The Wichita Thunder are a

minor league hockey Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

team based in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

. The team played in the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which oper ...

from 1992 until 2014, and then 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 ...

since the 2014–15 season. From 1992 until December 2009, the Thunder played in the

Britt Brown Arena Kansas Coliseum was an entertainment complex in unincorporated Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. It was located north of Wichita at the intersection of I-135 and 85th Street North. It hosted sporting events, concerts, shows, and consisted ...

located in the northern Wichita suburb of Park City. In January 2010 (the second half of the 2009–10 season), the team began playing its home games at the newly built

Intrust Bank Arena Intrust Bank Arena is a 15,004-seat multi-purpose arena in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is located on the northeast corner of Emporia and Waterman streets in downtown Wichita. The arena is the second largest indoor arena in the state of ...

. The Thunder are currently the ECHL affiliate of the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...

Franchise history

Central Hockey League

The Thunder was one of the first six original teams of the second iteration of the

, along with the Oklahoma City Blazers,

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

, Memphis RiverKings, Dallas Freeze and the Fort Worth Fire. Wichita played its first home game at

on November 4, 1992, in front of a crowd of 5,486. In the same season, the Thunder had its first sellout in team history when the crowd of 9,686 fans watched the Thunder defeat Oklahoma City 4–3. The Thunder was originally coached by Gary Fay, but after a 6–20 start, he was replaced by

Doug Shedden Douglas Arthur Shedden (born April 29, 1961) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He played in the National Hockey League between 1981 and 1991. After his playing career he became a coach, and worked in the minor leagues for several ...

. The season was quickly turned around by Shedden, and it finished its first season with a 25–32–2 record. On April 5, 1993, the Thunder goaltender

Robert Desjardins Robert Desjardins (born May 4, 1967) was a Canadian professional goaltender who had a stellar junior and university career but only a short professional career. Born in Verdun, Quebec, Desjardins played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League fr ...

was named the first CHL Rookie of the Year. In the following two seasons, the Thunder was the regular season champion (Adams Cup) and playoff champion (

William Levins Memorial Cup The Ray Miron President's Cup is a trophy that was awarded to the playoff champion of the Central Hockey League (CHL) from 2002 until 2014, when the remaining CHL teams joined the ECHL. The trophy was known as The William "Bill" Levins Memorial Cup ...

). Ron Handy was the Playoff Most Valuable Player for both seasons and was the only player in Central Hockey League history to win the award on multiple occasions. In the 1993–94 season, Doug Shedden won the Coach of the Year award, Robert Desjardins won the Regular Season Most Valuable Player award and Paul Jackson won the Scoring Champion award. On May 14, 1995, Shedden resigned to become coach of the Louisiana IceGators of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). Don Jackson was hired as the new head coach on July 21, 1995. He led the Thunder to a 22–39–3 record and missed the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. On July 19, 1996, Jackson resigned to become head coach of the

Kansas City Blades The Kansas City Blades were a professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League (IHL) from 1990 until 2001, when the league folded. The Blades were based in Kansas City, Missouri, at Kemper Arena. Team history Russ and Diane Pa ...

of the International Hockey League (IHL). Jackson was replaced by Bryan Wells to become the Thunder's fourth head coach in franchise history. Wells wento on to coach the Thunder for five seasons, making the playoffs in four out of the five seasons he coached. On May 2, 2001, Wells was dismissed as head coach. After the dismissal of Wells, the Thunder announced that

James Latos James "Jim" Latos (born January 4, 1966 in Wakaw, Saskatchewan) is a former professional ice hockey coach and player. He coached the Wichita Thunder of the Central Hockey League from 2001-2003. Career statistics See also *List of players who p ...

would be the new head coach. In Latos' first season coaching, the team went 24–34–6 and was out of the playoffs. Latos was fired the following season after a disappointing start of 8–19–7. Five days after his dismissal, the Thunder announced that

Derek Laxdal Derek Laxdal (born February 21, 1966) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional right winger. In 2022, Laxdal was named the head coach of the Oshawa Generals. Playing career Born and raised in Stonewall, Manitoba, Laxdal was drafte ...

would become the team's new head coach. Laxdal went on to coach the Thunder for two seasons to an 87–58–8 record while securing two separate playoff places. On August 3, 2005, Laxdal announced his resignation to become the head coach of the ECHL's

Idaho Steelheads The Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho, and a member of the ECHL. The Steelheads play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference since the 2016–17 season. In 1996, t ...

. Mark French took over as head coach from 2005 to 2007. During his tenure, he compiled a record of 70–59–16. He was fired mid-season in December 2007 with a 4–13 record. He went on to become the assistant coach of the AHL's

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 ...

and the following season took them to a championship as head coach. The Thunder then named former player Rob Weingartner to lead the team. Weingartner played for the Thunder from 1992 to 1996 when he was a member of two championship teams. Weingartner compiled a record of 16–29–2 during his tenure. He has since become the head coach of the

Western States Hockey League The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union. Previously, it was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 1 ...

's Wichita Jr. Thunder. Brent Bilodeau was hired during the 2008 off-season and lead the team for two seasons and a record of 22–48–0. He was fired early in his second season and became the assistant coach of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major 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 ...

