Charlotte Checkers
| Charlotte Checkers | |
|---|---|
 2016–17 AHL season | |
_logo.svg.png){kind=logo} | |
| City | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| League | American Hockey League |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Central |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Operated | 2010–present |
| Home arena | Bojangles' Coliseum |
| Colors |
Red, Black, Silver, White |
| Owner(s) | MAK Hockey, LLC (Michael Kahn, president/CEO) |
| Head coach | Ulf Samuelsson |
| Media |
Fox Sports Carolinas 610 The Fan |
| Affiliates |
Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) Florida Everblades (ECHL) |
| Franchise history | |
| 1990–1993 | Capital District Islanders |
| 1993–2010 | Albany River Rats |
| 2010–present | Charlotte Checkers |
The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Checkers play their home games at Bojangles' Coliseum. The current organization is the third team by this name; it succeeded a Checkers franchise which played in the ECHL from 1993 until the end of the 2009–10 ECHL season. The original Checkers team played in the city from 1956 to 1977, originally in the Eastern Hockey League and then in the Southern Hockey League. The franchise is one of five teams to directly replace and share a name with a predecessor from a lower-tier league; the others are the Bakersfield Condors, Ontario Reign, Rockford IceHogs, and San Diego Gulls.
History
The franchise was originally the Capital District Islanders from 1990–1993. They then became the Albany River Rats from 1993–2010, until the River Rats were sold to MAK Hockey, LLC, led by Charlotte beer distributor Michael Kahn, owner of the ECHL Checkers.[1] The new ownership relocated the team to Charlotte for the 2010–11 season, renaming the franchise the "Charlotte Checkers", and relinquished the ECHL franchise to the league.[2][3] The Checkers are the second North Carolina-based team to play at the highest level of minor-league hockey, following the Carolina Monarchs, which played in Greensboro from 1995 to 1997.
Playing at the Time Warner Cable Arena, the Checkers' first home game on October 15, 2010, in front of 12,512 spectators which set an attendance record for a hockey game in Charlotte. On February 26, 2011, the attendance record was broken as 12,933 fans watched the Charlotte Checkers defeat the Connecticut Whale 1-0. Almost a year later, on February 25, 2012, the attendance record was broken yet again as 13,102 fans watched the Checkers fall to the Oklahoma City Barons, 3-2.[4] On April 11, 2015, the attendance record was broken a third time as 13,219 fans watched the last Checkers game at Time Warner Cable Arena, a 2-0 loss to the Rockford Icehogs.[5]
In late 2014, the Checkers announced they would return in the following season to the Bojangles' Coliseum, the home of the previous Checkers teams until 2005.[6] As Kahn detailed, the move would reconnect with said team legacy, and having a dedicated arena allowed for "greater control over every aspect of our business, including scheduling, amenities, game presentation and sponsorship inventory." To make sure the Coliseum is up to AHL standards, the Charlotte City Council arranged to provide $16 million to fund renovations.[7][8]
Season-by-season results
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | OTL | SOL | Points | PCT | Goals for |
Goals against |
Standing | Year | 1st round |
2nd round |
3rd round |
Finals |
| 2010–11 | 80 | 44 | 27 | 2 | 7 | 97 | .606 | 265 | 243 | 3rd, East | 2011 | W, 4-2, HER | W, 4-2, WBS | L, 0-4, BNG | — |
| 2011–12 | 76 | 38 | 29 | 3 | 6 | 85 | .559 | 209 | 214 | 3rd, Midwest | 2012 | Out of playoffs | |||
| 2012–13 | 76 | 42 | 26 | 4 | 4 | 92 | .605 | 226 | 202 | 2nd, South | 2013 | L, 2-3, OKC | — | — | — |
| 2013–14 | 76 | 37 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 77 | .507 | 228 | 241 | 4th, West | 2014 | Out of playoffs | |||
| 2014–15 | 76 | 31 | 38 | 6 | 1 | 69 | .454 | 172 | 231 | 4th, West | 2015 | Out of playoffs | |||
| 2015–16 | 76 | 36 | 32 | 3 | 5 | 80 | .526 | 214 | 229 | 5th, Central | 2016 | Out of playoffs | |||
Players
Current roster
Updated November 12, 2016.[9][10][11]
Team captains
- Bryan Rodney, 2010–2011
- Brett Sutter, 2011–2014
- Michal Jordán, 2014–2015
- Derek Ryan, 2015–Present
References
- ↑ "Capital District Sports announce River Rats sale". Albany River Rats. 2010-02-10. Archived from the original on 2010-02-21. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
- ↑ "AHL Hockey coming to Charlotte in 2010-11". Charlotte Checkers. 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
- ↑ "Charlotte added to AHL for 2010-11". American Hockey League. 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
- ↑ "Checkers break record in loss to Barons". Charlotte Observer. 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
- ↑ "Checkers fall to Rockford in front of record crowd". Charlotte Checkers. 2015-04-11. Retrieved 2015-04-11.
- ↑ The Charlotte Checkers would like to move back to Bojangles’ Coliseum
- ↑ Checkers Make Return to Bojangles' Coliseum Official
- ↑
- ↑ "Charlotte Checkers Team Roster". Charlotte Checkers. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
- ↑ "Eliteprospects.com Charlotte Checkers". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
- ↑ "Game Summary 431". American Hockey League. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
