The Danbury Hat Tricks are a professional
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 based in
Danbury, Connecticut. The team is a member of the
Federal Prospects Hockey League and plays at the
Danbury Ice Arena.
History
The Danbury Hat Tricks were announced as a member of the Federal Prospects Hockey League on May 7, 2019. Former FHL player Billy McCreary was announced a general manager and head coach.
[ The team is owned by DP 110 LLC, the same group that had recently purchased the Danbury Ice Arena.][ The first signings by the team were ]goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
Jordan Brant and defenseman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...
Kruz Listmayer. Listmayer is the nephew of Hat Tricks co-owner and former NHLer Colton Orr
Colton "Bobby" Douglas Orr (born March 3, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Having played nearly 500 games in the NHL, Orr was known as an enforcer for his physical style of play and for regularly fighting.
In 2019, he ...
.Titans
In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...
. The five stars in the Hat Tricks logo refer to the five previous professional teams to have played in the city; the others being the Trashers, Stars and Mad Hatters.COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. Billy McCreary stepped down as head coach after winning Coach of the Year to take the head coaching job with the North American Hockey League
The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternat ...
's (NAHL) Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks, but kept the general manager position with the FPHL team. Former Maine Mariners Maine Mariners may refer to:
* Maine Mariners (AHL), an ice hockey team in Portland, Maine, which operated from 1977 to 1992
* Maine Mariners (ECHL)
The Maine Mariners are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL that began play in the 2018 ...
assistant coach Anthony Bohn was named head coach. The team opted out of the 2020–21 season entirely due to capacity restrictions in the arena during the pandemic. Before returning in the 2021–22 season, Bohn left to become the head coach of the NAHL's El Paso Rhinos and the Hat Tricks hired former Danbury Trashers
The Danbury Trashers were a United Hockey League (UHL) professional ice hockey team located in Danbury, Connecticut, first established in 2004 as an expansion team. The team was named for its owner's business in waste management; James Galante p ...
captain Dave MacIsaac
Dave MacIsaac (born 1955) is a Canadian musician from Nova Scotia who plays the fiddle and guitar, specialising in the Celtic music style. He has two children, a daughter Mary Clare and a son named Angus.
Awards and recognition
*1996: East Coas ...
as head coach.
In the 2021-22 season, the Hat Tricks were among the league's best, but were swept in the second round to Columbus.
Following the season, McCreary was named Head Coach a second time, while also adding on President of Hockey Operations, replacing MacIsaac who went on to future endeavors.
Season-by-season results
Source:
Awards
Forward of the Year
* 2019–20: Carter Shinkaruk
* 2021–22: Jonny Ruiz
Defenseman of the Year
* 2019–20: Aaron Atwell
* 2021–22: Steve Brown
Goaltender of the Year
* 2019–20: Tom McGuckin
Coach of the Year
* 2019–20: Billy McCreary
Founders' Award
* 2019–20: John Krupinsky
* 2021–22: Billy McCreary
Broadcasters of the Year
* 2019–20: Casey Bryant, Jack O'Marra, Zak McGinniss
Goaltender of the Month
* February 2019–20: Tom McGuckin
Franchise Leaders
All-time and season leaders:
All-time regular season
* Games played: Jonny Ruiz, 102
* Goals scored: Jonny Ruiz, 74
* Assists: Jonny Ruiz, 60
* Points: Jonny Ruiz, 134
* Penalty minutes: Dustin Jesseau, 154
All-time postseason
* Games played: 13 different players, 5
* Goals scored: Steve Mele, 6
* Assists: Dmitry Kuznetsov, 4
* Points: Steve Mele & Jonny Ruiz, 7
* Penalty minutes: Dustin Jesseau, 34
All-time (including regular season & postseason)
* Games played: Jonny Ruiz, 107
* Goals scored: Jonny Ruiz, 79
* Assists: Jonny Ruiz, 63
* Points: Jonny Ruiz, 141
* Penalty minutes: Dustin Jesseau, 188
Season records
* Goals scored: Jonny Ruiz, 49 (2021-22)
* Assists: Carter Shinkaruk, 38 (2019-20)
* Points: Jonny Ruiz, 85 (2021-22)
* Penalty minutes: Dustin Jesseau, 154 (2021-22)
Postseason records
* Goals scored: Steve Mele, 6 (2022)
* Assists: Dmitry Kuznetsov, 4 (2022)
* Points: Steve Mele & Jonny Ruiz, 7 (2022)
* Penalty minutes: Dustin Jesseau, 34 (2022)
References
External links
Danbury Hat Tricks
{{NYC Metro sports
Federal Prospects Hockey League teams
Ice hockey clubs established in 2019
Ice hockey teams in Connecticut
2019 establishments in Connecticut
Danbury, Connecticut
Sports in Fairfield County, Connecticut