Fort Wayne Komets

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Fort Wayne Komets
WOWO (1190 AM)
WKJG (1380 AM)
AffiliatesEdmonton Oilers (NHL)
Bakersfield Condors (AHL)
Websitekomets.com
Franchise history
First IHL Franchise
1952–1990Fort Wayne Komets
1990–1991Albany Choppers
Current ECHL Franchise
1985–1990Flint Spirits
1990–presentFort Wayne Komets
Championships
Regular season titles12 (1959–60, 1962–63, 1972–73, 1977–78, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1986–87, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09)
Division titles2 (2016, 2018)
Conference titles2 (2012, 2021)
Turner Cups7 (1963, 1965, 1973, 1993, 2008, 2009, 2010)
Ray Miron President's Cup1 (2012)
Colonial Cups1 (2003)
Kelly Cups1 (2021)
Current season

The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This team was previously a member of the Central Hockey League (CHL), the original International Hockey League (IHL), and the second International Hockey League (UHL/IHL). Founded in the original IHL They have won four post-season championship titles in the original IHL in 1963, 1965, 1973, and 1993, four in the UHL/second IHL in 2003, 2008, 2009, and 2010, one in the CHL in 2012, and one in the ECHL in 2021. In all of North American professional hockey, only the Original Six teams of the NHL and the Hershey Bears of the AHL have played continuously in the same city with the same name longer than the Komets.

History

The original Komets franchise played in the previous iteration of the International Hockey League from 1952 until 1990. The original IHL franchise then moved to Albany, New York in 1990 as the Albany Choppers. Only two days later, the Franke family of Fort Wayne bought the Flint Spirits, moved them to Fort Wayne, and took the Komets name and history. The Albany Choppers would only play part of one season before folding on February 15, 1991.[1]

In 1999, the second IHL Komets franchise joined the United Hockey League (which later took the IHL name in 2007). In 2010, the UHL/IHL ceased operations and the Komets joined the Central Hockey League along with the surviving members of their former league. They left the CHL for the ECHL in 2012.

For the

Lake Erie Monsters.[2][3] After a successful season and partnership proving beneficial to all parties, on July 21, 2015, the Komets announced a continuance of the affiliation with the Avalanche and new AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage on a two-year deal through the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons.[4] However, the Avalanche and Komets mutually agreed to end the affiliation one season early in 2016.[5] After a season operating independently of an affiliation, the Komets agreed to a one-year affiliation deal with the Arizona Coyotes and their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners,[6] but did not extend the affiliation after the deal ended.[7]

On August 21, 2018, the Komets announced a new one-year affiliation agreement with the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights and AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves.[8] The affiliation was later extended for the 2019–20 season.[9] The affiliation with the Golden Knights ended on May 19, 2022.[10]

On July 27, 2022, the Komets announced a new affiliation agreement with the NHL's Edmonton Oilers and their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.[11]

Season-by-season results

This is a partial list of the last ten seasons completed by the Fort Wayne Komets. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Fort Wayne Komets seasons

Regular season Playoffs
Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA PIM Standing Year 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Kelly Cup
2012–13 72 33 35 1 3 70 205 246 1385 4th, North 2013 did not qualify
2013–14 72 36 24 7 5 84 215 215 954 3rd, North 2014 W, 4–1, REA L, 2–4, CIN
2014–15 72 48 18 2 4 102 251 200 1033 2nd, North 2015 W, 4–1, KAL L, 3–4, TOL
2015–16 72 40 23 7 2 89 240 200 1196 1st, Midwest 2016 W, 4–3, CIN W, 4–0, UTA L, 1–4, ALN
2016–17 72 45 19 6 2 98 264 210 1292 2nd, Central 2017 W, 4–1, QC L, 1–4, TOL
2017–18 72 46 20 5 1 98 290 216 1078 2nd, Central 2018 W, 4–1, CIN W, 4–2, TOL L, 3–4, COL
2018–19 76 36 26 4 6 82 233 248 1132 3rd, Central 2019 L, 2–4, TOL
2019–20 62 31 23 6 2 70 218 220 1044 3rd, Central 2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 51 29 17 3 2 63 170 136 925 3rd, West Conf. 2021 W, 3–2, WIC W, 3–1, ALN W, 3–1, SC
2021–22 72 40 25 6 1 87 267 225 1271 2nd, Central 2022 L, 3–4, WHL
2022–23 72 34 31 4 3 75 270 275 1450 4th, Central 2023 L, 3–4, CIN

