| Colorado Eagles | |
 | |
| City: | Loveland, Colorado |
|---|---|
| League: | Central Hockey League (2003-2011) ECHL (2011-2018) AHL (2018-present) |
| Conference: | Western |
| Division: | Pacific |
| Founded: | 2003 (In the CHL) |
| Home Arena: | Budweiser Events Center |
| Colors: | Navy blue, red, gold, white |
| Owner(s): | Colorado Eagles Professional Hockey LLC |
| General Manager: | Kevin McDonald |
| Head Coach: | Aaron Schneekloth |
| Media: | The Coloradoan Loveland Reporter-Herald |
| Affiliates: | Colorado Avalanche (NHL) Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) |
| Franchise history | |
| 2003–present: | Colorado Eagles |
| Championships | |
| Regular Season Titles: | 3 (2005, 2006, 2009) |
| Division Championships: | 8 (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2018) |
| Conference Championships: | 7 (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2017), 2018 |
| Ray Miron President's Cup: | 2 (2005, 2007, 2018) |
| Kelly Cups: | 2 (2017, 2018) |
The Colorado Eagles are a professional ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Pacific Division of the American Hockey League.
The Eagles were founded as an expansion franchise in 2003 in the Central Hockey League and remained in the league until June 2011. During their time in the CHL, the Eagles won two Ray Miron President's Cups, three regular season titles, five conference titles and six division titles in eight seasons. The Eagles play at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland and serves the Fort Collins-Loveland metropolitan area.
The team has been granted an membership as an expansion team in the American Hockey League beginning with the 2018–19 season.
Franchise history[]
Central Hockey League era (2003–2011)[]
The franchise was founded in 2003 by former Montreal Canadiens player Ralph Backstrom.[1] The Eagles advanced to the playoffs in their first season and won the CHL championship in their second season, 2004–05. They won their division in 2005–06, but lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, after having defeated the Oklahoma City Blazers in the first round. They would again win the CHL Championship in 2006–07, defeating the Laredo Bucks four games to two in the Cup Finals.
After the 2007–08 season, coach Chris Stewart retired, and Kevin McClelland was named as his replacement. Following the 2009–10 season, McClelland was not retained and Stewart - who had been working as team president and general manager since leaving the bench – resumed head coaching duties.
During the 2008–09 season, the Eagles hosted the 2009 CHL All-Star Game and took on a group of CHL All-Stars from various teams. The exhibition took place on January 14, 2009, at the Budweiser Events Center, with the Eagles defeating the CHL All-Stars, 8-4.
Move to ECHL (2011–2018)[]
During the 2011 Ray Miron President's Cup playoffs, the Eagles had been rumored to be transferring to the ECHL following the completion of the playoffs.[2][3] Former International Hockey League commissioner Dennis Hextall has stated that he had heard that the Colorado Eagles may already be included in the ECHL's tentative schedule for the 2011–12 season.[4]
On May 29, 2011, KEVN-TV in Rapid City, South Dakota reported that Colorado was to move to the ECHL in time for the 2011–12 season.[5] The following day, the team announced that they would have a press conference on May 31 at the Budweiser Events Center and that local media were urged to attend and fans urged to listen to the press conference online or on a local radio station.[6] At the press conference, Head Coach, General Manager and President Chris Stewart announced that the team had been accepted as an expansion franchise in the ECHL for the 2011–12 season.
In August 2011, the Eagles were assigned to the Western Conference's Mountain Division as part of the league realignment for the 2011–12 ECHL season.[7]
They served as the second-tier affiliate of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and the American Hockey League's St. John's IceCaps until the end of the 2012–13 hockey season[8] and then as the Calgary Flames and Adirondack Flames affiliate during the 2014–15 season.
In July 2016, head coach Chris Stewart retired as coach for the second time but remained with the organization as general manager.[9] He was replaced by assistant coach and longtime Eagles player, Aaron Schneekloth.[10] On July 20, the Eagles announced a four-year affiliation with the NHL's Colorado Avalanche and the AHL's San Antonio Rampage after one season of playing independent of affiliations.[11] In their first season with the Avalanche affiliation, the Eagles would go on to finish second in the Mountain Division of the ECHL and then win the Kelly Cup as the 2017 playoffs champions.
