Charlotte Checkers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Charlotte Checkers | |
 |
|
| Founded | 1993 |
| Home ice | St. Lawrence Homes Home Ice |
| Based in | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Colors | Navy Blue, Red |
| League | ECHL |
| Conference | American |
| Division | South |
| Head coach | Derek Wilkinson |
| General manager | Jeff Longo |
| Owner | Michael Kahn |
| Media Affiliates | B2 Networks Internet Audio\Video feeds |
| Captain | Jan Vodrazka |
| Alternates | Kenton Smith, Dusty Jamieson |
| Affiliates | New York Rangers (NHL), Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL |
| Division Championships | None |
| Conference Championships | None |
| League Championships | 1995-96 |
The Charlotte Checkers are an American ice hockey team in Charlotte, North Carolina, playing in the ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League).
The Checkers were founded in 1993 and played from then until 2005 in Cricket Arena. In 2005, they moved to St. Lawrence Homes Home Ice at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. The team set their all time attendance record of 11,237 on February 10 2007 in a 6-3 loss against the Texas Wildcatters. Their previous record was 10,894 in a win against the Florida Everblades in November 2005. As of February 20, 2007, they are second in the ECHL in attendance, increasing their attandance by 45% over their inaugral season at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. Many people claim that the new arena is part of the reason for increased attendance as well as an increased interest in hockey in North Carolina due to the in-state NHL 2006 Stanley Cup champions, and also the influx of northern transplants into the Charlotte region.
Charlotte's hockey heritage dates to 1956, when the Eastern Hockey League's Baltimore Clippers moved to Charlotte after a fire destroyed part of the Baltimore team's arena. They played games in the Charlotte Coliseum (now Cricket Arena) for the balance of the season. The team decided to stay in Charlotte, adopting the Checkers nickname in 1958. The team joined the EHL's other Southern franchises in forming the Southern Hockey League in 1973, where it played until the league's demise in 1977.
The current Checkers are named for the teams of the past, and for years were known for an orange and electric blue checkerboard pattern logo. However, it is possible that the Checkers name comes from the hockey term "checking".
Contents |
[edit] History of the Charlotte Checkers
[edit] Season-by-season record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, PTS = Points, PCT = Winning Percentage, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Records as of October 30, 2006.[1]
| Season | League | Division | GP | W | L | T | OTL | SOL | PTS | PCT | GF | GA | PIM | Coach(es) | Result |
| 1993-94 | ECHL | East | 68 | 39 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 82 | 0.574 | 281 | 271 | 1519 | John Marks | Lost in round 1 |
| 1994-95 | ECHL | East | 68 | 37 | 22 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 83 | 0.544 | 274 | 261 | 1949 | John Marks | Lost in round 1 |
| 1995-96 | ECHL | East | 70 | 45 | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 94 | 0.643 | 294 | 250 | 2251 | John Marks | Won Championship |
| 1996-97 | ECHL | East | 70 | 35 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 0.550 | 271 | 267 | 1799 | John Marks | Lost in round 1 |
| 1997-98 | ECHL | Southeast | 70 | 35 | 24 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 0.579 | 251 | 237 | 1662 | John Marks | Lost in round 2 |
| 1998-99 | ECHL | Southeast | 70 | 29 | 30 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 0.493 | 221 | 262 | 1264 | Shawn Wheeler | Out of Playoffs |
| 1999-00 | ECHL | Northeast | 70 | 25 | 38 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 57 | 0.357 | 186 | 254 | 1680 | Shawn Wheeler, Don MacAdam | Out of Playoffs |
| 2000-01 | ECHL | Northeast | 72 | 34 | 26 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 0.556 | 247 | 252 | 1416 | Don MacAdam | Lost in round 2 |
| 2001-02 | ECHL | Northeast | 72 | 41 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 0.646 | 256 | 207 | 1599 | Don MacAdam | Lost in round 2 |