Records as of the conclusion of the 2022–23 regular season.[12]

Players

Current roster

Updated January 26, 2024.[13]
Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
32 Canada Morgan Adams-Moisan RW R 27 2023 La Tuque, Quebec Komets
17 Canada Daniel Amesbury D R 33 2024 Maple Ridge, British Columbia Komets
44 Sweden Carl Berglund C L 24 2023 Hammaro, Sweden Oilers
56 Canada Xavier Bernard D L 24 2023 Mercier, Quebec Condors
4 United States Taylor Brierley D R 27 2023 East Grand Forks, Minnesota Komets
36 Canada Brett Brochu G L 21 2023 Belle River, Ontario Komets
82 Canada Jake Chiasson RW R 20 2023 Abbotsford, British Columbia Oilers
90 Canada Xavier Cormier C L 22 2023 Pont-Rouge, Quebec Komets
37 Canada Alexis D'Aoust RW R 27 2023
Trois-Rivieres, Quebec
Komets
15 Canada Ethan De Jong RW R 24 2023 North Vancouver, British Columbia Condors
8 United States Jack Dugan LW R 26 2023 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Komets
39 Canada Ryan Fanti G L 24 2022
Thunder Bay, Ontario
Oilers
21 United States Noah Ganske D R 24 2023 Bloomington, Minnesota Komets
20 United States Jack Gorniak LW L 24 2023 West Salem, Wisconsin Komets
71 Czech Republic Martin Has D R 23 2023 Prague, Czech Republic Komets
3 United States Jake Johnson D L 25 2023 Bloomington, Minnesota Condors
25 Canada Ethan Keppen LW L 23 2023 Whitby, Ontario Komets
72 United States Ture Linden C R 26 2023 Great Falls, Virginia Komets
10 United States Dajon Mingo D R 33 2024 Canton, Michigan Komets
41 United States Tyler Parks G R 24 2023 Imperial, Missouri Condors
74 Canada Marc-Antoine Pepin D R 23 2024 Trois-Rivieres, Quebec Komets
24 United States Benito Posa F R 25 2024 Grand Blanc, Michigan Komets
28 Canada Cameron Supryka D L 22 2023 Belleville, Ontario Komets
27 United States Shawn Szydlowski RW R 33 2023 St. Clair Shores, Michigan Komets
64 Canada Nolan Volcan LW L 25 2023 Edmonton, Alberta Komets

Retired numbers

The Komets have honored over 40 personnel in three sections - Executive Builders, Team Personnel and Media - in the Komets Hall of Fame established in 1988. They have also retired numbers to honor 16 people over the course of their history.[14]

Fort Wayne Komets retired numbers
No. Player Position Tenure Date of honor
1 Chuck Adamson G 1962–1967 October 26, 2013
2 Guy Dupuis
D
1991–2011 October 29, 2011
5 Terry Pembroke
D
1964–1978 1988
6 Lionel Repka
D
1958–1969 1988
11 Len Thornson C 1957–1969 1988
12 Reg Primeau C 1960–1969 1988
16 Eddie Long RW 1952–1966 1988
18 Rob Laird LW 1974–1989 March 6, 2002
26 Colin Chin C 1986–1996 November 17, 2007
30 Robbie Irons
G
1967–1981 1988
33 Nick Boucher
G
2007–2012 October 26, 2013
40 Bob Chase Media 1953–2016 1993
58 Ken Ullyot Owner 1958–1982 1988
59 Colin Lister Owner 1959–1985 1988
77 Steven Fletcher LW 1990–2002 November 17, 2007
91 Colin Chaulk C 2002–2013 February 19, 2017
504[a] Al Sims[15] Coach 1989–93, 2007–13 March 25, 2017
  1. ^ For his career wins as coach

Notable NHL alumni

List of Fort Wayne Komets alumni who played more than 100 games in the IHL and 100 or more games in the National Hockey League/World Hockey Association.

