Milwaukee Admirals

Milwaukee Admirals
2016–17 AHL season
City Milwaukee, Wisconsin
League American Hockey League
Conference Western
Division Central
Founded 1970 (As an amateur team)
Home arena UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
Colors Navy blue, lake blue, gray, white
                   
Owner(s) Group headed by
Harris Turer
General manager Paul Fenton
Head coach Dean Evason
Captain Trevor Smith
Media Fox Sports Wisconsin
105.7 The Fan
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Affiliates Nashville Predators (NHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL)
Franchise history
1970 (amateur) Milwaukee Wings
1970–present Milwaukee Admirals
Championships
Regular season titles 1 AHL (2003–04)
Division Championships 4 IHL (1982–83, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96)
5 AHL (2003–04, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2015–16)
Conference Championships 2 (2003–04),(2005–06)
Calder Cups 1 (2003–04)
Playoff championships 1 USHL title (1975–76)

The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They have been affiliated with the NHL's Nashville Predators since that team's founding in 1998.[1]

History

The Admirals first took to the ice in the winter of 1970 as an amateur club known as the Milwaukee Wings. They lost their first game on January 25 when the Madison All-Stars beat them 17–7. They got their first win five days later when they defeated the Milwaukee Winter Club 10–8.

The next year the team was sold by the original owner Reed Fansher to a group of investors. One of the investors, Erwin J. Merar, owned an appliance store. The team was renamed the "Admirals" after a brand of household appliances sold in Merar's store.

Beginning with the 1973–74 season the Admirals joined the newly formed United States Hockey League. Their first season in a league was not particularly successful as they ended the season in last place in their division. They won only 11 games, lost 35, and tied two games that season.

The Admirals won the USHL league championship in 1976, winning seven straight games in the league's playoffs. In the off-season, the team was purchased by former Chicago Blackhawks announcer Lloyd Pettit and his wife, Jane Bradley Pettit.

For the 1977–78 season the Admirals joined the International Hockey League as the USHL was becoming a strictly amateur league. The Admirals appeared in the IHL's Turner Cup finals only once (1983), where they lost to Toledo in six games.

They stayed a part of the IHL until it joined the American Hockey League for the 2001–02[2] season when the IHL ceased operations. Five other IHL franchises also joined the AHL that season. The team was allowed to keep their nickname despite the presence of the Norfolk Admirals in the AHL, as Milwaukee has had the nickname since 1977, well before the Norfolk team was established as the Hampton Roads Admirals in the ECHL. In the 2015-16 season, Norfolk moved to the AHL's Pacific Division as the newest incarnation of the San Diego Gulls.

They won their first Calder Cup in 2004 when they defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Prior to the finals, Milwaukee needed seven games to defeat the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in the first round. Then the Admirals defeated the Chicago Wolves in six games to advance to the conference finals. The Admirals then eliminated the Rochester Americans four games to one. Milwaukee went on to sweep the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to win the Calder Cup. The Admirals completed a rare postseason run in which they needed one fewer games to eliminate their opponents in each subsequent series.[3]

The Admirals were purchased in June 2005 by a group of investors, led by Harris J. Turer, including Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, assistant general manager Gord Ash, and pitcher Ben Sheets. The Brewers subsequently became the sole uniform sponsor of the Admirals, and the Admirals wear a Brewers logo patch on their sweaters.

The Admirals won their second division title as a member of the American Hockey League in 2006, clinching the title on the last day of their schedule with a win over the Grand Rapids Griffins.[4]

In the 2006 Calder Cup playoffs after narrowly winning a seven-game playoff series over the Iowa Stars, Milwaukee swept both the Houston Aeros and Grand Rapids Griffins to advance to their second Calder Cup final series. To their disappointment, the Admirals would lose 4–2 to the Hershey Bears.[5]

On 1 August 2006, the Admirals unveiled their newest logo to the public at the Henry Maier Festival Park (also known as the Summerfest grounds). The logo came with a radical color change for the team, away from red and blue hues to one of black, white and light blue. They also unveiled their new slogan, "Never Say Die".[6]

On March 16, 2016, Milwaukee Admirals owner/CEO Harris Turer along with Wisconsin Center District (WCD) announced that the Admirals signed a 10-year contract, bringing the Admirals to the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena for the 2016-17 AHL season.[7] This 10-year contract also results in a $6.4 million dollar investment to bring the arena up to AHL standards with the Admirals contributing 2 million and the rest being supplied by the Wisconsin Center District. [8]


NHL affiliation

The Admirals have been the top-level affiliate of the Nashville Predators since that team's founding in 1998. On 22 February 2010, the clubs signed a new agreement that extended that relationship through the 2011–12 season with a mutual option for 2012–13.[9]

"I like to say that for our players, the road to Nashville runs through Milwaukee and a look at our roster illustrates this. (T)his is the kind of environment that we want our prospects to develop in."
— Nashville General Manager David Poile

Coincidentally, the two cities' baseball franchises shared a reverse affiliation, as the Nashville Sounds were the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers from 2005 to 2014.

