Charlotte Checkers

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For other uses, see Charlotte Checkers (disambiguation).
Charlotte Checkers
2021–22 AHL season
Charlotte Checkers (AHL) logo.svg
CityCharlotte, North Carolina
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceEastern
DivisionAtlantic
Founded1990
Home arenaBojangles' Coliseum
ColorsRed, black, silver, white
       
Owner(s)Michael Kahn
General managerPaul Krepelka
Head coachGeordie Kinnear
Media730 The Game
AHL.TV (Internet)
AffiliatesFlorida Panthers (NHL)
Seattle Kraken (NHL)
Allen Americans (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL)
Franchise history
1990–1993Capital District Islanders
1993–2010Albany River Rats
2010–presentCharlotte Checkers
Championships
Regular season titles1 (2018–19)
Division Championships1 (2018–19)
Conference Championships1 (2018–19)
Calder Cups1 (2018–19)

The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affiliate of the Florida Panthers and Seattle Kraken 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 that 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 six teams to replace and share a name with a predecessor franchise from a lower-tier league; the others are the Bakersfield Condors, Colorado Eagles, Ontario Reign, Rockford IceHogs, and San Diego Gulls.

History[]

The franchise was originally based in Troy, New York, as the Capital District Islanders from 1990 to 1993. They then became the Albany River Rats from 1993 to 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, who played in Greensboro from 1995 to 1997. The Checkers inherited the River Rats' affiliation with the Carolina Hurricanes, in keeping with a recent trend to have NHL teams' top affiliates geographically close to their parent teams in order to ease movement between the AHL and the NHL.

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.[4] On February 26, 2011, the attendance record was broken as 12,933 fans watched the Checkers defeat the Connecticut Whale 1–0.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8] As Kahn detailed, the move would reconnect with said team legacy. Additionally, 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 was up to AHL standards, the Charlotte City Council arranged to provide $16 million to fund renovations.[9][10] While Time Warner Cable Arena had been one of the largest arenas in the AHL, it left much to be desired as a hockey venue. It seated 14,100 people, but over 4,000 seats had obstructed views.[11]

Panoramic view of Bojangles' Coliseum for Game 2 of the 2019 Calder Cup Finals, against the Chicago Wolves.

In Charlotte on May 9 and 10, 2018, in game four of the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs, the Checkers and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms played the longest game in the history of the American Hockey League. A 1–1 tie was broken by a Phantoms' goal at 6:48 of the fifth overtime period, more than six hours after the game began. The Checkers made 95 shots against Lehigh Valley goalie Alex Lyon.[12]

The 2018–19 season was the Checkers' best season as an AHL team to date and one of the best in Charlotte's hockey history. They won their first division title with 110 points and the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for the league's best regular season record. It was the first time a Charlotte hockey team had broken the 100-point barrier since the SHL Checkers earned 101 points in 1974–75. They defeated the defending champion Toronto Marlies in the Eastern Conference finals to advance to their first Calder Cup final. They defeated the Chicago Wolves in five games to win their first AHL title, and the seventh hockey championship by a Charlotte-based team.[13]

The following 2019–20 season was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Calder Cup was not awarded. Following the cancelled postseason, the Hurricanes ended their affiliation with the Checkers after ten seasons,[14] resulting in the Checkers affiliating with the Florida Panthers beginning with the 2020–21 season. However, due to the ongoing restrictions during the pandemic, the Checkers were one of three teams that opted out of the 2020–21 AHL season.[15] When the Checkers returned for the 2021–22 season, they remained the primary affiliate of the Panthers, but agreed to also serve as the affiliate for the 2021–22 expansion team Seattle Kraken. The Kraken's general manager Ron Francis formerly worked for the Hurricanes when the team was still affiliated with the Checkers.[16]

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 Did not qualify
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 Did not qualify
2014–15 76 31 38 6 1 69 .454 172 231 4th, West 2015 Did not qualify
2015–16 76 36 32 3 5 80 .526 214 229 5th, Central 2016 Did not qualify
2016–17 76 39 29 7 1 86 .566 212 208 4th, Central 2017 L, 2–3, CHI — — —
2017–18 76 46 26 1 3 96 .632 261 212 3rd, Atlantic 2018 W, 3–0, WBS L, 1–4, LV — —
2018–19 76 51 17 7 1 110 .724 255 189 1st, Atlantic 2019 W, 3–1, PRO W, 4–0, HER W, 4–2, TOR W, 4–1, CHI
2019–20 61 34 22 5 0 73 .598 202 172 3rd, Atlantic 2020 Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 Did not participate due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 Did not participate

Players[]

Current roster[]

