The Calgary Mustangs were a

junior A Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

team in the

Alberta Junior Hockey League The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The r ...

(AJHL). They played in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

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 Ter ...

, Canada at the Father David Bauer Olympic Arena. They were known as the Calgary Royals from 1990 until 2010. On May 4, 2019, it was announced that the Mustangs had elected to take a leave of absence for the 2019–20 season.

History

The franchise began play in the 1972–73 season as The Pass Red Devils based in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. The Red Devils franchise lasted four years before relocating to the nearby community of

Pincher Creek Pincher Creek is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located immediately east of the Canadian Rockies, west of Lethbridge and south of Calgary. History For centuries before European settlers reached this area and inhabited it, Indig ...

to become the Pincher Creek Panthers. The team lasted two seasons in Pincher Creek before relocating to Calgary to become the Calgary Chinooks. In 1979–80, under a new ownership group, the Chinooks became the Calgary Spurs. Following the 1989–90 season, the Spurs ceased operations, leaving the AJHL with just seven franchises. The league opted to keep a second Calgary-based franchise along with the

Calgary Canucks The Calgary Canucks are a junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). They play in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with home games at the Ken Bracko Arena. They have won the AJHL championship nine times and one national champ ...

, and sold a new franchise to four local businessmen who named it the Calgary Jr. "A" Royals with the mandate of providing Calgary and area kids with the opportunity to combine a high level of hockey with a quality education. The Royals were immediately successful, finishing second in the regular season standings, behind the

Fort Saskatchewan Traders The Fort Saskatchewan Traders were an ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. They played in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, at the Jubilee Recreation Centre, capacity 2000. :Founded: 1976–77 :Division titles won: 1983–84 : ...

and winning the league championship in their first season. The Royals were unable to duplicate that success, as the team failed to make it past the second round of the playoffs since winning the title. Faced with the challenges of sharing a market with 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 ...

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 ...

, and another AJHL team, the Royals were supported through corporate partnerships and volunteers. Seeking to distinguish itself from the city's minor hockey program of the same name, the franchise renamed itself the Mustangs prior to the 2010–11 season. After several seasons of struggling financially, the Mustangs were granted a leave of absence for the 2019–20 season. The Mustangs are approved to move to Blackfalds, Alberta for the 2021–22 season, after being sold to Doug Quinn.

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T/OTL = Ties/Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

NHL alumni

Some of the players that played on the Royals that went on to play in the NHL include: * T. J. Galiardi *

Cale Hulse Cale D. Hulse (born November 10, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League. He was a defenceman. Playing career Hulse was drafted in the 3rd round (66th overall) in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the N ...

Krystofer Kolanos Krystofer Stanley "Krys" Kolanos (born July 27, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played with the Phoenix Coyotes, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, and Calgary Flames in his National Hockey League (NHL) career. Playi ...

* Tyler Sloan *

Jay Beagle Jay Beagle (born October 16, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who last played for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). As an undrafted free agent, Beagle joined the Washington Capitals's organization fo ...

* Brandon Kozun

References

External links

Alberta Junior Hockey League websiteCalgary Mustangs websiteCalgary Royals website
{{Defunct AJHL Alberta Junior Hockey League teams Royals, Calgary Ice hockey teams in Alberta Ice hockey clubs established in 1990 1990 establishments in Alberta

History

Season-by-season record

NHL alumni

See also

References

External links