The Abbotsford Heat were a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team that played five seasons in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) between 2009 and 2014. The team was based in Abbotsford,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada, and played its home games at the 7,046-seat Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre. The franchise was the

(AHL) affiliate of the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

and arrived in Abbotsford in 2009 as a relocated franchise formerly known as the Quad City Flames. The team played five seasons in British Columbia before the Flames' lease agreement with the City of Abbotsford was terminated following the 2013–14 season. On May 5, 2014, the AHL's Board of Governors approved the relocation of the franchise to

Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a City (New York), city in Warren County, New York, Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls, New York metropolitan area, Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,83 ...

where the Adirondack Flames replaced the Adirondack Phantoms who had moved to

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

History

The Flames moved their affiliate to the Fraser Valley after playing two seasons in Moline,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

as the Quad City Flames. The team's transfer was approved on April 28, 2009, and as a result, Abbotsford became the westernmost city in the AHL. The team closest to the Heat in distance, the

Oklahoma City Barons The Oklahoma City Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team's first season was 2010–11 AHL season, 2010–11. They played their home games at the Cox Convention Center, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. ...

, was away, and the Heat was the only AHL team west of the Central Time Zone. To reduce travel costs, road teams sometimes played two consecutive games in Abbotsford, and in some cases, the Heat played consecutive road games at the same arena. The same scheduling was used for the St. John's IceCaps. The organization held a "name the team" contest, and on May 14, 2009, Heat was announced as the team's new name. On June 5, 2009, it was reported that Jim Playfair would debut as head coach of the Abbotsford Heat after spending two seasons with the

Relocation to Glens Falls

The team struggled financially and saw low attendance; talks eventually broke down between the city of Abbotsford, the Vancouver Canucks, and the Calgary Flames on a possible affiliation swap. Upon the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

' purchase of the Peoria Rivermen, the Heat's owners were petitioned from interested groups in

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

. On June 14, 2013, the Vancouver Canucks and Mohawk Valley Garden, the managing partner based in Utica, signed a six-year affiliation agreement, and the Utica Comets became the new AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks moved the team to Abbotsford in 2021, becoming the Abbotsford Canucks. The city of Abbotsford terminated the contract with the Heat on April 15, 2014. The Heat finished the season and Calder Cup playoffs in Abbotsford, and on May 5, 2014, the AHL's Board of Governors announced at its spring meeting in Chicago that it approved the relocation of the team to Glens Falls for the 2014–15 season, with games to be played at the Glens Falls Civic Center as the Adirondack Flames.http://poststar.com/sports/mayor-three-year-deal-under-discussion/article_904d9100-d17f-11e3-9526-0019bb2963f4.hmtl

Team information

Mascot

The Heat's mascot was Hawkey, an anthropomorphic red-tailed hawk, a species native to the Fraser Valley. Hawkey could be seen at home games wearing jersey No. 00.

Season-by-season results

Team captains

* Garth Murray, 2009–10 * Carter Bancks and Ben Walter 2009-10 * Quintin Laing, 2010–13 * Dean Arsene, 2013–14

References

{{Defunct AHL Calgary Flames minor league affiliates Sport in Abbotsford, British Columbia Ice hockey clubs established in 2009 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2014 Defunct ice hockey teams in Canada 2009 establishments in British Columbia 2014 disestablishments in British Columbia