Coliseum was within their territory. After an agreement was reached with the Oilers to relocate the Bulldogs to Toronto, and to rename them the Toronto Roadrunners, the City of Toronto agreed to an extensive renovation of the Coliseum for the team in November 2002. At a cost of $38 million, the arena's capacity was expanded from 6,500 to 9,700 by building a new higher roof, lowering the floor and adding new seats in the expanded area. As part of the renovation, the city sold naming rights to Ricoh Canada. The renovated building has 38 private suites. Simultaneously, the Quebec Citadelles were moved to Hamilton to replace the Bulldogs. While initial owner Lyle Abrhams brought the franchise to Toronto with good intentions, poor attendance except when playing the St. John's Maple Leafs, a questionable business model, and a dispute with building officials resulted in the relocation of the franchise to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

after only one season, becoming the

Edmonton Road Runners The Edmonton Road Runners were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at Rexall Place. History After the 2003–04 season the Edmonton Oilers announced that the Toronto Roadrunners would play th ...

. Another factor was the desire of the parent club to have the team play in Edmonton to fill the void due to the expected

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

. Since Abrhams owned the rights to the name and logo, the Roadrunners name and identity returned as the Phoenix RoadRunners in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

and later would resurface as the Tucson Roadrunners in the AHL in 2016. The void in Toronto was filled in 2005 when the St. John's Maple Leafs relocated from Atlantic Canada to the Ricoh Coliseum and became 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 ...

Team records

:Goals: 25

:Assists: 30 Jamie Wright :Points: 55 Jamie Wright :Penalty Minutes: 196

Rocky Thompson Rocky Lee Thompson (born August 8, 1977) is a Canadians, Canadian former ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), right wing, who is currently an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, NHL. He was drafted in the third ...

:GAA: 2.52 Mike Morrison :SV%: .913 Mike Morrison,

Stephen Valiquette Stephen Valiquette (born August 20, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Valiquette played 46 games in the National Hockey League, nearly all for the New York Rangers, before finishing his playing career in Europe. Valiq ...

:Goaltending Wins: 14 Steve Valiquette :Shutouts: 3 Mike Morrison,

Tyler Moss Tyler Moss (born June 29, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Moss played for the Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Moss played junior for th ...

:Games: 78 Jamie Wright Affiliates *

(2003–2004)

Roster

2004–2005 * Head coach: Geoff Ward Players * 24

* 8

Tony Salmelainen Tony Salmelainen (born August 8, 1981) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. He last played for HIFK of the Finnish Liiga in 2013. He was originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers as their second-round pick in the 1999 NHL Entry D ...

* 22 Jani Rita * 7 Doug Lynch * 13 Nate DiCasmirro * 38 Mike Bishai * 23 Joe Cullen * 25 J. J. Hunter * 37

Sean McAslan Sean McAslan (born January 12, 1980) is a Canadian former ice hockey who last played for the Nottingham Panthers in the UK. Career Early career McAslan started his career in Calgary playing for Calgary Hitmen in Western Hockey League (WHL) f ...

* 33 Mikko Luoma * 27 Michael Henrich * 19 Jeff Woywitka * 51 David Roche * 10

* 18

Peter Sarno Peter Sarno (born July 26, 1979) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre, who last played for Alleghe Hockey in the Italy, Italian Serie A (ice hockey), Serie A. He was selected in the sixth round of t ...

* 5 Bobby Allen * 26

Dan Tessier Dan Tessier (born January 3, 1979) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey centre who last played for the Nottingham Panthers of the British Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). He was featured in the first season of '' Making the Cut: Last Ma ...

* 6 Dan Smith * 15

Dan Baum Dan Baum (February 18, 1956 – October 8, 2020) was an American journalist and author who wrote for ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The New Yorker'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''Wired'', ''Playboy'', and ''The New York Times Magazine,'' among other publ ...

* 2

* 21 Marc-Andre Bergeron * 55

Igor Ulanov Igor Sergeevich Ulanov (russian: И́горь Серге́евич Ула́нов; born 1 October 1969) is a Russian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Ulanov was drafted by the W ...

* 34 Peter Hogan * 36 Mathieu Roy * 30 David Cousineau * 12 Jan Horacek * 14 Brent Henley * 40 Steve Valiquette * 38 Jason Platt * 16 Jean-Francois Plourde * 20

Zack Stortini Zachery Stortini (born September 11, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger and current assistant coach with the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Edm ...

* 32 David Belitski * 44 Ryan Christie * 29

Chris Madden Chris Madden may refer to: * Chris Madden (ice hockey) Chris Madden (born March 27, 1978) is an American retired professional ice hockey goalie. Career Before turning pro, Madden played for the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League, where ...

* 29

* 1 Mike Morrison

Season-by-season results

References

External links