The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah.
| Utah Grizzlies | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | West Valley City, Utah |
| League | ECHL |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Mountain |
| Founded | 1981 (in the CHL) |
| Home arena | Maverik Center |
| Colors | Green, black, copper, white[1] |
| Owner(s) | Elmore Sports Group |
| General manager | Ryan Kinasewich[2] |
| Head coach | Ryan Kinasewich |
| Media | KSOP FloTv |
| Affiliates | Colorado Avalanche (NHL) Colorado Eagles (AHL) |
| Website | utahgrizzlies |
| Franchise history | |
| 1981–1983 | Nashville South Stars |
| 1983–1990 | Virginia Lancers |
| 1990–1992 | Roanoke Valley Rebels |
| 1992–1993 | Roanoke Valley Rampage |
| 1993–1994 | Huntsville Blast |
| 1994–2001 | Tallahassee Tiger Sharks |
| 2001–2002 | Macon Whoopee |
| 2002–2003 | Lexington Men O' War |
| 2005–present | Utah Grizzlies |
| Championships | |
| Division titles | 1 (2021–22) |
 Current season | |
Franchise history
editThe current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars in Nashville, Tennessee, in the Central Hockey League. Henry Brabham then took over the team in 1983 and relocated them to Vinton, Virginia mid-season, to become the Virginia Lancers. Brabham and the Lancers were then one of the founding members of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) in 1988. The franchise was sold and relocated several times until it went dormant after the 2002–03 season. After the American Hockey League (AHL) incarnation of the Grizzlies suspended operations, David Elmore and Donna Tuttle bought the rights to the dormant ECHL franchise and moved the team to the E Center to replace the previous Grizzlies franchise.
Prior to the 2013–14 season, their NHL affiliate Calgary Flames changed their affiliation to the Alaska Aces. Incoming head coach and general manager Tim Branham announced a three-year agreement with the Anaheim Ducks on August 7, 2013.[3] After the Grizzlies made the post-season in every season within the Ducks organization, the Grizzlies and Ducks agreed to a multi-year extension during the 2015–16 season.[4]
Following the 2017–18 season, the Grizzlies missed the post-season for the first time in 11 years. At that time, their ECHL rival, the Colorado Eagles, joined the American Hockey League as an affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche after previously serving as the Avalanche affiliate in the ECHL. The Grizzlies ended their agreement with the Ducks and affiliated with the Avalanche, their then-closest geographical NHL club.[5][6]
The market was previously served by:
- Utah Grizzlies of the IHL and AHL (1995–2005)
Season-by-season record
editNote: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL= Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalty infraction minutes
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Standing | Year | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Kelly Cup |
| 2005–06 | 72 | 36 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 78 | 235 | 236 | 1712 | 4th of 6, West | 2006 | L, 0–4, AK | — | — | — |
| 2006–07 | 72 | 22 | 42 | 4 | 4 | 52 | 184 | 294 | 1953 | 5th of 5, West | 2007 | did not qualify | |||
| 2007–08 | 72 | 32 | 30 | 2 | 8 | 74 | 239 | 259 | 1595 | 4th of 5, West | 2008 | W, 4–2, FRE | W, 4–1, VIC | L, 0–4, LV | — |
| 2008–09 | 72 | 28 | 28 | 6 | 10 | 72 | 220 | 246 | 1372 | 4th of 6, West | 2009 | L, 1–4, AK | — | — | — |
| 2009–10 | 72 | 34 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 77 | 260 | 253 | 1292 | 3rd of 4, West | 2010 | W, 3–2, LV | L, 0–4, IDH | — | — |
| 2010–11 | 72 | 33 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 73 | 189 | 227 | 1674 | 3rd of 4, Mountain | 2011 | W, 3–1, STK | L, 0–4, VIC | — | — |
| 2011–12 | 72 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 6 | 72 | 183 | 223 | 1573 | 3rd of 4, Mountain | 2012 | L, 0–3, LV | — | — | — |
| 2012–13 | 72 | 29 | 30 | 4 | 9 | 71 | 217 | 277 | 1741 | 4th of 4, Mountain | 2013 | L, 0–4, ONT | — | — | — |
| 2013–14 | 71 | 38 | 24 | 3 | 6 | 85 | 187 | 173 | 1329 | 3rd of 4, Mountain | 2014 | L, 1–4, BAK | — | — | — |
| 2014–15 | 72 | 37 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 82 | 213 | 219 | 1170 | 4th of 7, Pacific | 2015 | W, 4–2, IDH | L, 1–4, ONT | — | — |
| 2015–16 | 72 | 39 | 27 | 3 | 3 | 84 | 223 | 206 | 942 | 3rd of 5, West | 2016 | W, 4–2, COL | L, 0–4, FW | — | — |
| 2016–17 | 72 | 36 | 29 | 5 | 2 | 79 | 225 | 240 | 1312 | 4th of 7, Mountain | 2017 | L, 1–4, ALN | — | — | — |
| 2017–18 | 72 | 28 | 29 | 9 | 6 | 71 | 230 | 256 | 1212 | 6th of 7, Mountain | 2018 | did not qualify | |||
| 2018–19 | 72 | 37 | 26 | 4 | 5 | 83 | 232 | 218 | 1264 | 3rd of 7, Mountain | 2019 | L, 1–4, IDH | — | — | — |
| 2019–20 | 62 | 34 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 79 | 207 | 164 | 884 | 3rd of 7, Mountain | 2020 | Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2020–21 | 72 | 35 | 26 | 5 | 6 | 81 | 207 | 219 | 1037 | 4th of 7, Western | 2021 | — | L, 0–3, ALN | — | — |
| 2021–22 | 72 | 42 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 87 | 240 | 225 | 959 | 1st of 7, Mountain | 2022 | W, 4–3, TUL | W, 4–2, RC | L, 1–4, TOL | — |
| 2022–23 | 72 | 35 | 33 | 4 | 0 | 74 | 230 | 259 | 1316 | 4th of 7, Mountain | 2023 | L, 2–4, IDH | — | — | — |
| 2023–24 | 72 | 31 | 36 | 5 | 0 | 67 | 227 | 264 | 750 | 5th of 7, Mountain | 2024 | did not qualify | |||
References
edit- ^ Email response from Communications and Broadcasting VP Adrian Denny: "Copper is the third color."
- ^ "Ryan Kinasewich Named Grizzlies Head Coach and General Manager". utahgrizzlies.com. 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ "Utah Grizzlies announce affiliation with the Anaheim Ducks". desertnews.com. 2013-08-07. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
- ^ "Ducks announce affiliation extension with the Utah Grizzlies". Anaheim Ducks. 2016-01-20. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
- ^ "Grizzlies announce affiliation with Avalanche". utahgrizzlies.com. 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
- ^ "Avalanche enters in to ECHL partnership with the Utah Grizzlies". Colorado Avalanche. 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2018-06-28.