Move to the AHL[]
For the 2017–18 season, the National Hockey League added the Vegas Golden Knights as a 31st team. The approval of a new NHL team also led to discussions of adding a 31st team in the American Hockey League.[12] With the Golden Knights choosing to affiliate with the Chicago Wolves instead of adding their own AHL expansion team, talks with other organizations were opened. The owners and managers of the Eagles began discussions with the Avalanche with interests into becoming an AHL expansion for the 2018–19 season.[13] On October 10, 2017, the Avalanche and the Eagles officially announced that the club would be promoted to the AHL in 2018.[14][15]
The Avalanche hired Greg Cronin as the Eagles' first AHL head coach and retained former head coach Aaron Schneekloth as an assistant.[16] Cronin remained in the role for the Eagles first five seasons, qualifying for the playoff in each year. Prior to the 2022–23 season, the Avalanche announced a restructure of their executive committee with Kevin McDonald hired and introduced as the incoming Eagles General Manager, with Craig Billington re-assigned to other duties within the organization.[17][18]
With the departure of Cronin, following his unveiling as the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL, Schneekloth was re-instated as the Colorado Eagles head coach on July 7, 2023.[19]
Season records[]
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL=shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Records as of end of the 2023–24 AHL season.[20]
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Year | Prelims | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Finals | |||
| Central Hockey League | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–04 | 64 | 43 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 91 | 232 | 156 | 1453 | 1st, Northwest | 2004 | — | — | L, 1–3, WIC | — | — | |||
| 2004–05 | 60 | 43 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 93 | 221 | 123 | 1345 | 1st, Northwest | 2005 | — | — | W, 4–1, TUL | W, 4–2, WIC | W, 4–1, LAR | |||
| 2005–06 | 64 | 44 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 94 | 241 | 183 | 1898 | 1st, Northwest | 2006 | — | — | W, 4–3, OKC | L, 1–4, BS | — | |||
| 2006–07 | 64 | 46 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 93 | 256 | 182 | 1944 | 1st, Northwest | 2007 | — | W, 4–2, YNG | W, 4–3, OKC | W, 4–2, MEM | W, 4–2, LAR | |||
| 2007–08 | 64 | 37 | 20 | 2 | 5 | 81 | 254 | 223 | 1637 | 1st, Northwest | 2008 | — | BYE | W, 4–1, YNG | W, 4–3, TEX | L, 0–4, ARZ | |||
| 2008–09 | 64 | 45 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 94 | 275 | 195 | 1429 | 1st, Northwest | 2009 | — | BYE | W, 4–0, BS | W, 4–2, MIS | L, 1–4, TEX | |||
| 2009–10 | 64 | 42 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 91 | 277 | 208 | 1557 | 2nd, Northern | 2010 | — | BYE | L, 0–4, BS | — | — | |||
| 2010–11 | 66 | 40 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 84 | 250 | 199 | 1352 | 2nd, Turner | 2011 | — | W, 3–1, QC | W, 3–1, MO | W, 4–3, RC | L, 3–4 BS | |||
| ECHL | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–12 | 72 | 38 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 82 | 250 | 252 | 1485 | 2nd, Mountain | 2012 | — | L, 0–3, STK | — | — | — | |||
| 2012–13 | 72 | 34 | 31 | 3 | 4 | 75 | 239 | 224 | 1534 | 3rd, Mountain | 2013 | — | L, 2–4, IDA | — | — | — | |||
| 2013–14 | 71 | 33 | 26 | 7 | 5 | 78 | 211 | 218 | 1158 | 4th, Mountain | 2014 | — | L, 2–4, IDA | — | — | — | |||
| 2014–15 | 72 | 41 | 23 | 4 | 4 | 90 | 236 | 209 | 1457 | 3rd, Pacific | 2015 | — | L, 3–4, ONT | — | — | — | |||
| 2015–16 | 72 | 41 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 86 | 232 | 193 | 1427 | 1st, West | 2016 | — | L, 2–4, UTA | — | — | — | |||
| 2016–17 | 72 | 47 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 99 | 265 | 206 | 1415 | 2nd, Mountain | 2017 | — | W, 4–1, IDA | W, 4–2, ALN | W, 4–1, TOL | W, 4–0 SC | |||
| 2017–18 | 72 | 48 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 102 | 265 | 214 | 1377 | 1st, Mountain | 2018 | — | W, 4–2, WIC | W, 4–0, IDA | W, 4–3, FW | W, 4–3, FLA | |||
| American Hockey League | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–19 | 68 | 36 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 77 | 191 | 205 | 1114 | 4th, Pacific | 2019 | — | L, 1–3, BAK | — | — | — | |||
| 2019–20 | 56 | 34 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 72 | 188 | 162 | 683 | 2nd, Pacific | 2020 | Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||
| 2020–21 | 34 | 15 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 34 | 101 | 104 | 318 | 5th, Pacific | 2021[lower-alpha 1] | — | OTW, 5–4, ONT | L, 1–5, SJ | — | — | |||
| 2021–22 | 68 | 39 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 85 | 244 | 207 | 815 | 3rd, Pacific | 2022 | W, 2–0, HSK | W, 3–0, ONT | L, 1–3, STK | — | — | |||
| 2022–23 | 72 | 40 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 90 | 210 | 187 | 1000 | 3rd, Pacific | 2023 | W, 2–0, ONT | L, 2–3, CV | — | — | — | |||
| 2023–24 | 72 | 40 | 25 | 5 | 2 | 87 | 215 | 195 | 1029 | 4th, Pacific | 2024 | L, 1–2, ABB | — | — | — | — | |||
- ↑ Scott, Jon C. (2006). Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South. Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd., 163. ISBN 1-894974-21-2.