Updated January 28, 2022.[17][18]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
2 United States LW L 24 2021 Wolcottville, Indiana Checkers
34 Canada Antoine Bibeau G L 27 2021 Victoriaville, Quebec Kraken
12 United States C L 24 2021 Edina, Minnesota Panthers
5 United States Connor Carrick D R 27 2021 Orland Park, Illinois Kraken
33 United States G L 30 2022 Raleigh, North Carolina Checkers
21 Canada Zac Dalpe (C) C R 32 2021 Paris, Ontario Panthers
14 Russia Grigori Denisenko RW R 21 2021 Novosibirsk, Russia Panthers
38 Canada Cale Fleury D R 23 2021 Carlyle, Saskatchewan Kraken
25 United States D L 25 2022 Albertson, New York Checkers
31 Finland Christopher Gibson G L 29 2021 Karkkila, Finland Panthers
6 United States D L 22 2021 Plano, Texas Panthers
40 Canada Luke Henman C L 21 2021 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Kraken
20 Finland Aleksi Heponiemi (A) C L 23 2021 Tampere, Finland Panthers
9 United States RW R 22 2021 Tampa, Florida Panthers
8 United States Matt Kiersted D L 23 2021 Elk River, Minnesota Panthers
3 Canada D R 22 2022 Kelowna, British Columbia Checkers
1 United States Spencer Knight G L 20 2021 Darien, Connecticut Panthers
13 Canada Kole Lind RW L 23 2021 Swift Current, Saskatchewan Kraken
26 United States C L 25 2021 Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania Checkers
18 Canada John Ludvig D L 21 2021 Liberec, Czech Republic Panthers
17 United States Max McCormick LW L 29 2021 De Pere, Wisconsin Kraken
28 Canada Serron Noel RW R 21 2021 Guelph, Ontario Panthers
23 Sweden Gustav Olofsson (A) D L 27 2021 Boras, Sweden Kraken
4 Canada D L 21 2022 Langley, British Columbia Checkers
11 Canada RW R 20 2021 Kitchener, Ontario Panthers
39 United States D R 25 2022 Fort Wayne, Indiana Checkers
16 Denmark Alexander True C L 24 2021 Copenhagen, Denmark Kraken
24 Canada Carsen Twarynski LW L 24 2021 Calgary, Alberta Kraken
10 Canada Scott Wilson LW L 29 2021 Oakville, Ontario Checkers
7 United States LW L 24 2021 Medina, Minnesota Checkers

Team captains[]

  • Bryan Rodney, 2010–11
  • Brett Sutter, 2011–14
  • Michal Jordan, 2014–15
  • Derek Ryan, 2015–16
  • Patrick Brown, 2016–19
  • Roland McKeown, 2019–20
  • Zac Dalpe, 2021–present

References[]

  1. ^ "Capital District Sports announce River Rats sale". Albany River Rats. February 10, 2010. Archived from the original on February 21, 2010. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
  2. ^ "AHL Hockey coming to Charlotte in 2010-11". Charlotte Checkers. February 15, 2010. Archived from the original on February 19, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  3. ^ "Charlotte added to AHL for 2010-11". American Hockey League. February 10, 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "CHECKERS DOUBLED UP, 4-2, IN HISTORIC OPENER". Charlotte Checkers. October 15, 2010. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  5. ^ "CHECKERS BLANK WHALE IN FRONT OF RECORD CROWD!". Charlotte Checkers. February 26, 2011. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  6. ^ Lasko, Seth (April 10, 2015). "Charlotte Checkers looking to leave Time Warner Cable Arena with team attendance record". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved April 10, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Niedzielski, Nicholas (April 11, 2015). "Checkers fall to Rockford in front of record crowd". Charlotte Checkers. Retrieved April 11, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Brough, Jason (November 25, 2014). "The Charlotte Checkers would like to move back to Bojangles' Coliseum". NBC Sports. Retrieved November 25, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ Branecky, Paul (December 9, 2014). "Checkers Make Return to Bojangles' Coliseum Official". Charlotte Checkers. Retrieved December 9, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ Spanberg, Erik (February 10, 2015). "Council backs Charlotte Checkers, arena". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved February 10, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Charlotte City Council Approves Funding to Renovate Bojangles' Coliseum". Charlotte Checkers. December 8, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ "MARATHON MEN: PHANTOMS WIN LONGEST AHL GAME EVER". American Hockey League. May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Niedzielski, Nicholas (June 9, 2019). "CHECKERS WIN CALDER CUP CHAMPIONSHIP". Charlotte Checkers. Retrieved November 13, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ "Wolves forge partnership with Carolina Hurricanes". Chicago Wolves. September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ "28 teams to participate in 2020-21 AHL season". American Hockey League. January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ Pelletier, Justin (July 2, 2021). "No longer affiliated with the Canes, the AHL's Checkers now have two NHL parent clubs". The Herald-Sun. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  17. ^ "Charlotte Checkers Team Roster". Charlotte Checkers. Retrieved January 28, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "Eliteprospects.com Charlotte Checkers". Elite Prospects. Retrieved January 28, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links[]

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