The Rockford IceHogs are 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 based in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

. They are members of 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), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the BMO Center, and they serve as the top minor league affiliate of 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 ...

(NHL)'s

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

History

The current Rockford IceHogs were founded in 1995 as the Baltimore Bandits and then relocated in 1997 to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

to become the

Cincinnati Mighty Ducks The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks were a professional ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They were members of the American Hockey League, and played their home games at the Cincinnati Gardens. Throughout their existence they were the primary m ...

. The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks suspended operations for the 2005–06 season due to the lack of an NHL affiliate after their previous affiliates, the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

and the

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: Businesses *Mighty Audio, an American company known for its product ''Mighty'', a portable audio player *Mighty Animation, an animation studio based in Guadalajara, Mexico Films *''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy–drama * ''The ...

, signed new agreements with the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL), playing their home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of t ...

and the Portland Pirates, respectively. The franchise was later renamed the Cincinnati RailRaiders, but failed to reach a goal of 2,000 season tickets to re-enter the AHL for the 2006–07 season. On March 19, 2007, the AHL announced that the team had been purchased and relocated to Rockford to become the present-day Rockford IceHogs. On April 7, 2021, the Blackhawks formally purchased the IceHogs. The Blackhawks also unveiled a $23 million multi-year project to renovate and modernize the BMO Harris Bank Center, which would keep the IceHogs in Rockford through 2036.

Timeline

The franchise was previously known as: * Baltimore Bandits (1995–1997) *

(1997–2005) (an affiliate of the

and

) The market was previously served by: * Rockford IceHogs (1999–2007) UHL

Season-by-season results

Players

Current roster

Updated April 16, 2025.

Team captains

* Jim Fahey, 2007–2008 * Tim Brent, 2008–2009 * Jake Dowell, 2009–2010 * Garnet Exelby, 2010–2011 * Brandon Segal and Brian Fahey, 2011–2012 * Martin St. Pierre, 2012–2013 * Jared Nightingale, 2013–2014 * Joakim Nordstrom, 2014–2015 * Brandon Mashinter, 2015–2016 * Jake Dowell, 2016–2017 * Kris Versteeg, 2019 * Tyler Sikura, 2019–2020 * Garrett Mitchell, 2021–2023 * Brett Seney, 2024–present

Notable alumni

* Bryan Bickell, 2007–2010, 2016 * Dave Bolland, 2007–2008 * Brandon Bollig, 2010–2013 * Troy Brouwer, 2007–2009 * Corey Crawford, 2007–2010 * Phillip Danault, 2011–2016 *

Scott Darling Scott Darling (born December 22, 1988) is an Americans, American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes. Darling was selected by the ...

, 2014–2015 *

Niklas Hjalmarsson Niklas Hjalmarsson (born 6 June 1987) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman who last played for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He previously also played for the Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes of the National Ho ...

, 2007–2009 * Carter Hutton, 2011–2013 * Marcus Kruger, 2012–2013 *

Nick Leddy Nicholas Michael Leddy (born March 20, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the first round, 16th overall, by the Minnesota Wild in the 2009 NHL ...

, 2010–2011, 2012–2013 * Jeremy Morin, 2010–2014 * Antti Niemi, 2008–2009 * Brandon Pirri, 2010–2014 * Brandon Saad, 2012–2013 * Andrew Shaw, 2011–2013 * Jack Skille, 2008–2010 * Ben Smith, 2009–2013 * Trevor van Riemsdyk, 2014–2015 * Kris Versteeg, 2007–2008, 2019

References

External links

* {{Authority control American Hockey League teams 1 Ice hockey clubs established in 2007 2007 establishments in Illinois Professional ice hockey teams in Illinois