List of Fort Wayne Komets alumni who played more than 25 games in the ECHL and 25 or more games in the National Hockey League.

Franchise records

Scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed regular season.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; * = still active with the team

Player Pos GP G A Pts
Len Thornson C 763 412 807 1219
Eddie Long RW 801 425 427 852
Colin Chaulk C 581 187 497 684
Terry McDougall C 507 249 395 644
Colin Chin C 660 246 390 636
John Goodwin LW 480 200 387 587
Guy Dupuis D 945 126 417 543
Reg Primeau C 452 200 342 542
Merv Dubchak RW 437 321 218 539
Robbie Laird LW 520 223 276 499

Regular season

  • Most goals in a season: Merv Dubchak, 72 (1965–66)
  • Most assists in a season: Len Thornson, 93 (1966–67)
  • Most points in a season: Len Thornson, 139 (1966–67) & Terry McDougall, 139 (1978–79)
  • Most penalty minutes in a season: Andy Bezeau, 590 (1995–96)
  • Most wins in a season: Kevin St. Pierre, 43 (2003–04)
  • Most shutouts in a season: Kevin Reiter, 7 (2007–08) & Kevin St. Pierre, 7 (2003–04)

Team records

  • On March 28, 2008, the Komets set a new professional hockey record of 23 straight home wins. They defeated the Kalamazoo Wings 4–3.[16] The record ended at 25.
  • On April 12, 2008, the Komets set a new Fort Wayne hockey record of 56 wins in a season. The previous record of 53 was set in 2003–04.[17]
  • On May 15, 2010, the Komets defeated the Flint Generals in Game 5 of the IHL Turner Cup Finals to win the series, four games to one, earning the Komets a "three-peat" after winning the Turner Cup in 2008 and 2009 as well.

See also

  • History of sports in Fort Wayne, Indiana

References

  1. ^ Miller, Chuck. "The IHL's Dirty Little Secret: the 1990-91 Albany Choppers". Chuck the Writer.
  2. ^ Bailey, Chuck (July 24, 2014). "Komets announce affiliation with NHL's Avalanche and AHL's Monsters". WANE-TV. Archived from the original on July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  3. ^ Sebring, Blake (July 24, 2014). "Colorado affiliation could be different and better for Komets". The News-Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  4. ^ Sebring, Blake (July 21, 2015). "Komets put together two-year deal with Avalanche". The News-Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  5. ^ "Komets, Avalanche Terminate Affiliation". OurSports Central. July 19, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  6. ^ "Coyotes Announce ECHL Affiliation With Fort Wayne Komets". Tucson Roadrunners. July 31, 2017. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  7. ^ Sebring, Blake (June 18, 2018). "Fort Wayne Komets, Arizona Coyotes and Tucson Roadrunners end affiliation". The News-Sentinel. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  8. ^ "Komets announce affiliation with NHL's Vegas Golden Knights". Fort Wayne Komets. August 21, 2018. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  9. ^ "Golden Knights And Fort Wayne Komets Renew ECHL Affiliation Agreement". Vegas Golden Knights. August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  10. ^ "Komets Seek New Affiliation". Fort Wayne Komets. May 19, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  11. ^ "Komets Announce Affiliation with the Edmonton Oilers". Fort Wayne Komets. July 27, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  12. ^ "Fort Wayne Komets Statistics and History [ECHL]". HockeyDB. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  13. ^ "Fort Wayne Komets Elite Prospects". Elite Prospects. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  14. ^ "Komets Hall of Fame". Fort Wayne Komets. August 15, 2015. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  15. ^ Cohn, Justin A. (March 23, 2017). "Sims thrilled about Komets saluting 504". The Journal Gazette. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  16. ^ "Komets Historical Win". Fort Wayne Komets. 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008.[dead link]
  17. ^ "54th win sets new Fort Wayne franchise record". Fort Wayne Komets. 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2008.[dead link]

External links