| 2002-03 | ECHL | Northeast | 72 | 41 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 0.590 | 262 | 234 | 1735 | Don MacAdam | Out of Playoffs |
| 2003-04 | ECHL | Southern | 72 | 31 | 32 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 0.493 | 206 | 230 | 1460 | Don MacAdam, Derek Wilkinson | Out of Playoffs |
| 2004-05 | ECHL | East | 72 | 39 | 26 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 0.590 | 226 | 219 | 1301 | Derek Wilkinson | Lost in round 3 |
| 2005-06 | ECHL | South | 72 | 33 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 0.493 | 232 | 254 | 1634 | Derek Wilkinson | Lost in round 3 |
| 2006-07 | ECHL | South | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.750 | 19 | 11 | 105 | Derek Wilkinson | T.B.D. |
| Totals | 1 | 5 | 993 | 467 | 355 | 76 | 24 | 0 | 1034 | 0.470 | 3226 | 3209 | 21374 | 4 | 9/13 Playoff Seasons, 1 Championship |
[edit] Current Roster
As of December 31, 2006. Taken from ECHL Website.[2]
|
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Catches | Date of birth | Place of birth | |
| 1 |  |
Chris Holt | L | June 5, 1985 | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| 30 |  |
Alex Westlund | R | December 28, 1975 | Flemington Village, New Jersey, USA |
|
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Shoots | Date of birth | Place of birth | |
| 2 | |
Ryan Constant | L | May 1, 1985 | Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Manitoba, Canada |
| 3 | |
Corey Potter | R | January 5, 1984 | Lansing, Michigan, USA |
| 5 |  |
Jan Vodrazka | L | November 10, 1976 | Plzeň, Plzeň Region, Czech Republic |
| 6 | |
Kenny Smith | L | December 31, 1981 | Stoneham, Massachusetts, USA |
| 8 | |
Dan Murphy | L | April 26, 1983 | North Andover, Massachusetts, USA |
| 17 | |
Kenton Smith | L | September 10, 1979 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| 19 | |
Bryan Rodney | R | April 22, 1984 | London, Ontario, Canada |
| 24 | |
Kirk DeWaele | R | March 24, 1976 | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
|
|
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Position | Shoots | Date of birth | Place of birth | |
| 9 | |
Hugh Jessiman | RW | R | March 28, 1984 | New York, New York, USA |
| 11 | |
Adam Nightingale | F | R | December 19, 1979 | Cheboygan, Michigan, USA |
| 12 | |
Zdenek Bahensky | F | L | March 1, 1986 | Most, Ústí nad Labem Region, Czech Republic |
| 13 | |
Blake Bellefeuille | C | R | December 27, 1977 | Framingham, Massachusetts, USA |
| 14 | |
Daymen Rycroft | F | L | May 2, 1979 | Beaverlodge, Alberta, Canada |
| 16 | |
Bruce Graham | F | L | December 2, 1985 | Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada |
| 20 | |
Mike Ouellette | F | R | July 6, 1982 | Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada |
| 21 | |
Nathan Gillies | F | R | October 31, 1980 | Cambridge, Ontario, Canada |
| 25 | |
Lee Falardeau | C | L | July 22, 1983 | Midland, Michigan, USA |
| 44 | |
Dusty Jamieson | LW | L | May 26, 1981 | Forest, Ontario, Canada |
|
|
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Staff Member | |||||
| Head Coach | Derek Wilkinson | |||||
| Assistant Coach | Allan Egeland | |||||
| Trainer | Brandon Dionne | |||||
| Equipment Manager | Mike Brown | |||||
[edit] Team captains
- 2005-2006
- C - Kenton Smith
- 2006-2007
- C - Jan Vodrazka
[edit] Hall of Famers
[edit] NHLers
[edit] Notable players
Dusty Jamieson
[edit] Retired numbers
4 - Kurt Seher
[edit] Miscellaneous
[edit] Team Highs
[edit] Infamous moments
[edit] External links
| ECHL | |
| 2006-07 teams: Alaska Aces | Augusta Lynx | Bakersfield Condors | Charlotte Checkers | Cincinnati Cyclones | Columbia Inferno | Dayton Bombers | Florida Everblades | Fresno Falcons | Gwinnett Gladiators | Idaho Steelheads | Johnstown Chiefs | Las Vegas Wranglers | Long Beach Ice Dogs | Pensacola Ice Pilots | Phoenix RoadRunners | Reading Royals | South Carolina Stingrays | Stockton Thunder | Texas Wildcatters | Toledo Storm | Trenton Titans | Utah Grizzlies | Victoria Salmon Kings | Wheeling Nailers | |
| Planned 2007-08 teams: Mississippi Sea Wolves | |
| Trophies and Awards: Patrick J. Kelly Cup | |
| Related Articles: NHL | AHL | CHL | SPHL | UHL | World Cup | |
