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Orlando Solar Bears
Orlando Solar Bears logo
City: Orlando, Florida
League: ECHL
Conference: Eastern
Division: East
Founded: 2011
Home Arena: Amway Center
Colors: Solar purple, seafoam green, sunset orange, sunrise gold, white
                        
Owner(s): Orlando Pro Hockey Operations, L.P.
Head Coach: Vince Williams
Media: Orlando Sentinel , WJRR Orlando, Fl. , ECHL.TV
Affiliates: Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL)

Toronto Marlies (AHL)

Franchise history
2012–present: Orlando Solar Bears

The Orlando Solar Bears are a professional ice hockey team in Orlando, Florida. They play in the East Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play home games at the Amway Center.

History[]

The team revived the name of the original Orlando Solar Bears, who played in the International Hockey League from 1995 to 2001.[1] The franchise also retained the original colors of their IHL predecessor, while adding the color Sunrise Gold. They are Orlando's third professional hockey team, after the original Solar Bears and Orlando Seals (2002–2004). Together with the Florida Everblades of Estero, they are one of two ECHL franchises in Florida. They are the eighth ECHL franchise to have the name of a previous IHL franchise, joining four current teams (Cincinnati Cyclones, Fort Wayne Komets, Utah Grizzlies and Kalamazoo Wings) and three former teams (the defunct Phoenix Roadrunners and Long Beach Ice Dogs; and the Peoria Rivermen, which moved to the AHL).

The Solar Bears utilize RDV Sportsplex Ice Den as their training facility and offices.

On May 10, 2012, the team announced that it will be affiliated with the Minnesota Wild of the NHL and the Iowa Wild of the AHL.[2]

On June 19, 2012, the Solar Bears announced that former NHL player Drake Berehowsky would serve as the team's first head coach.[3]

On June 19, 2013, the Solar Bears announced that Vince Williams will serve as head coach. Williams is a former Solar Bears defenseman.

On July 22, 2013, the Solar Bears announced their affiliation with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL and the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. On August 1, 2014, the Leafs announced they were extended their affiliation with the Solar Bears for an additional two years, during which point the Leafs will be the Solar Bears' sole NHL affiliate.[4]

The Solar Bears will host the 2015 ECHL All-Star Game at Amway Center on January 21, 2015.[5]

The team was acquired by the ownership of the National Basketball Association's Orlando Magic in May of 2017.  This is the same ownership that owned the Orlando Solar Bears of the International Hockey League that had the team folded when that league merged with the American Hockey League in 2001.

Media[]

The radio for Solar Bears games is streamed online through iHeart Radio on the online channel for WYGM "740 the Game".

As with all ECHL teams, video of Solar Bears games are available on America One, usually with a choice between home or away radio feeds for audio.

Season-by-season results[]

Regular Season Playoffs
Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA Standing Avg. Attendence Year 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Kelly Cup
2012–13 72 28 37 3 4 63 197 253 5th, South 6,668 2013 Out of playoffs
2013–14 72 43 24 2 3 91 225 219 2nd, South 6,355 2014 L, 2–4, CIN
2014–15 72 37 25 6 4 84 236 215 4th, East 6,209 2015 L, 2–4, FLA
2015–16 72 33 30 4 5 75 224 232 3rd, South 6,226 2016 Out of playoffs
2016–17 72 36 26 7 3 82 260 258 4th, East N/A 2017 L, 2–4, FLA
2017–18 72 33 30 6 3 75 212 228 3rd, South 5,461 2018 W, 4–0, SC L, 1–4, FLA
2018–19 72 41 25 5 1 88 251 238 2nd, South -- 2019 W, 4-1 SC L, 1-4, FLA
2019–20 62 27 29 5 1 60 170 180 5th, South 5,632 2020 Season cancelled
2020-21 72 36 29 6 1 79 218 232 5th, Eastern N/A 2021 Out of playoffs

Current roster[]

Updated on February 8, 2017

# PLAYER POSITION SHOOTS HEIGHT WEIGHT DOB BIRTH PLACE
1 Kasimir Kaskisuo G R 6-3 195 Oct 2, 1993 Vantaa, Finland
2 Kyle Shapiro D R 6.01 190 Jan 18, 1990 Ambler, PA, United States
3 Austin Block F R 5-11 185 Oct 10, 1989 Denver, CO, United States
4 Taylor Doherty D R 6-7 235 Mar 2, 1991 Cambridge, ON, Canada
5 Chad LaRose F R 5.10 173 Mar 27, 1982 Fraser, MI, United States
7 Eric Baier D R 6-2 210 Mar 26, 1988 North Kingstown, RI, United States
10 Jon Jutzi D L 6-2 200 Apr 22, 1991 Tavistock, ON, Canada
11 Alexandre Carrier F R 6-3 210 Feb 18, 1991 St-Elzear-de-Beauce, QC, Canada
14 Denver Manderson F R 5-10 180 Apr 22, 1989 Fergus, ON, Canada
16 Ben Danford D R 6-0 185 May 17, 1989 Stillwater, MN, United States
17 Trevor Ludwig D L 6-1 210 May 24, 1985 Rhinelander, WI, United States
18 Daniel Maggio D R 6.03 205 Mar 4, 1991 Windsor, ON
19 Alex Gacek F R 5-8 175 Apr 6, 1993 Hampton, NH, United States
20 Milos Bubela F R 6-2 190 Aug 25, 1992 Banska Bystrica, Slovakia
21 Darik Angeli F R 6-3 201 Oct 11, 1990 Lakewood, CO, United States
22 Brenden Miller D L 6-1 198 Mar 29, 1994 Orangeville, ON, Canada
23 Chris Bradley D L 6-2 205 May 20, 1993 Williamsville, NY, United States
25 Mason Marchment F L 6-4 201 Jun 18, 1991 Uxbridge, ON, Canada
26 Joe Perry F R 6-2 215 Aug 29, 1989 Nanaimo, BC, Canada
28 Chris Crane F R 6-1 193 Dec 2, 1991 West Chester, OH, United States
31 Ryan Massa G R 6-0 180 Jul 6, 1990 Littleton, CO, United States
47 Patrick Watling F L 6-0 180 Sep 26, 1993 Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada
74 Chase Witala F L 6-0 175 May 27, 1995 Prince George, BC, Canada
96 Shane Conacher F R 5-11 177 Apr 24, 1994 Burlington, ON, Canada
Staff
Title Staff Member
Head Coach Drake Berehowsky
Asst. Coach Jon Snowden
Athletic Trainer John Finley
Equipment Manager Adam Dexter

References[]

  1. Press release (November 16, 2011). Orlando welcomes back the Solar Bears. ECHL. Retrieved on November 16, 2011.
  2. Out of Hibernation and into the Wild. Press Release. Orlando Solar Bears. Retrieved on May 15, 2012.
  3. SOLAR BEARS NAME NHL/AHL VETERAN DRAKE BEREHOWSKY AS HEAD COACH. Orlando Solar Bears (June 19, 2012). Retrieved on June 19, 2012.
  4. Maple Leafs renew ECHL affiliation with Orlando. Retrieved on August 24, 2014.
  5. Orlando to host 2015 ECHL All-Star Game. WKMG TV. Retrieved on 26 June 2013.

External links[]

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL). 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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