Albany River Rats
| Albany River Rats | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Albany, New York |
| League | American Hockey League |
| Operated | 1993–2010 |
| Home arena | Times Union Center |
| Colors |
Red, black, white |
| Affiliates |
Carolina Hurricanes (2006–2010) Colorado Avalanche (2006–2007) New Jersey Devils (1993–2006) |
| Franchise history | |
| 1990–1993 | Capital District Islanders |
| 1993–2010 | Albany River Rats |
| 2010–present | Charlotte Checkers |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 2 1994–95, 1995–96 |
| Division Championships | 4 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98 |
| Calder Cups | 1 1994–95 |
Red, black, white
The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center.
Without a viable indoor arena with an ice surface, through the end of the 1980s the city of Albany had never had a minor league professional hockey team. Three separate attempts to establish teams in the neighboring cities of Schenectady and Troy had proven forgettable.
The first was in the 1952-53 season when the Capital Region had its first foray into pro hockey in the form of the Troy Uncle Sam Trojans, who played a single season in the Eastern Hockey League, finishing last in the five-team loop and folding after the season.
Professional hockey would not return to the Capital Region until the 1980s, with a pair of failed attempts to establish franchises in the low-level Atlantic Coast Hockey League. The Schenectady Chiefs were awarded a charter franchise in the ACHL’s inaugural 1981-82 season, but after drawing minuscule crowds in a rink built in a converted department store, that team folded on November 18, 1981 after just nine games. In an ironic case of déjà vu, the Troy Slapshots joined the same league five years later, and played just 6 games before folding in November 17, 1986.
However, construction of the palatial Knickerbocker Arena in downtown Albany in 1990 would change the face of hockey in the Capital District. The week that the new arena opened, plans were unveiled worldwide for the formation of the fledgling Global Hockey League, a challenger to the NHL with teams in North America and Europe that would begin play in November of that year. One of the six inaugural franchises announced in their initial press conference was the Albany Admirals, which was to be owned by businessman Joseph O’Hara and had signed a lease to play in the Knickerbocker Arena. The Capital hockey community was abuzz with excitement, and commitments for over 3,000 season tickets were received. However, by the end of May, disagreements between O’Hara and the league founders led O’Hara to withdraw his franchise from the new league. In June, the league postponed its opening season by a year, but the venture never materialized and the Global Hockey League never made it to the ice.
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