San Jose Barracuda | |
---|---|
2016–17 AHL season | |
City | San Jose, California |
League | American Hockey League (AHL) |
Conference | Western |
Division | Pacific |
Founded | 1996 |
Operated | 2015–present |
Home arena | SAP Center |
Colors | Teal, orange, black, white |
Owner(s) | San Jose Sports & Entertainment Enterprises (Hasso Plattner, Governor) |
General manager | Joe Will |
Head coach | Roy Sommer |
Media |
San Jose Mercury News CSN California K-FOX (98.5 FM) |
Affiliates |
San Jose Sharks (NHL) Allen Americans (ECHL) |
Franchise history | |
1996–2001 | Kentucky Thoroughblades |
2001–2006 | Cleveland Barons |
2006–2015 | Worcester Sharks |
2015–present | San Jose Barracuda |
The San Jose Barracuda are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) which began play in the 2015–16 season. Affiliated with the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks, the Barracuda share the SAP Center with its parent club.
The Barracuda are a relocation of the former Worcester Sharks AHL franchise, joining several other AHL franchises to form a new AHL Pacific Division.
On January 29, 2015, the San Jose Sharks announced that they would be moving their AHL affiliate, the Worcester Sharks, to San Jose, California, as one of five charter members of the AHL's new Pacific Division. The team will play at the SAP Center at San Jose, being one of two of the current AHL teams to share a home arena with its parent club (along with the Manitoba Moose sharing the MTS Centre with their parent Winnipeg Jets).
On April 1, 2015, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reported that the Sharks had signed a multi-year presenting sponsorship with Barracuda Networks to be the AHL team's presenting sponsor; the team name would be called the San Jose Barracuda and the reported team logo would feature the corporate logo in the background. Neither the Sharks nor Barracuda would comment, however, they stated that an official announcement would come later in the week. The name and logo were confirmed the next day in a joint press release.
Friday October 9, 2015 marked the first official game in Barracuda history. They took on the Rockford IceHogs at home, coming up on the losing end of a 4-2 score. Micheal Haley scored the first ever franchise goal while on a power play in the first period. The Barracuda picked up the first win in franchise history while visiting the on October 15, 2015 by a score of 4-1.
On February 10, 2016, head coach Roy Sommer broke the record for most wins as an AHL coach, picking up his 637th win against the Ontario Reign by the score of 4-2.