Watertown Wolves

Watertown Wolves
City Watertown, New York
League Federal Hockey League
Founded 2010
Home arena Watertown Municipal Arena
Colors Black, blue, white
              
Owner(s) IDHL, LLC.
Head coach Trevor Karasiewicz
Media Watertown Daily Times
Franchise history
2010–2013 1000 Islands Privateers
2013–2014 Watertown Privateers
2014–present Watertown Wolves
Championships
Regular season titles 1 (2014–15)
Playoff championships 2 (2015, 2018)

The Watertown Wolves are a minor professional hockey team in the Federal Hockey League based in Watertown, New York and play home games at the Watertown Municipal Arena. The team was on hiatus during the 2015–16 season while renovations at the Watertown Municipal Arena were completed and then returned for the 2016–17 season.[1] With a history dating to 2010, the Wolves are the oldest franchise in the FHL.

History

The team was originally known as the 1000 Islands Privateers and played at the Bonnie Castle Recreation Center in Alexandria Bay for two seasons before moving to Watertown for the 2012–13 season.[2] On March 1, 2013, Privateers owner and president Nicole Kirnan served as the team’s coach for the first time, making her the first woman to head coach a professional hockey team in the United States.[3][4]

Before the 2013–14 season, the Privateers revamped their identity by changing their name to the Watertown Privateers and redesigning their jerseys and logo. Brad Zangs was brought in as new head coach.[5]

New ownership

Watertown's FHL team returned for the 2014–15 with new ownership after the previous owners decided not to continue. The team rechristened itself as the Watertown Wolves during this season.

In their first season, the Wolves won both the regular season and the playoffs championship. First-year head coach, Brent Clarke, would be named FHL Coach of the Year, but would resign after the season.[6]

The Wolves suspended operations for the 2015–16 season to allow for the Watertown Municipal Arena to be renovated; the team attempted to find another arena in Northern New York to use, but were unable to find an available venue. The renovations were completed on schedule and the Wolves signed a new one-year lease agreement with the city of Watertown in order to return after one season off.[7][8]

The Wolves returned for the 2016–17 season and hired Phil Esposito as head coach.[9]

Prior to the 2017–18 season, the franchise was purchased by IDHL, LLC., the a subsidiary of the FHL and an organization that had announced to be operating a developmental league as feeder system for the FHL[10][11] called the International Developmental Hockey League.[12] The IDHL put off launching the new league and would instead focus solely on operating the Wolves. The shareholders in Top Shelf Hockey eventually left the Wolves organization outright later in the offseason stating they had grown exhausted over the major financial and emotional investments they were making in the franchise.[13] The new owners did not retain Esposito as coach and instead hired Trevor Karasiewicz.[14]

Season-by-season records

SeasonGPWLOTWOTLSOLPts[lower-alpha 1]FinishPlayoffs
2010–11442613—50573rd of 6Lost Semifinals, 1–3 vs. Akwesasne Warriors
2011–12492915311952nd of 8Won First Round, 2–1 vs. Akwesasne Warriors
Lost Second Round, 0–2 vs. Danbury Whalers
2012–13531826522683rd of 6Lost Semifinals, 0–3 vs. Danbury Whalers
2013–1456153254—593rd of 4Lost Semifinals, 1–2 vs. Dayton Demonz
2014–1554321363—1111st of 6Won Semifinals, 2–1 vs. Danbury Whalers
Won Finals, 3–2 vs. Danville Dashers
2016–1756272324—894th of 7Lost Semifinals, 1–2 vs. Danville Dashers
2017–1852291265—1042nd of 7Won Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Carolina Thunderbirds
Won Finals, 3–1 vs. Port Huron Prowlers
  1. ↑ Except for the 2010–11 season, the FHL awards 3 points for a regulation time win, 2 points for an overtime win, and 1 point for an overtime or shootout loss

References

  1. ↑ "Wolves Already Planning For 2016-17". FHL. June 24, 2015.
  2. ↑ City Council approves Privateers’ move to fairgrounds
  3. ↑ "With Kirnan behind bench, Privateers win". Watertown Daily Times. March 2, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Nicole Kirnan, first woman to coach men's pro hockey team, faced 'demoralizing' criticism". Yahoo! Sports. March 14, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Minnesota native Zangs new man behind Privateers' bench". Watertown Daily Times. October 31, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Wolves Bench Boss Clarke Resigns". Federal Hockey League. FHL. April 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Wolves, city ink new contract for Watertown arena". Watertown Daily Times. May 17, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Wolves Fans Give New Arena Warm Reception". WWNY TV. January 17, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Watertown Wolves hire Esposito as head coach". Watertown Daily Times. September 8, 2016.
  10. ↑ "THE IDHL IS BORN". OurSports Central. February 6, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Introducing the International Developmental Hockey League for players ages 20-23". USA Junior Hockey Magazine. February 9, 2017.
  12. ↑ "New Owners Take Over Watertown Wolves Hockey Team". WWNY TV. June 29, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Last of local owners depart Watertown Wolves". Watertown Daily Times. September 29, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Watertown Wolves hire Karasiewicz as coach". Watertown Daily Times. July 6, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.