Tri-City Americans The Tri-City Americans are a major junior ice hockey team of the Western Hockey League, based in Kennewick, Washington. The team plays its home games at Toyota Center. Every game is broadcast locally on the Tri-City Americans' flagship radio s ...

for two seasons. After the Thunder fired Bilodeau nine games into the 2009–10 season, Jason Duda was given the job on an interim basis while on injured reserve. Duda owns several franchise records from his Thunder career, scoring 870 points in 14 seasons. He finished the season with a 7–43–5 record became an assistant coach under the next head coach,

Kevin McClelland Kevin McClelland (born July 4, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was recently the head coach of the Wichita Thunder in the ECHL. Playing career As a youth, McClelland played in the 1975 Quebec International Pee-Wee H ...

ECHL

On October 7, 2014, soon before the 2014–15 CHL season was set to begin, it was announced that the Central Hockey League had ceased operations and the Thunder, along with the

Allen Americans The Allen Americans are a professional ice hockey team headquartered at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, which currently plays in the ECHL. The team was founded in 2009 in the Central Hockey League (CHL) where they played ...

, Brampton Beast,

Quad City Mallards The Quad City Mallards were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa that competed in the International Hockey League, Central Hockey League and ECHL. They were named after the Mallards team ...

Missouri Mavericks The Kansas City Mavericks are an ice hockey team in the ECHL. Founded in 2009 as the Missouri Mavericks of the CHL, the team plays in Independence, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, at the Cable Dahmer Arena. History On April 1 ...

Rapid City Rush The Rapid City Rush are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Rapid City, South Dakota, and play their home games at The Monument. The Rush are currently a minor affiliate of the Calgary Flames NHL franchise. History On June 2, ...

and

, were all approved for membership into the

for the 2014–15 season. The team finished fifth out of seven teams in the Central Division, scoring 73 points out of 144. On April 16, 2016, the Thunder announced that the team would not renew McClelland's contract for the 2016–17 season. He had been with the Thunder since 2010 and guided the team for six seasons becoming the longest tenured coach in Thunder history, leading the team for 408 games. During his time in Wichita, McClelland compiled a record of 194–166–48, earning a playoff spot in his first season and taking the team to the playoff finals in the following two seasons while still in the CHL. However, he failed to lead the team into the ECHL playoffs in his two seasons leading the team in the ECHL and the Thunder finished last in the overall standings in the 2015–16 season. Malcolm Cameron was announced as the new head coach on May 20, 2016. One of his stated intentions in his opening press conference was to establish the Thunder's first NHL affiliation for the upcoming season. On July 4, 2016, the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member ...

' assistant general manager, Randy Lee, said that his team was in negotiations for an affiliation with the Thunder for the 2016–17 season. The affiliation with the Senators and their

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 ...

affiliate, the

Binghamton Senators The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sen ...

, was finally confirmed on July 14. After one season, the Thunder changed affiliations to the

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 ...

(NHL) and

Bakersfield Condors The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Bakersfield, California. The team is owned by and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their hom ...

(AHL). After three seasons, and one playoff appearance, Cameron was not offered an extension. On May 15, 2019, the Thunder announced that the former

' head coach Bruce Ramsay would be Cameron's replacement.

Season-by-season records

Players

Current roster

Updated December 5, 2022.

Retired numbers

*9 - Ron Handy *11 - Jason Duda *15 - Rob Weingartner *35 -

*38 - Travis Clayton

Notable NHL alumni

List of Wichita Thunder alumni who played more than 25 games in Wichita and 25 or more 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 ...

Leaders

Head coaches

General managers

Awards and trophies

The following lists the league awards which have been won by the Thunder team and its players.

ECHL

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

* Anthony Beauregard:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Coach of the Year *Bruce Ramsay:

General Manager of the Year *Bruce Ramsay:

Community Service Award * Jeremy Beaudry: 2017–18

CHL

* 1993–94, 1994–95 Adams Cup * 1993–94, 1994–95 Coach of the Year *

: 1993–94 *

: 2011–12

Joe Burton Award The Joe Burton Award was awarded annually to the Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bil ...

* Jason Duda: 2004–05

Ken McKenzie Trophy The Ken McKenzie Trophy was awarded annually to the Central Hockey League's leading points scorer in the regular season. The award was named for Ken McKenzie, the co-founder and longtime president and publisher of ''The Hockey News''. Previously, ...

* Paul Jackson: 1993–94 Playoff Most Valuable Player * Ron Handy: 1993–94, 1994–95 Most Outstanding Defenseman * Paul Esdale: 2004–05 *

Andrew Martens Andrew Martens (born July 5, 1981) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who most notably played for the Wichita Thunder of the then Central Hockey League. Playing career He played three seasons of college hockey at B ...

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. ...

* Kevin Young: 2012–13 Rick Kozuback Award * Jason Duda: 2009–10 Rookie of the Year *

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

* Cory Dosdall: 1996–97 * David Beauregard: 1997–98 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (North) * Joe Blaznek: 2005–06

References

External links

Wichita Thunder official web site
{{Kansas Sports Ice hockey clubs established in 1992 Ice hockey teams in Kansas 1992 establishments in Kansas ECHL teams Central Hockey League teams Ottawa Senators minor league affiliates Edmonton Oilers minor league affiliates San Jose Sharks minor league affiliates