Kalamazoo Wings
CityKalamazoo, Michigan, United States
LeagueECHL
ConferenceWestern
DivisionCentral
Founded1999 (in the UHL)
Home arenaWings Event Center
ColorsRed, white, blue
     
Owner(s)William D. Johnston/Ronda Stryker (Greenleaf Hospitality)
General managerToni Will
Head coachJoel Martin
MediaWKZO
Kalamazoo Gazette
AffiliatesVancouver Canucks (NHL)
Abbotsford Canucks (AHL)
Websitekwings.com
Franchise history
1999–2000Madison Kodiaks
2000–presentKalamazoo Wings
Championships
Regular season titles1 UHL 2005–06
Division titles1 UHL 2005–06
4 ECHL 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14
Conference titles2 UHL 2005–06, 2006–07
1 ECHL 2010–11
Colonial Cups1 UHL 2005–06
Kelly Cups0 ECHL
Current season

The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Western Conference, Central Division,[1] they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Event Center. They are the affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League, and the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

Kalamazoo is home to the "Green Ice Game". Played since 1982 on St. Patrick's Day, it is one of the most celebrated games in minor league hockey. The team has sought to duplicate the game's success with the Pink Ice Game (Valentine's Day), the Orange Ice Game (Halloween), the Lavender Ice game (Hockey Fights Cancer) and the Rainbow Ice game (Pride Night).

History

A road game in October 2012 vs. Toledo Walleye.

The team began in the 1999–2000 season as the United Hockey League's Madison Kodiaks in Madison, Wisconsin. After one season in Madison, the franchise moved to Kalamazoo, where it renamed itself the Wings in honor of the original Wings that had played in the International Hockey League from 1974 through 2000. The new Wings obtained the right to use the old Wings' name and logo, as well as using the original team's history as its own.[2]

The K-Wings played in the UHL from October 2000 until June 1, 2009, when they withdrew because of concerns that the league, which had renamed itself the International Hockey League in 2007, might go bankrupt. Eight days later, the K-Wings joined the ECHL. From September 13, 2012 until the end of the 2014–15 season, the Wings had an affiliation with the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves.[3][4] They were also affiliated with the National Hockey League's Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks as well as their AHL affiliates the Springfield Falcons and Utica Comets, respectively.[5]

Prior to the 2015–16 season, the ECHL required teams to only have one official NHL/AHL affiliate, leading to the K-Wings only keeping their Columbus affiliation and the Blue Jackets' new AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters. They ended their affiliation with the Blue Jackets after one season and affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Syracuse Crunch for the 2016–17 season.[2] They changed again for the 2017–18 season to the Canucks and Comets, their previous affiliates for several seasons.[6]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wings voluntarily suspended operations for the 2020–21 ECHL season.[7] When the team returned for the 2021–22 season, they switched their affiliation back to the Columbus Blue Jackets.[8] On June 23, 2022, the Wings signed an affiliation extension with the Blue Jackets (and therefore the Cleveland Monsters also) for the 2022–23 season[9][10]

On July 10, 2023, Kalamazoo announced they had returned to the Vancouver Canucks organization in an affiliation agreement for the 2023–24 season.[11] They also entered an agreement with the Canucks AHL affiliate in Abbotsford.[12]

