Hartford Wolf Pack | |
---|---|
2016–17 AHL season | |
City | Hartford, Connecticut |
League | American Hockey League |
Conference | Eastern |
Division | Atlantic |
Founded | 1926, in the CAHL |
Home arena | XL Center |
Colors | Blue, Red, White |
Owner(s) | Global Spectrum |
General manager | Jim Schoenfeld |
Head coach | Ken Gernander |
Captain | Mat Bodie |
Media |
MSG Network 1410 AM WPOP |
Affiliates |
New York Rangers (NHL) Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL) |
Franchise history | |
1926–1976 | Providence Reds |
1976–1977 | Rhode Island Reds |
1977–1980 | Binghamton Dusters |
1980–1990 | Binghamton Whalers |
1990–1997 | Binghamton Rangers |
1997–2010 | Hartford Wolf Pack |
2010–2013 | Connecticut Whale |
2013–present | Hartford Wolf Pack |
Championships | |
Regular season titles | 1 1999–00 |
Division Championships | 4 1999–00, 2003–04, 2008–09, 2014–15 |
Conference Championships | 1 1999–00 |
Calder Cups | 1 1999–00 |
The Hartford Wolf Pack is a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the XL Center. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. After a series of relocations, the team moved to Hartford in 1997 as the Hartford Wolf Pack. It is one of the oldest professional hockey franchises extant, and the oldest continuously operating minor-league franchise in North America.
The franchise was renamed the Connecticut Whale in October 2010, in honor of the former Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League (NHL) but reverted to their current name after the 2012–13 AHL season. The Wolf Pack is the top affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and is one of the three professional hockey teams in Connecticut.
The franchise that became the Wolf Pack was founded in 1926 in Providence, Rhode Island as the Providence Reds, one of the five charter members of the Canadian-American Hockey League. In 1936, the Northeast-based CAHL merged with the Midwest-based International Hockey League to form the International-American Hockey League, which dropped the "International" from its name in 1942.
The Reds —known as the Rhode Island Reds in their later years— folded after the 1975–76 season. Shortly afterward, the owners of the Broome Dusters of the North American Hockey League bought the Reds franchise and moved it to Binghamton, New York as the Binghamton Dusters. After securing an affiliation with the Hartford Whalers in 1980, the team changed its name to the Binghamton Whalers. An affiliation change to the Rangers in 1990—one that continues to this day—brought another new name, the Binghamton Rangers.