Worcester Railers

Worcester Railers
2018–19 ECHL season
City Worcester, Massachusetts
League ECHL
Conference Eastern
Division North
Founded 2017
Home arena DCU Center
Colors Steel blue, gray, white
              
Owner(s) Worcester Pro Hockey, LLC (Cliff Rucker, Owner)
General manager Jamie Russell
Head coach Jamie Russell
Media Telegram & Gazette
98.9 Nash Icon
Charter TV3
Affiliates New York Islanders (NHL)
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL)
Franchise history
2017–present Worcester Railers

The Worcester Railers (also called Worcester Railers HC) are a professional ice hockey team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. The team began play in the 2017–18 ECHL season, and is a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference of the ECHL. The team plays their home games at the DCU Center and are the ECHL affiliate of the New York Islanders.[1]

The team replaces the AHL's Worcester Sharks, who relocated to San Jose, California, in 2015 to become the San Jose Barracuda.

History

On January 26, 2015, it was reported that the Worcester Sharks would move to San Jose and share SAP Center at San Jose with their parent club, the San Jose Sharks. These reports were confirmed with the Sharks' official announcement on January 29.[2] Worcester did not initially receive an ECHL team to replace the relocated AHL team, unlike the other markets with relocated AHL teams in 2015, such as Manchester, NH, Norfolk, VA and Glens Falls, NY.

On February 8, 2016, the ECHL announced that Worcester would be home to an expansion team, set to begin play for the 2017–18 season. The team is owned by Cliff Rucker, with Toby O'Brien initially serving as president and general manager (although O'Brien would leave in May 2016 for an NHL job and replaced by former Worcester Sharks executive, Mike Myers, as president). The team will be the ECHL's first franchise in Massachusetts and second in New England, following the Manchester Monarchs. Early reports indicated that ownership group was considering Whitehawks, Railers, and Blast as the name of the team.[3] The team unveiled their name and logo on April 3.[4] On September 12, 2016, Jamie Russell was announced as the team's first head coach and general manager.[5] He had served as head coach of the Elmira Jackals from 2014 to 2016. The team announced their first affiliation with the New York Islanders (NHL) and Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) at the end of the 2016–17 season.[6]

The Railers played their first game on October 14, 2017, defeating the Monarchs 4–3 at the DCU Center in front of a crowd of 12,135. The first goal scored in franchise history was by forward Wade Murphy.

Season-by-season records

Regular season Playoffs
SeasonGPWLOTLSOLPtsGFGAStandingYear1st round2nd round3rd roundKelly Cup
2017–1872372744821941934th, North Div.2018L, 2–4, ADK———

Current roster

As of August 23, 2018.[7][8]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
19 United States Barry Almeida LW L 29 2017 Longmeadow, Massachusetts Railers
– United States Tyler Barnes RW R 28 2018 Burnsville, Minnesota Railers
28 United States Connor Doherty D L 26 2017 Holden, Massachusetts Railers
– Canada Malcolm Gould RW R 25 2018 North Vancouver, British Columbia Railers
23 United States Woody Hudson RW R 26 2017 Greece, New York Railers
37 United States Tommy Kelley F L 24 2018 Natick, Massachusetts Railers
5 United States Kyle McKenzie D L 25 2017 Dallas, Texas Railers
2 United States Tommy Panico D L 23 2018 Wall, New Jersey Railers
8 United States Nick Sorkin F L 27 2018 Rockville, Maryland Railers
42 Canada Dylan Willick RW R 26 2018 Prince George, British Columbia Railers

References

  1. ↑ "Worcester Railers to partner with NY Islanders".
  2. ↑ "Sharks Moving AHL Franchise to SAP Center". San Jose Sharks. January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  3. ↑ Nicodemus, Aaron (February 14, 2016). "On Business: Hockey team names for land of the worm, home of the brave". Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Introducing the Worcester Railers professional hockey team". Worcester Magazine. April 3, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Worcester Railers name Jamie Russell coach and GM". Telegram & Gazette. September 12, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Worcester Railers to Announce Affiliation with New York Islanders – Woo Hockey". Woo Hockey. April 27, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Worcester Railers roster". EliteProspects. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Worcester Railers regular season roster". railershc.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
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