The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league

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, which currently plays in the

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

. They play their home games at the

Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Allen County War Memorial Coliseum is a 13,000-seat multi-purpose arena located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, near present-day Johnny Appleseed Park. It opened in 1952 with a construction cost of nearly $3 million. The Allen County Wa ...

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

. In all of North American professional hockey, only the Original Six teams of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

and the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

of the AHL have played continuously in the same city with the same name longer than the Komets.

History

There have been two different hockey teams known as the Fort Wayne Komets. The original Komets franchise was founded in 1952 in the International Hockey League. In 1990 they moved to

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

and became the Albany Choppers. They only played part of one season in Albany before folding on February 15, 1991. The second team was founded in 1985 in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

where they were known as the

Flint Spirits The Flint Spirits were a professional hockey team in Flint, Michigan from 1985 to 1990, and played their home games at the IMA Sports Arena. They were a part of the International Hockey League (1945–2001), International Hockey League and repla ...

. In 1990, only two days after the first Komets team left Fort Wayne, the Franke family of Fort Wayne bought the Flint Spirits, moved them to Fort Wayne, and took the Komets name and history. From 1985-1999 they also played in the IHL, then in 1999 they moved to the United Hockey League (UHL). In 2007 the UHL changed its name to the International Hockey League, which became available when the previous IHL ceased operations in 2001. In 2010 that league also ceased operations, and the Komets joined 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 opera ...

(CHL) along with the surviving members of their former league. In 2012 they left the CHL for their current league, the

Affiliations

For the 2014–15 season, the Komets entered into a one-year affiliation with the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

of the

, providing a direct line to Colorado's

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 ...

affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters. After a successful season and partnership proving beneficial to all parties, on July 21, 2015, the Komets announced a continuance of the affiliation with the Avalanche and new AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage on a two-year deal through the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons. However, the Avalanche and Komets mutually agreed to end the affiliation one season early in 2016. After a season operating independently of an affiliation, the Komets agreed to a one-year affiliation deal with the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

and their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, but did not extend the affiliation after the deal ended. On August 21, 2018, the Komets announced a new one-year affiliation agreement with the NHL's

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...

and AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves. The affiliation was later extended for the 2019–20 season. The affiliation with the Golden Knights ended on May 19, 2022. On July 27, 2022, the Komets announced a new affiliation agreement with 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 (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

and their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. On May 28, 2024, the Komets and Edmonton Oilers extended their affiliation agreement for the 2024-25 season.

Season-by-season results

''This is a partial list of the last ten seasons completed by the Fort Wayne Komets. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Fort Wayne Komets seasons'' Records as of the conclusion of the 2023–24 regular season.

Players

Retired numbers

The Komets have honored over 40 personnel in three sections - Executive Builders, Team Personnel and Media - in the Komets Hall of Fame established in 1988. They have also retired numbers to honor 16 people over the course of their history.

Notable NHL alumni

List of Fort Wayne Komets alumni who played more than 100 games in the IHL and 100 or more games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

. List of Fort Wayne Komets alumni who played over 25 games in the ECHL and 25 or more games in the

. * Alex Belzile

Franchise records

Scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed regular season. ''Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; * = still active with the team

Regular season

*Most goals in a season: Merv Dubchak, 72 (1965–66) *Most assists in a season: Len Thornson, 93 (1966–67) *Most points in a season: Len Thornson, 139 (1966–67) & Terry McDougall, 139 (1978–79) *Most penalty minutes in a season: Andy Bezeau, 590 (1995–96) *Most wins in a season: Kevin St. Pierre, 43 (2003–04) *Most shutouts in a season: Kevin Reiter, 7 (2007–08) & Kevin St. Pierre, 7 (2003–04)

Team records

* On March 28, 2008, the Komets set a new professional hockey record of 23 straight home wins. They defeated the Kalamazoo Wings 4–3. The record ended at 25. * On April 12, 2008, the Komets set a new Fort Wayne hockey record of 56 wins in a season. The previous record of 53 was set in 2003–04. * On May 15, 2010, the Komets defeated the Flint Generals in Game 5 of the IHL Turner Cup Finals to win the series, four games to one, earning the Komets a "three-peat" after winning the Turner Cup in 2008 and 2009 as well.

References

External links