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Utica Comets
2018–19 AHL season
City	Utica, New York
League	American Hockey League
Conference	Eastern
Division	North
Founded	1932
Operated	2013–present
Home arena	Adirondack Bank Center
Colors	Blue, green, silver, white
Owner(s)	Canucks Sports & Entertainment (leased to Robert Esche)
General manager	Ryan Johnson[1]
Head coach	Trent Cull
Captain	Carter Bancks
Media	WKLL (94.9 FM) Observer-Dispatch WKTV NewsChannel 2 WUTR Eyewitness News AHL.TV (Internet)
Affiliates	Vancouver Canucks (NHL) Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL)
Franchise history
1932–1935	Quebec Beavers
1935–1951	Springfield Indians
1951–1954	Syracuse Warriors
1954–1967	Springfield Indians
1967–1974	Springfield Kings
1974–1994	Springfield Indians
1994–2005	Worcester IceCats
2005–2013	Peoria Rivermen
2013–present	Utica Comets
Championships
Division Championships	1 (2014–15)
Conference Championships	1 (2014–15)
Calder Cups	0

The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York. They are members of the North Division, of the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). Beginning play in the 2013–14 season, the team plays at the Adirondack Bank Center as the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks. The Comets are the second AHL team to call Utica home; the Utica Devils played in the city from 1987 until 1993 and were affiliated with the New Jersey Devils.

History

The Comets' franchise, one of the oldest professional hockey franchises in existence, dates back to 1932, when the team was known as the Quebec Beavers. In 1935, the franchise moved to Springfield and became the Indians, reviving the name after the original Indians franchise ceased operations during the 1932–33 Canadian-American Hockey League season. In addition to the Indians, the team has been known as the Syracuse Warriors, Springfield Kings, Worcester IceCats and then the Peoria Rivermen. The Rivermen franchise was purchased by Canucks Sports & Entertainment (CS&E), owners of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Vancouver Canucks, in a deal announced on March 29, 2013, and approved by the American Hockey League (AHL) on April 18.^[2]

After purchasing the Rivermen franchise, CS&E intended to have the franchise located in a market close to Vancouver, British Columbia. Their initial preference was Abbotsford, British Columbia, which was home to the Calgary Flames' AHL farm club, the Abbotsford Heat. The Heat had been rumored to have plans to relocate to Utica, New York, at the time.^[3] Negotiations between the Canucks and Abbotsford broke down by April 22, ensuring the Heat would remain in the city.^[4] Media reports speculated that the Canucks would move the team to Vancouver and share Rogers Arena, which is also owned by CS&E, with the Canucks. This proved impossible as Vancouver is within Abbotsford's 50-mile territorial radius provided by the AHL.^[5] A reported plan to have the team play in Seattle's KeyArena was disallowed by the NHL, as Seattle was reportedly a candidate to land the troubled Phoenix Coyotes franchise. However, the Coyotes eventually found a new owner with intentions to keep the franchise in Arizona.^[6]

By May 2013, CS&E's options for the franchise were dwindling; it did consider keeping the franchise in Peoria,^[7] but notified the city on May 13 it would not operate in that city, and the Rivermen were replaced by a Southern Professional Hockey League team of the same name.^[8] CS&E did consider placing the franchise in dormancy for the 2013–14 season, with the Canucks loaning their AHL prospects to other teams.^[9] Facing an extended deadline by the AHL to find a new home,^[10] CS&E agreed to a deal with Utica, New York, to relocate the franchise to the city's soon-to-be-renovated Memorial Auditorium.^[11] The deal was confirmed on June 14 with an official announcement revealing the Utica Comets name and affiliation, along with logo and jerseys patterned after the Canucks' blue, green and silver color scheme.^[12] The Comets' nickname honors several prior professional hockey teams in the Mohawk Valley, most notably the Clinton and Mohawk Valley Comets, which played from 1927 until 1977 (as the Mohawk Valley Comets, they called the Memorial Auditorium home); the Atlantic Coast Hockey League's Mohawk Valley Comets, which played from 1985 until 1987; and a third team of the same name, which played in the North Eastern Hockey League during the 2003–04 season.

