Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
2018–19 AHL season
City Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
League American Hockey League
Conference Eastern
Division Atlantic
Founded 1981
Home arena Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
Colors Black, gold, white, red
                   
Owner(s) Ron Burkle
Mario Lemieux
General manager Bill Guerin
Head coach Clark Donatelli
Captain Tom Kostopoulos
Media Wilkes-Barre Times Leader
Scranton Times-Tribune
AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
WILK Newsradio 103.1
Affiliates Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
Franchise history
1981–1988 Fredericton Express
1988–1993 Halifax Citadels
1993–1996 Cornwall Aces
1999–present Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Championships
Regular season titles 2 (2010–11, 2016–17)
Division Championships 4 (2005–06, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2016–17)
Conference Championships 3 (2001, 2004, 2008)

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township, just outside the city of Wilkes-Barre. They were the 2011 winners of the East Division and the Eastern Conference (in terms of regular season titles), winning their first Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy.

History

The Pittsburgh Penguins' top minor league affiliate throughout the 1990s was the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL. However, in the mid-1990s, the IHL began moving away from being a developmental league and more towards being an independent minor league. For this reason, the Penguins wanted their top minor league affiliate in the AHL. The Penguins purchased the dormant Cornwall Aces AHL franchise from the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, but left the team inactive until the 1999–2000 season due to construction delays at their intended home–a new arena in Wilkes-Barre. The team is affectionately referred to as "The Baby Penguins" by fans. Their mascot is Tux the penguin, who wears number #99 in reference to the team's first season in 1999.

The Penguins have gone to the Calder Cup Final three times but have never won the championship. The team went all the way to the finals in their second season, losing to the Saint John Flames in six games. The Baby Pens returned to the finals in their fifth season, but were swept by the Milwaukee Admirals. They most recently made it to the finals in 2008 by way of beating the Portland Pirates in a seven-game series in the Eastern Conference finals. They went on to play the Chicago Wolves in the final, but lost the series 4–2.

The WBS Penguins won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for best finish in the regular season in 2011 with 117 points. Goaltender Brad Thiessen was also named the recipient of the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award, an award given to the AHL's most outstanding goaltender for each season. He posted a record of 35–8–1 in 46 appearances, along with a 1.94 goals-against-average and a .922 save percentage. Head coach John Hynes won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award, awarded to the most outstanding AHL coach of the season. Despite their best regular season finish in team history, the WBS Penguins would be eliminated in the second round of the 2011 playoffs by the Charlotte Checkers in six games.

The Penguins have made the playoffs in all but two seasons of their existence. As of the 2016–17 season, the WBS Penguins currently hold the longest playoff appearances streak in the AHL, having made the playoffs for 15 straight seasons.

Prior to the 2009–10 season, they held the inaugural Penguins Black and Gold Game, an intra-squad game which featured members of the Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and was the first ever head-to-head meeting between Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The game was a complete sellout and tickets never reached the general public. The Penguins organization held its second Black and Gold Game prior to the 2010–11 season on September 19, 2010.

In 2009, they also spawned an affiliated youth level organization, the Wilkes-Barre Junior Pens. The team is based out of the Ice Rink at Coal Street Park, which also serves as a practice facility for the Penguins.[1]

The Penguins' biggest rivals had been the Philadelphia Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of Pennsylvania's other NHL team, the Philadelphia Flyers. After that team moved to Glens Falls, New York, (as the Adirondack Phantoms) the Hershey Bears, also located in Pennsylvania, became the major rivals of the Penguins (they are currently the AHL affiliate of another developing rival of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Washington Capitals). In 2013, the Adirondack Phantoms relocated back to eastern Pennsylvania as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Season-by-season results

     Won Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for the best record in the regular season
     Round not held

