Fort Wayne Komets

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Fort Wayne Komets
2021–22 ECHL season
Fort Wayne Komets logo.svg
CityFort Wayne, Indiana
LeagueECHL
ConferenceWestern
DivisionCentral
Founded1985 (Current ECHL franchise)
1952 (First IHL franchise)
Operated1990–present (Current ECHL franchise)
1952–1990 (First IHL franchise)
Home arenaAllen County War Memorial Coliseum
ColorsOrange, black and white
     
Owner(s)The Franke family
Head coachBen Boudreau[1]
MediaWOWO (1190 AM)
WKJG (1380 AM)
AffiliatesVegas Golden Knights (NHL)
Henderson Silver Knights (AHL)
Franchise history
First IHL Franchise
1952–1990Fort Wayne Komets
1990–1991Albany Choppers
Current ECHL Franchise
1985–1990Flint Spirits
1990–presentFort Wayne Komets
Championships
Regular season titles12 (1959–60, 1962–63, 1972–73, 1977–78, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1986–87, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09)
Division Championships2 (2016, 2018)
Conference Championships2 (2012, 2021)
Turner Cups7 (1963, 1965, 1973, 1993, 2008, 2009, 2010)
Ray Miron President's Cup1 (2012)
Colonial Cups1 (2003)
Kelly Cups1 (2021)

The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This team was previously a member of the Central Hockey League, the original International Hockey League, and the second International Hockey League. They have won four post-season championship titles in the original IHL in 1963, 1965, 1973, and 1993, four in the UHL/second IHL in 2003, 2008, 2009, and 2010, one in the CHL in 2012, and one in the ECHL in 2021. In all of North American professional hockey, only the Original Six teams of the NHL and the Hershey Bears of the AHL have played continuously in the same city with the same name longer than the Komets.

History[]

The original Komets franchise played in the previous iteration of the International Hockey League from 1952 until 1990. The original IHL franchise then moved to Albany, New York in 1990 as the Albany Choppers. Only two days later, the Franke family of Fort Wayne bought the Flint Spirits, moved them to Fort Wayne, and took the Komets name and history. The Albany Choppers would only play part of one season before folding on February 15, 1991.[2]

In 1999, the second IHL Komets franchise joined the United Hockey League (which later took the IHL name in 2007). In 2010, the UHL/IHL ceased operations and the Komets joined the Central Hockey League along with the surviving members of their former league. They left the CHL for the ECHL in 2012.

For the 2014–15 season, the Komets entered into a one-year affiliation with the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL, providing a direct line to Colorado's American Hockey League affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters.[3][4] 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.[5] However, the Avalanche and Komets mutually agreed to end the affiliation one season early in 2016.[6] After a season operating independently of an affiliation, the Komets agreed to a one-year affiliation deal with the Arizona Coyotes and their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners,[7] but did not extend the affiliation after the deal ended.[8]

On August 21, 2018, the Komets announced a new one-year affiliation agreement with the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights and AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves.[9] It was then extended for the 2019–20 season.[10]

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

Season League GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA PIM Playoffs
2011–12 CHL 66 40 19 1 6 83 228 187 1272 Won Championship
2012–13 ECHL 72 33 35 1 3 70 205 246 1385 Did not qualify
2013–14 ECHL 72 36 24 7 5 84 215 215 954 Lost in Conference Semifinals
2014–15 ECHL 72 48 18 2 4 102 251 200 1033 Lost in Conference Semifinals
2015–16 ECHL 72 40 23 7 2 89 240 200 1196 Lost in Conference Finals
2016–17 ECHL 72 45 19 6 2 98 264 210 1292 Lost in Division Finals
2017–18 ECHL 72 46 20 5 1 98 290 216 1078 Lost in Conference Finals
2018–19 ECHL 76 36 26 4 6 82 233 248 1132 Lost Division Semifinals
2019–20 ECHL 62 31 23 6 2 70 218 220 1044 Season cancelled due to COVID-19
2020–21 ECHL 51 29 17 3 2 63 170 136 925 Won Kelly Cup

Records as of the conclusion of the 2020–21 season.[11]

Players[]

Current roster[]

