| Chicago Steel | |
 | |
| City: | Bensenville, Illinois |
|---|---|
| League: | USHL |
| Division: | East |
| Founded: | 1996 |
| Home Arena: | Edge Ice Arena |
| Colors: | Black, Red, Gray
|
| Owner(s): | Larry Robbins Bruce Liimatainen & Mike Greenberg (minor) |
| General Manager: | Ryan Bennett (2015-16) |
| Head Coach: | Dan Muse (2015-16) |
| Franchise history | |
| 1996–2000: | Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks |
| 2000–present: | Chicago Steel |
The Chicago Steel is a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team formed in 2000. It plays all of its home games at the Edge Ice Arena, located in the Bensenville, Illinois. The Steel play in the Eastern Division of the United States Hockey League. The GM and Head Coach of the Steel is former NHL'er Steve Poapst.
History
The Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks moved to Chicago, Illinois and became the Steel in 2000. For the most part, the team hovered around the .500 mark, until 2003-04. Under the direction of rookie Head Coach Wil Nichol, the Steel won their first-ever East Division title, besting the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders by one point.
The feat was remarkable considering the Steel didn’t have a scorer or a goaltender ranked among the league leaders. Danny Charleston led the team in scoring and Curt Hammer award winner Topher Scott also provided clutch goals. Shane Connolly and Adam D’Alba split the goaltending duties and Nichol claimed league coach of the year honors.
The division title didn’t bring post-season success, however, as the Steel fell to eventual Clark Cup champion Waterloo Black Hawks in a tight, five-game, first-round series.
In May 2015, the majority ownership of the Chicago Steel was purchased by Larry Robbins while current owners Bruce Liimatainen and Mike Greenberg remained involved but as minority owners. The announcement for change of owners was accompanied by the announcement for a change of leadership on ice as Ryan Bennett and Dan Muse were hired as the new General Manager and Coach respectively.[1]
Notable alumni
- Matt Clackson, currently in the Washington Capitals organization, son of Kim Clackson
- Tom Gilbert, defenseman for the Florida Panthers
- Joe Loprieno, San Jose Sharks prospect
- John Moore, defenseman for the New York Rangers, and 2011 AHL All-Star
- Travis Morin, Dallas Stars prospect
- Danny Richmond, member of 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, defenseman for the Lahti Pelicans of the SM-liiga in Finland
- Lee Sweatt, retired
- Dean Chelios and Jake Chelios, currently playing for the Michigan State Spartans, sons of Chris Chelios
- Philip Samuelsson, Defenseman for the Boston College Eagles, prospect for the Pittsburgh Penguins, son of Ulf Samuelsson
- Drew LeBlanc, Forward for the 2012-2013 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks
Team Spirit
The team mascot is Rusty the Pooch.
External links
- Chicago Steel Hockey Team Official site
| United States Hockey League | |
|---|---|
| East Division | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders · Central Illinois Flying Aces · Chicago Steel · Dubuque Fighting Saints · Green Bay Gamblers · Madison Capitols · Muskegon Lumberjacks · US National Team Development Program · Youngstown Phantoms |
| West Division | Des Moines Buccaneers · Fargo Force · Lincoln Stars · Omaha Lancers · Sioux City Musketeers · Sioux Falls Stampede · Tri-City Storm · Waterloo Black Hawks |
| Related articles: Clark Cup · Anderson Cup · Annual awards · NHL alumni · NHL draftees | |
| Current arenas in the United States Hockey League | |
|---|---|
| East Division | Alliant Energy Center • Covelli Centre • Edge Ice Arena • ImOn Ice Arena • Mercy Health Arena • Mystique Ice Center • Resch Center • USA Hockey Arena • U.S. Cellular Coliseum |
| West Division | Buccaneer Arena • Denny Sanford PREMIER Center • Fleet Farm Arena • Ice Box • Ralston Arena • Scheels Arena • Viaero Event Center • Young Arena |
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Chicago Steel. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA). |