Season records

Season GP W L T/OTL Pts GF GA Pct Regular Season Finish Playoffs
United Hockey League
2000–01 74 37 31 6 80 220 220 .541 3rd Southwest, 9th of 15 Lost Play-in game vs. Muskegon Fury
2001–02 74 27 37 8 66 213 277 .446 6th Western, 11th of 14 did not qualify
2002–03 76 29 39 8 66 210 282 .434 5th Western, 10th of 10 did not qualify
2003–04 76 45 22 9 99 281 207 .651 4th Western, 4th of 12 Lost Quarterfinal series vs. Fort Wayne Komets, 2–3
2004–05 80 50 24 6 100 257 204 .663 2nd Central, 3rd of 14 Lost Semifinal series vs. Fort Wayne Komets, 3–4
2005–06 76 52 17 7 111 332 183 .730 1st Central, 1st of 14 Won Colonial Cup Final series vs. Danbury Trashers, 4–1
2006–07 76 47 23 6 100 251 191 .658 2nd Eastern, 4th of 10 Lost Colonial Cup Final series vs. Rockford IceHogs, 3–4
International Hockey League
2007–08 76 31 34 11 73 242 252 .480 5th of 6 IHL did not qualify
2008–09 76 44 29 3 91 274 253 .599 4th of 6 IHL Lost Semifinal series vs. Fort Wayne Komets, 3–4
ECHL
2009–10 72 42 20 10 94 273 243 .653 1st North, 3rd of 20 Lost Quarterfinal series vs. Reading Royals, 2–3
2010–11 72 40 24 8 88 255 225 .611 1st North, 4th of 19 Lost Kelly Cup Final series vs. Alaska Aces, 1–4
2011–12 72 38 26 8 84 264 237 .583 1st North, 8th of 20 Lost Eastern Conference Final series vs. Florida Everblades, 1–4
2012–13 72 34 30 8 76 205 215 .528 3rd North, 14th of 23 did not qualify
2013–14 72 42 22 8 92 224 197 .639 1st North, 4th of 21 Lost Quarterfinal series vs. Greenville Road Warriors, 2–4
2014–15 72 36 30 6 78 226 233 .542 3rd North, 16th of 28 Lost Division Semifinal series vs. Fort Wayne Komets, 1–4
2015–16 72 38 28 6 82 233 230 .569 3rd North, 13th of 28 Lost Conference Quarterfinal series vs. South Carolina Stingrays, 1–4
2016–17 72 38 30 4 80 222 237 .556 4th Central, 15th of 27 Lost Division Semifinal series vs. Toledo Walleye, 3–4
2017–18 72 34 31 7 75 251 251 .521 5th Central, 16th of 27 did not qualify
2018–19 72 36 31 5 77 229 254 .535 4th Central, 15th of 27 Lost Division Semifinal series vs. Cincinnati Cyclones, 2–4
2019–20 61 23 30 8 54 194 241 .443 5th Central, 22nd of 26 Season cancelled
2020–21 Opted out of participating due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021–22 72 36 35 1 73 224 255 .507 5th Central, 19th of 27 did not qualify
2022–23 72 29 37 6 64 178 226 .444 5th Central, 23rd of 28 did not qualify

Players

Current roster

Updated December 1, 2023.[13]
Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
18 United States Collin Adams LW L 25 2023 Brighton, Michigan Wings
19 Canada Erik Bradford C L 29 2021 Orangeville, Ontario Wings
4 Canada Robert Calisti D L 23 2023 Toronto, Ontario Checkers
5 United States Derek Daschke D L 26 2023 Troy, Michigan Abbotsford
14 Canada Ty Glover C L 23 2023 Salford, England, Great Britain Vancouver
28 United States Kurt Gosselin D L 29 2023 Brighton, Michigan Wings
7 United States David Keefer RW R 26 2023 Howell, Michigan Wings
90 United States Jay Keranen D L 25 2023 Brighton, Michigan Wings
34 Canada Jonathan Lemieux G L 22 2023 Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec Abbotsford
44 Canada Ayden MacDonald F L 27 2023 Langley, British Columbia Wings
9 United States Luke Morgan LW R 26 2023 Brighton, Michigan Wings
53 Canada Brad Morrison C L 27 2023 Prince George, British Columbia Wings
10 Canada Ted Nichol C L 27 2023 Listowel, Ontario Wings
15 Sweden Jacob Nordqvist D R 25 2023 Göteborg, Sweden Wings
25 United States Josh Passolt LW L 27 2023 Hayward, Wisconsin Abbotsford
70 Canada Drake Pilon RW R 25 2023 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Wings
29 Canada Chaz Reddekopp D L 27 2023 West Kelowna, British Columbia Wings
23 United States Colin Saccoman D R 26 2021 Stillwater, Minnesota Wings
17 Canada Brandon Saigeon C L 25 2022 Grimsby, Ontario Wings
81 United States Jordan Seyfert C R 24 2023 Annville, Pennsylvania Wings
74 United States Tanner Sorenson C R 30 2023 Anchorage, Alaska Wings
93 Canada Justin Taylor F L 34 2021 Mindemoya, Ontario Wings
79 United States Hunter Vorva G L 28 2022 Kalamazoo, Michigan Wings
24 Canada Cooper Walker C R 21 2023 Cambridge, Ontario Abbotsford
55 Canada Connor Walters D R 26 2023 Welland, Ontario Wings