Updated September 8, 2021.[12]
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
– Canada LW L 25 2021 Toronto, Ontario Komets
– Russia Semyon Babintsev LW L 26 2021 Moscow, Russia Komets
– Canada D L 30 2021 Winnipeg, Manitoba Komets
– United States C R 23 2021 Buffalo, New York Komets
28 Canada C L 27 2019 Pembroke, Ontario Komets
– Canada RW R 21 2021 Laval, Quebec Komets
– Canada C L 25 2021 Lloydminster, Alberta Komets
9 Canada C L 26 2021 Fredericton, New Brunswick Komets
– Canada G L 23 2021 Alma, Quebec Komets
– Canada Connor Jones C L 31 2021 Montrose, British Columbia Komets
– Canada LW L 31 2021 Montrose, British Columbia Komets
– United States D L 21 2021 Scottsdale, Arizona Komets
50 United States Stefanos Lekkas G L 25 2021 Elburn, Illinois Komets
79 Canada D R 27 2020 Whitby, Ontario Komets
– United States D R 25 2021 Saline, Michigan Komets
13 United States  (A) LW L 28 2018 Federal Way, Washington Komets
45 United States LW R 27 2020 St. Louis, Missouri Komets
– United States Drake Rymsha C R 23 2021 Huntington Woods, Michigan Komets
8 United States D R 25 2020 Fort Wayne, Indiana Komets

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.[13]

Fort Wayne Komets retired numbers
No. Player Position Tenure Date of honor
1 Chuck Adamson G 1962–1967 October 26, 2013
2 Guy Dupuis D 1991–2011 October 29, 2011
5 D 1964–1978 1988
6 Lionel Repka D 1958–1969 1988
11 Len Thornson C 1957–1969 1988
12 C 1960–1969 1988
16 Eddie Long RW 1952–1966 1988
18 Rob Laird LW 1974–1989 March 6, 2002
26 Colin Chin C 1986–1996 November 17, 2007
30 Robbie Irons G 1967–1981 1988
33 Nick Boucher G 2007–2012 October 26, 2013
40 Bob Chase Media 1953–2016 1993
58 Owner 1958–1982 1988
59 Owner 1959–1985 1988
77 Steven Fletcher LW 1990–2002 November 17, 2007
91 C 2002–2013 February 19, 2017
504[a] Al Sims[14] Coach 1989–93, 2007–13 March 25, 2017
  1. ^ For his career wins as coach

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

Player Pos GP G A Pts
Len Thornson C 763 412 807 1219
Eddie Long RW 801 425 427 852
C 581 187 497 684
C 507 249 395 644
Colin Chin C 660 246 390 636
John Goodwin LW 480 200 387 587
Guy Dupuis D 945 126 417 543
C 452 200 342 542
RW 437 321 218 539
Robbie Laird LW 520 223 276 499

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: , 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.[15] 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.[16]
  • On May 15, 2010, the Komets defeated the Flint Generals in Game Five of the IHL Turner Cup Finals to win the series, 4 games to 1, earning the Komets a "three-peat" after winning the Turner Cup in 2008 and 2009 as well.

See also[]

  • History of sports in Fort Wayne, Indiana

References[]

  1. ^ "Komets Tap Ben Boudreau Bench Boss". OurSports Central. May 30, 2019.
  2. ^ Chuck Miller THE IHL'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET: THE 1990-91 ALBANY CHOPPERS
  3. ^ "Komets announce affiliation with NHL's Avalanche and AHL's Monsters". WANE-TV. 2014-07-24. Archived from the original on 2015-07-29. Retrieved 2014-07-24.
  4. ^ "Colorado affiliation could be different and better for Komets". News-Sentinel. 2014-07-24. Archived from the original on 2014-07-29. Retrieved 2014-07-24.
  5. ^ "Komets put together two-year deal with Avalanche". News-Sentinel. 2015-07-21. Archived from the original on 2015-07-23. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  6. ^ "Komets, Avalanche Terminate Affiliation". OurSports Central. July 19, 2016.
  7. ^ "Coyotes Announce ECHL Affiliation With Fort Wayne Komets". tucsonroadrunners.com. July 31, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  8. ^ "Fort Wayne Komets, Arizona Coyotes and Tucson Roadrunners end affiliation". The News-Sentinel. June 18, 2018.
  9. ^ "Komets announce affiliation with NHL's Vegas Golden Knights". Komets.com. 2018-08-21. Archived from the original on 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  10. ^ "Golden Knights And Fort Wayne Komets Renew ECHL Affiliation Agreement". Vegas Golden Knights. August 7, 2019.
  11. ^ "Fort Wayne Komets Standings". hockeydb.com. 2013-03-04. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  12. ^ "Fort Wayne Komets Elite Prospects". EliteProspects.com. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  13. ^ "Komets Hall of Fame". Fort Wayne Komets. 2015-08-15. Retrieved 2015-08-15.
  14. ^ "Sims thrilled about Komets saluting 504". The Journal Gazette. March 24, 2017.
  15. ^ "Komets Historical Win". Fort Wayne Komets. 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-28.[dead link]
  16. ^ "54th win sets new Fort Wayne franchise record". Fort Wayne Komets. 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-11.[dead link]

External links[]

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