Charlotte Checkers
| Charlotte Checkers | |
|---|---|
 2016–17 AHL season
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| 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.
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. 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. 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.
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