Calgary Hitmen
Encyclopedia : C : CA : CAL : Calgary Hitmen
| Calgary Hitmen | ||
| ||
| City: | Calgary, Alberta | |
| League: | Western Hockey League | |
| Conference: | Eastern | |
| Division: | Central | |
| Founded: | 1995-96 | |
| Home Arena: | Pengrowth Saddledome | |
| Colours: | black, silver & copper | |
| Head Coach: | Kelly Kisio | |
| General Manager: | Kelly Kisio | |
The Calgary Hitmen are a junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference (Central Division) of the Western Hockey League in Calgary, Alberta. They play their home games at the Pengrowth Saddledome. Their name is derived from former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) pro wrestler, and native of Calgary, Bret "Hitman" Hart, who was an original part owner of the team. The team's original colours were pink and black, after the colors Hart wore in the ring during his career.
- Founded: 1995-96
- Division titles won: 1998-99, 1999-00
- Regular season titles won: 1998-99, 1999-00
- League Championships won: 1999
- Memorial Cup Titles: None
History
Founded in 1995–96, the Hitmen were originally owned by 18 private investors. In addition to Hart, the ownership group included NHL stars Theo Fleury and Joe Sakic. In the summer of 1997, they were purchased by the Calgary Flames.On May 7, 1999, the Hitmen won their first WHL championship. They played the Ottawa 67's in the final game of the Memorial Cup, losing 7-6 in overtime.
On February 25, 2005, the Hitmen retired alumnus Brad Moran's jersey #20 before a crowd of 16,388.
In the 2004-05 season, with the NHL locked out, the Hitmen led all of North American professional and junior hockey in attendance, averaging 10,062 fans per game. The Hitmen's season total of 362,227 fans obliterated the attendance records of both the WHL and CHL.
The Hitmen also led the WHL in attendance in 2002-03 (6,670), 2003-04 (7,570) and 2005-06 (8,870).
Notable Hitmen alumni include Ryan Getzlaf and Andrew Ladd, both of whom played for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Grand Forks, North Dakota and Thief River Falls, Minnesota, and are now NHL regulars with the Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes, respectively. Team Canada won the Gold Medal by defeating Team Russia 6-1 on January 4, 2005.
Hitmen goaltender Justin Pogge emerged as the unlikely hero in the 2006 World Junior Hockey Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, leading Team Canada to its second consecutive gold medal with a 5-0 victory over Russia on January 5, 2006.
Season-by-season Record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties OTL = Overtime losses Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | Finish | Playoffs |
| 1995-96 | 72 | 18 | 51 | 3 | - | 39 | 222 | 359 | 5th Central | Out of Playoffs |
| 1996-97 | 72 | 15 | 53 | 4 | - | 34 | 199 | 360 | 5th Central | Out of Playoffs |
| 1997-98 | 72 | 40 | 28 | 4 | - | 84 | 265 | 232 | 2nd Central | Lost Eastern Conference Final |
| 1998-99 | 72 | 51 | 13 | 8 | - | 110 | 319 | 187 | 1st Central | Won Championship |
| 1999-00 | 72 | 58 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 120 | 313 | 182 | 1st Central | Lost Eastern Conference Final |
| 2000-01 | 72 | 37 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 82 | 284 | 250 | 3rd Central | Lost Eastern Conference Semi-final |
| 2001-02 | 72 | 33 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 72 | 271 | 281 | 3rd Central | Lost Eastern Conference Quarter-final |
| 2002-03 | 72 | 27 | 36 | 7 | 2 | 63 | 240 | 260 | 4th Central | Lost Eastern Conference Quarter-final |
| 2003-04 | 72 | 34 | 24 | 8 | 6 | 82 | 220 | 187 | 3rd Central | Lost Eastern Conference Quarter-final |
| 2004-05 | 72 | 34 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 83 | 200 | 183 | 3rd Central | Lost Eastern Conference Semi-final |
| 2005-06 | 72 | 47 | 18 | - | 7 | 101 | 195 | 155 | 2nd Central | Lost Eastern Conference Semi-final |
- OTL column for 2005-06 season includes shootout losses
Staff
The coaching staff is:- Kelly Kisio - General Manager & Head Coach
- Blaine Forsythe - Assistant GM & Assistant Coach
- Dave Lowry - Assistant Coach
- Darcy Wakaluk - Goaltending Coach
- Graham Thomas - Video Coach
- Mike Elchuk - Athletic Therapist
- Cory Cameron - Equipment Manager
- Ken King - President/Governor
- Kip Reghenas - Director of Business Operations
- Brad Curle - Broadcast/Communications Coordinator
- Dan Cezar - Ticket Sales
- Kevin MacDuff - Ticket Sales
- Joel Otto - Hitmen Kidz Spokesperson
NHL Alumni
|
|
|
Head Coaches
- Graham James - 1995-96 - 1996-97 (Replaced midseason)
- Dean Clark - 1996-97 - 1999-01 (WHL Coach of the Year: 1997-98)
- Richard Kromm - 2001-02 - 2003-04
- Dean Evason - 2004-05 (Co-coach)
- Kelly Kisio - 2004-05 - Present
References
- Calgary Flames Ltd. (2003). [Inside the Club]. Retrieved March 12, 2005.
- Lajoie, Roger (4/26/2004). [MasterCard Memorial Cup Priceless Moment No. 9 - Ottawa scores in overtime to win Memorial Cup at home]. Retrieved March 12, 2005.
- Canadian Hockey League (5/11/1999) [Moran: airBC Playoff MVP]. Retrieved January 14, 2006.
- Canadian Hockey League archives (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) [WHL 1999-00 News Archive]. Retrieved January 14, 2006.
- 04-05 WHL Media Guide.
- [link]
External links
| Western Hockey League |
|---|
| Current teams : Brandon Wheat Kings | Calgary Hitmen | Chilliwack Bruins | Everett Silvertips | Kamloops Blazers | Kelowna Rockets | Kootenay Ice | Lethbridge Hurricanes | Medicine Hat Tigers | Moose Jaw Warriors | Portland Winter Hawks | Prince Albert Raiders | Prince George Cougars | Red Deer Rebels | Regina Pats | Saskatoon Blades | Seattle Thunderbirds | Spokane Chiefs | Swift Current Broncos | Tri-City Americans | Vancouver Giants |
| Expansion for 2007-08 : Edmonton |
| CHL: | Memorial Cup | OHL | QMJHL | WHL |
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.