During the 2006–2007 season, the Admirals were also part of an unusual affiliation agreement with the Edmonton Oilers, who used five partial affiliates in the AHL for the 2006–07 season. These five affiliates included the Milwaukee Admirals, the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Iowa Stars, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and the Hamilton Bulldogs. This arrangement lasted one season, as the Oilers announced a three-year affiliation with the Springfield Falcons on March 19, 2007. The Oilers are now affiliated with the Bakersfield Condors.[10]

Team information

Logos

logo during
independent years		 1973–77 1977–81 1981–98 1998–2006 2006–15 2015–present

Season-by-season results

Current roster

Updated December 13, 2016.[11][12]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
46 Sweden Aberg, PontusPontus Aberg RW R 23 2014 Stockholm, Sweden Predators
36 Canada Bass, CodyCody Bass C R 29 2015 Owen Sound, Ontario Predators
55 Canada Carrier, AlexandreAlexandre Carrier D R 20 2016 Quebec City, Quebec Predators
3 Canada Diaby, Jonathan-IsmaelJonathan-Ismael Diaby D L 22 2014 Blainville, Quebec Predators
5 United States Dougherty, JackJack Dougherty D R 20 2016 Saint Paul, Minnesota Predators
38 United States Florek, JustinJustin Florek LW L 26 2016 Marquette, Michigan Admirals
89 Canada Gaudreau, FrederickFrederick Gaudreau C R 23 2014 Granby, Quebec Predators
16 Canada Girard, FélixFélix Girard (A) C R 22 2014 Quebec City, Quebec Predators
10 Sweden Görtz, MaxMax Görtz RW R 23 2015 Höör, Sweden Predators
37 Sweden Gunnarsson, JonasJonas Gunnarsson G L 24 2016 Eksjö, Sweden Predators
91 Russia Kamenev, VladislavVladislav Kamenev C L 20 2015 Orsk, Russia Predators
13 United States Kessel, BlakeBlake Kessel D R 27 2016 Verona, Wisconsin Admirals
19 Canada Kirkland, JustinJustin Kirkland C L 20 2016 Camrose, Alberta Predators
17 Canada Liambas, MichaelMichael Liambas (A) LW L 27 2016 Woodbridge, Ontario Predators
8 Canada Murphy, TrevorTrevor Murphy D L 21 2015 Windsor, Ontario Predators
47 Canada Oligny, JimmyJimmy Oligny D L 23 2014 Saint-Michel, Quebec Admirals
6 Canada Pardy, AdamAdam Pardy D L 32 2016 Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador Predators
11 Canada Payerl, AdamAdam Payerl RW R 25 2015 Kitchener, Ontario Predators
90 Canada Richard, AnthonyAnthony Richard C L 19 2016 Trois-Rivières, Quebec Predators
74 Finland Saros, JuuseJuuse Saros G L 21 2015 Forssa, Finland Predators
23 Canada Smith, TrevorTrevor Smith (C) C L 31 2016 Ottawa, Ontario Predators
7 United States White, MattMatt White LW L 27 2015 Whittier, California Admirals
21 Canada Zolnierczyk, HarryHarry Zolnierczyk LW L 29 2016 Toronto, Ontario Predators

Retired numbers

Team captains

Notable alumni

Team records

Single season
Goals: Danny Lecours, 75, (1982–83)
Assists: Dale Yakiwchuk, 100, (1982–83)
Points: Dale Yakiwchuk, 138, (1982–83)
Penalty minutes: Don Gibson, 381, (1992–93)
GAA: Mark Dekanich, 2.02, (2010–11)
SV%: Mark Dekanich, .931, (2010–11)
Career
Career goals: Danny Lecours, 444
Career assists: Fred Berry, 379
Career points: Danny Lecours, 813
Career penalty minutes: Ken Sabourin, 1233
Career goaltending wins: Rich Sirois, 119
Career shutouts: Brian Finley, 11
Career games: Danny Lecours, 641

References

  1. ↑ "Nashville Predators renew affiliation with the Cincinnati Cyclones". predators.nhl.com. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  2. ↑ "Milwaukee Admirals hockey team [AHL] statistics and history at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  3. ↑ "Calder Cup Champions - Players | AHL". theahl.com. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  4. ↑ "Milwaukee Admirals". www.milwaukeeadmirals.com. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  5. ↑ "2006 AHL PLAYOFFS". Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  6. ↑ "Milwaukee Admirals". www.milwaukeeadmirals.com. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  7. ↑ "Admirals to move to UWM Panther Arena | AHL". theahl.com. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  8. ↑ "Admirals improvements beginning at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena". Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  9. ↑ "Milwaukee, Nashville Extend Affiliation Agreement". Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  10. ↑ "Edmonton Oilers Announce Purchase of Bakersfield Condors (ECHL)". oilers.nhl.com. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  11. ↑ "MilwaukeeAdmirals.com – Team Roster". Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  12. ↑ "TheAHL.com -Milwaukee Admirals Roster". Retrieved 2016-12-13.
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