- ↑ Sandalow, Brian (April 30, 2011). Icy future awaiting Bees?. The Monitor. Retrieved on May 25, 2011.
- ↑ Cohn, Justin A. (May 6, 2011). Lots of excitement. The Journal Gazette. Retrieved on May 25, 2011.
- ↑ DeVrieze, Craig (April 29, 2011). Change rumors swirl in the CHL. Quad-City Times. Retrieved on May 23, 2011.
- ↑ Coppock, Cory (May 29, 2011). Colorado Eagles moving to ECHL. KEVN-TV. Retrieved on May 30, 2011.
- ↑ Press release (May 30, 2011). Eagles schedule new conference for Tuesday. The Coloradoan. Retrieved on May 30, 2011.
- ↑ Press release. "Annual ECHL Board of Governors meeting concludes", ECHL, August 1, 2011. Retrieved on August 1, 2011.
- ↑ Press release. "Jets cut ties to ECHL club", Winnipeg Free Press, May 14, 2013. Retrieved on May 14, 2013.
- ↑ Chris Stewart retires as Colorado Eagles coach. Fort Collins Coloradoan (July 6, 2016).
- ↑ Colorado Eagles name Aaron Schneekloth to replace Chris Stewart. Reporter-Herald (July 18, 2016).
- ↑ Eagles Announce Affiliation with Colorado Avalanche. OurSports Central (July 20, 2016).
- ↑ Alexander, Jim. "American Hockey League president talks scheduling, expansion, All-Stars, etc.", February 12, 2017.
- ↑ Chambers, Mike. "Colorado Eagles in discussions to become the Avalanche's AHL affiliate", June 14, 2017.
- ↑ Lytle, Kevin (October 10, 2017). Colorado Eagles moving to AHL to become top Avalanche affiliate. Fort Collins Coloradoan.
- ↑ American Hockey League (October 10, 2017). AHL Awards Expansion Membership to Colorado Eagles. Press release.
- ↑ AVALANCHE NAME CRONIN COLORADO EAGLES HEAD COACH (July 12, 2018).
- ↑ Avalanche names Kevin McDonald Assistant General Manager. Colorado Eagles (July 22, 2022). Retrieved on July 22, 2022.
- ↑ Meghan Angley (October 27, 2022). "Be the best player here, and your chance will come"; Meet Kevin McDonald, the new leader of the Colorado Eagles. thednvr.com. Retrieved on October 27, 2022.
- ↑ Aaron Schneekloth named Colorado Eagles head coach. Colorado Avalanche (July 7, 2023). Retrieved on July 7, 2023.
- ↑ Colorado Eagles season statistics and records.
Players[]
Current roster[]
Updated April 29, 2024.[1]
Team captains[]
- Brent Thompson, 2003–04
- Greg Pankewicz, 2004–09
- Riley Nelson, 2009–14
- Trent Daavettila, 2014–16
- Matt Garbowsky, 2017–18
- Mark Alt, 2018–20
- Greg Pateryn, 2020–21
- Jayson Megna & Jacob MacDonald (co-captains), 2021–2022
- Brad Hunt, 2023–present
Retired numbers[]
| No. | Player | Position | Career | No. retirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Riley Nelson | C | 2003–2014 | December 12, 2014[2] |
| 17 | Ryan Tobler | LW | 2003–2010 | March 27, 2015[3] |
| 23 | Aaron Schneekloth | D | 2006–2013 | March 22, 2019[4] |
| 27 | Brad Williamson | D | 2003–2008 | March 22, 2019[4] |
| 89 | Greg Pankewicz | RW | 2003–2009 | October 16, 2009[5] |
Awards and honors[]
Ray Miron President's Cup
CHL playoff champion
- 2005, 2007
Kelly Cup
ECHL playoff champion
Bud Poile Governors' Cup
CHL regular season champion
- 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09
Conference playoff championship
- 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011
Division titles
- 2003–05, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2015–16
References[]
- ↑ Colorado Eagles roster. Colorado Eagles (April 29, 2024).