Players

Current roster

Updated October 23, 2018.[2]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
42 Canada Matt Abt D L 25 2018 Leduc, Alberta W-B/Scranton
17 United States Anthony Angello RW R 22 2018 Manlius, New York Pittsburgh
12 United States Zach Aston-Reese RW L 24 2017 Staten Island, New York Pittsburgh
23 Latvia Teddy Blueger (A) C L 24 2016 Riga, Latvia Pittsburgh
20 Canada Jarrett Burton C L 27 2016 Echo Bay, Ontario W-B/Scranton
22 Canada Joseph Cramarossa LW L 25 2018 Markham, Ontario W-B/Scranton
7 Canada Kevin Czuczman D L 27 2017 Port Elgin, Ontario Pittsburgh
16 United States Thomas Di Pauli C L 24 2016 Caldaro, Italy Pittsburgh
21 Canada Stefan Elliott D R 27 2018 Vancouver, British Columbia Pittsburgh
39 United States Ryan Haggerty RW R 25 2016 Stamford, Connecticut Pittsburgh
11 United States Jimmy Hayes RW R 28 2018 Boston, Massachusetts Pittsburgh
24 Canada Ryan Horvat LW L 25 2018 Simcoe, Ontario W-B/Scranton
35 Canada Tristan Jarry G L 23 2015 Surrey, British Columbia Pittsburgh
47 United States Adam Johnson C/LW L 24 2017 Hibbing, Minnesota Pittsburgh
10 Canada Troy Josephs C L 24 2017 Whitby, Ontario W-B/Scranton
18 United States Sam Lafferty RW R 23 2018 Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh
25 Sweden Tobias Lindberg RW L 23 2018 Stockholm, Sweden Pittsburgh
13 United States Patrick McGrath RW R 25 2013 Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania W-B/Scranton
37 United States Sam Miletic LW L 21 2017 Broomfield Township, Michigan Pittsburgh
36 Sweden Linus Olund C L 21 2018 Gävle, Sweden Penguins
8 United States Will O'Neill D L 30 2018 Salem, Massachusetts W-B/Scranton
31 Canada Anthony Peters G L 27 2017 Blyth, Ontario W-B/Scranton
6 United States Ethan Prow D R 25 2016 Sauk Rapids, Minnesota Pittsburgh
55 United States Chris Summers (A) D L 30 2017 Ann Arbor, Michigan Pittsburgh
2 United States Jeff Taylor D L 24 2017 Clifton Park, New York Pittsburgh
4 United States Zach Trotman D R 28 2017 Carmel, Indiana Pittsburgh
19 Canada Garrett Wilson (C) LW L 27 2016 Elmvale, Ontario Pittsburgh

Team Captains

Notable Penguins

Team records

Single season

Goals: Chris Minard, 34 (2008–09)
Assists: Jeff Taffe and Janne Pesonen, 50 (2008–09)
Points: Janne Pesonen, 82 (2008–09)
Penalty minutes: Dennis Bonvie, 431 (2005–06)
Goaltending wins: Brad Thiessen, 35 (2010–11)
GAA: Jeff Zatkoff 1.93 (2012–13)
SV%: Rich Parent (2000–01), Dany Sabourin (2005–06) and Brad Thiessen (2010–11), .922

Career

Career goals: Tom Kostopoulos, 181
Career assists: Tom Kostopoulos, 269
Career points: Tom Kostopoulos, 450
Career penalty minutes: Dennis Bonvie, 1081
Career goaltending wins: John Curry, 103
Career shutouts: Brad Thiessen, 17
Career games: Tom Kostopoulos, 627

AHL records

As of the 2009–10 AHL Season. Data from the AHL Hall of Fame Website.[3]

Team

Most Road Wins, 80-Game Season: 28 (2010–2011) (tied)
Longest Road Winning Streak (one season): 13 games (October 9 – December 3, 2005) (tied)
Longest Road Winning Streak (overall): 15 games (April 10 – December 3, 2005)

Player

Most points by a defenseman, career: John Slaney, 486 (Baltimore, Portland, Cornwall, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Philadelphia)
Most goals by a defenseman, career: John Slaney, 157
Most goals by a defenseman, season: John Slaney, 30 (1999–2000)
Most PIM, career: Dennis Bonvie, 4,104 (Cape Breton, Hamilton, Portland, Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Providence, Binghamton, Hershey)
Most PIM, game: Steve Parsons, 64 (March 17, 2002 vs. Syracuse)

AHL awards and trophies

Per the AHL Hall of Fame:[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Wilkes-Barre Jr. Penguins Youth Ice Hockey Club". Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Roster". Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  3. ↑ "AHL Record Book". AHL Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  4. ↑ "AHL Hall of Fame Trophy List". AHL Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
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