Retired numbers

Team records

Kalamazoo Wings playing against the Chicago Express in 2011

Single season

Goals: 46 Canada Nick Bootland (2007–08)
Assists: 70 Canada Daniel Carriere (2005–06)
Points: 94 Canada Kory Karlander (2007–08)
Penalty minutes: 344 Canada Tyler Willis (2003–04)
GAA: 2.02 Canada Ryan Nie (2006–07)
SV%: .929 Canada Ryan Nie (2006–07)

Career

Career games played: 614 Canada Justin Taylor (2010–22)
Career goals: 237 Canada Justin Taylor (2010–22)
Career assists: 263 Canada Kory Karlander (2004–13)
Career points: 457 Canada Justin Taylor (2010–22)
Career penalty minutes: 1,463 Canada Tyler Willis (2003–10)
Career goaltending games played: 422 Canada Joel Martin (2004-18)
Career goaltending wins: 152 Canada Joel Martin (2004–18)
Career shutouts: 18 Canada Joel Martin (2004–18)

References

  1. ^ "ECHL Announces Revisions to Divisional Alignment and Playoff Format". ECHL. October 9, 2014. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "K-Wings Strike Deal to Become Tampa Bay Lightning Affiliate". OurSports Central. May 25, 2016.
  3. ^ "Wolves Enter Affiliation Agreement with Kalamazoo". Chicago Wolves. September 13, 2012. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  4. ^ "Wolves Extend Affiliation with Kalamazoo". Chicago Wolves. August 19, 2014. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  5. ^ "Kalamazoo renews affiliation with Vancouver and signs new agreement with Columbus". Kalamazoo Wings. August 20, 2014. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  6. ^ "Kalamazoo Wings enter affiliation agreement with Vancouver Canucks". Michigan Live. July 12, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  7. ^ "CINCINNATI, IDAHO AND KALAMAZOO ELECT SUSPENSION OF PLAY FOR 2020-21 SEASON". ECHL. December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  8. ^ "K-WINGS ANNOUNCE NHL AFFILIATION WITH COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS". Kalamazoo Wings. July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  9. ^ "WINGS EXTEND NHL AFFILIATION WITH COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS". Kalamazoo Wings. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  10. ^ "CBJ & Kalamazoo Wings extend affiliation agreement for 2022-23 season". Columbus Blue Jackets. June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  11. ^ "Canucks reach affiliation deal with ECHL's Wings". The Sports Network. July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  12. ^ "K-Wings announce NHL affiliation with Vancouver Canucks". Kalamazoo Wings. July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  13. ^ ":: Kalamazoo Wings playing Roster". Kalamazoo Wings. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "WINGS TO RETIRE PAIR OF NUMBERS". Kalamazoo Wings. September 24, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2019.

External links

Media related to Kalamazoo Wings at Wikimedia Commons

Vancouver Canucks
Abbotsford Canucks
ECHL (2023–24)
International/United/Colonial Hockey League
Sports teams based in Michigan
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