- ↑ Tiller, Cris. "Former Eagles captain Riley Nelson settling into life after hockey", December 11, 2014.
- ↑ Tiller, Cris. "Ryan Tobler honored to have Colorado Eagles retire his number", March 27, 2015.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Colorado Eagles to retire numbers of Schneekloth, Williamson (February 5, 2019).
- ↑ Pankewicz retires becomes assistant coach (August 10, 2009).
External links[]
| Relocated and defunct ECHL teams | |
|---|---|
| Relocated (still active) | Alaska Aces (Maine Mariners) · Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies (Adirondack Thunder) · Bakersfield Condors (Norfolk Admirals) · Birmingham Bulls (Adirondack Thunder) · Carolina Thunderbirds (Wheeling Nailers) · Columbus Chill (Reading Royals) · Evansville IceMen (Jacksonville Icemen) · Huntsville Blast (Utah Grizzlies) · Johnstown Chiefs (Greenville Road Warriors) · Lexington Men O' War (Utah Grizzlies) · Louisville River Frogs (Cincinnati Cyclones) · Macon Whoopee (Utah Grizzlies) · Miami Matadors (Cincinnati Cyclones) · Mobile Mysticks (Gwinnett Gladiators) · Stockton Thunder (Adirondack Thunder) · Tallahassee Tiger Sharks (Utah Grizzlies) · Virginia Lancers (Utah Grizzlies) |
| Defunct | Arkansas RiverBlades · Augusta Lynx · Baton Rouge Kingfish · Brampton Beast · Charlotte Checkers · Chesapeake Icebreakers · Chicago Express · Colorado Eagles · Columbia Inferno · Columbus Cottonmouths · Dayton Bombers · Elmira Jackals · Erie Panthers · Fresno Falcons · Greensboro Generals · Greensboro Monarchs · Greenville Grrrowl · Hampton Roads Admirals · Huntington Blizzard · Jackson Bandits · Jacksonville Lizard Kings · Knoxville Cherokees · Las Vegas Wranglers · Long Beach Ice Dogs · Louisiana IceGators · Louisville Icehawks · Manchester Monarchs · Mississippi Sea Wolves · Nashville Knights · Newfoundland Growlers · New Orleans Brass · Ontario Reign · Pee Dee Pride · Pensacola Ice Pilots · Peoria Rivermen · Phoenix RoadRunners · Quad City Mallards · Raleigh IceCaps · Richmond Renegades · Roanoke Express · San Diego Gulls · San Francisco Bulls · Texas Wildcatters · Toledo Storm · Trenton Titans · Victoria Salmon Kings |
| Central Hockey League (1992–2014) | |
|---|---|
| Former Teams | Allen Americans - Amarillo Gorillas - Amarillo Rattlers - Arizona Sundogs - Austin Ice Bats - Bloomington Blaze - Bloomington PrairieThunder - Border City Bandits - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs - Brampton Beast - Colorado Eagles - Columbus Cottonmouths - Corpus Christi IceRays - Corpus Christi Rayz - Dallas Freeze - Dayton Gems - Denver Cutthroats -El Paso Buzzards - Evansville IceMen - Fayetteville Force - Fort Wayne Komets - Fort Worth Brahmas - Fort Worth Fire - Huntsville Channel Cats - Huntsville Tornado - Indianapolis Ice - Laredo Bucks - Lubbock Cotton Kings - Macon Whoopee - Memphis RiverKings - Mississippi RiverKings - Missouri Mavericks - Nashville Ice Flyers - Nashville Nighthawks - New Mexico Scorpions - Odessa Jackalopes - Oklahoma City Blazers - Quad City Mallards - Rapid City Rush - Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees - Rocky Mountain Rage - San Angelo Outlaws - San Angelo Saints - San Antonio Iguanas - St. Charles Chill - Texas Brahmas - Topeka ScareCrows - Topeka Tarantulas - Tulsa Oilers - Wichita Thunder - Youngstown SteelHounds |
| Related articles: Seasons - Ray Miron President's Cup - Other professional hockey leagues | |
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Colorado Eagles. 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). |
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