First Years in Utica

After the founding CS&E began hiring personnel to run the team. Travis Green became the first head coach in team history,^[13] while Paul Jerrard and Nolan Baumgartner were named assistant coaches, and Pat Conacher was hired as the director of hockey operations.^[14] Utica played its first game on October 11, 2013, a 4–1 loss to the Rochester Americans. In the game, Pascal Pelletier scored the first goal in Comets history.^[15] Utica lost two more games before making their home debut. Before the game, the Comets celebrated the region's hockey history with a slide show, Gordie Howe dropped the ceremonial puck and the Hanson Brothers from the movie Slap Shot made an appearance. Utica lost the game 4–1 to the Albany Devils.^[16][17] One week after their home opener, Colin Stuart was named team captain.^[18] The Comets finished their debut season with 35 victories and 79 points, just four behind the last spot of the playoffs. Seventeen of the team's thirty-eight home games were sold out.^[19]

Before the 2014–15 season, Cal O'Reilly was named the team's new captain.^[20] The Comets saw much improvement in their sophomore season, and after Sven Baertschi and Cory Conacher were acquired in trades, the team soon dominated the Western Conference, finishing the regular season as the top seed.^[21] During the playoffs, the Comets won the Robert W. Clarke Trophy as Western Conference champions, advancing to the Calder Cup finals against the Manchester Monarchs;^[22] the Comets would fall to the Monarchs in five games. Following the season, O'Reilly would join his brother Ryan with the Buffalo Sabres.

The 2015–16 season saw the departure of many Comets players. Jacob Markstrom became the backup goaltender for the Canucks, Brendan Gaunce and newly-named captain Alex Biega also spent significant time with the Canucks, while Nicklas Jensen and Hunter Shinkaruk were traded mid-season to the New York Rangers and Calgary Flames, respectively. The Comets placed third in the North Division, which was moved to the Eastern Conference at the start of the season. They were eliminated in the first round of the 2016 playoffs, losing the series 3–1 to the Albany Devils.

At the start of the 2016–17 season, Carter Bancks was named team captain, replacing Alex Biega, who became a full-time player for the Canucks. The Comets were unable to clinch a playoff berth, falling four points short. However, the team managed to sellout every home game, extending their sellout streak.

On April 26, 2017, the Canucks hired Green as their new head coach. Green had led the Comets to a 155–110–39 record through their first four seasons.^[23] He was replaced by Trent Cull as head coach.^[24]

The Comets continued their sellout streak through the 2017–18 season. They qualified for the 2018 playoffs as the fourth seed in the North Division. They lost the opening round in five games to the Toronto Marlies, the eventual Calder Cup champions.

On October 19, 2018, the Utica Comets sold out their 121st consecutive regular season game, establishing a new AHL record. They also sold out all of their 17 playoff games hosted during this span, for a combined streak of 138 consecutive sellouts.^[25]

Season-by-season results

Players

Current roster

Updated February 16, 2019.^[26]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace	Contract
7001180000000000000♠18		Vincent Arseneau	LW	L	26	2017	Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec	Comets
7001320000000000000♠32		Richard Bachman	G	L	31	2015	Salt Lake City, Utah	Canucks
7001340000000000000♠34		Carter Bancks (C)	LW	L	29	2014	Calgary, Alberta	Comets
7000800000000000000♠8		Dylan Blujus	D	R	25	2017	Buffalo, New York	Comets
7001240000000000000♠24		Reid Boucher (A)	LW	L	25	2017	Grand Ledge, Michigan	Canucks
7000500000000000000♠5		Jalen Chatfield	D	R	22	2017	Ypsilanti, Michigan	Canucks
7001540000000000000♠54		Jonathan Dahlen	LW	L	21	2018	Östersund, Sweden	Canucks
7001110000000000000♠11		Cameron Darcy	C	R	24	2017	South Boston, Massachusetts	Comets
7001220000000000000♠22		Jonah Gadjovich	F	L	20	2018	Whitby, Ontario	Canucks
7001230000000000000♠23		Reid Gardiner	RW	R	23	2018	Prince Albert, Saskatchewan	Comets
7001160000000000000♠16		Brendan Gaunce	LW	L	25	2014	Sudbury, Ontario	Canucks
7001640000000000000♠64		Jesse Graham	D	R	24	2018	Oshawa, Ontario	Comets
7001360000000000000♠36		Wacey Hamilton	C	L	28	2014	Cochrane, Alberta	Comets
7000900000000000000♠9		Lukas Jasek	RW	R	21	2018	Trinec, Czech Republic	Canucks
7001480000000000000♠48		Olli Juolevi	D	L	20	2018	Helsinki, Finland	Canucks
7001100000000000000♠10		Tanner Kero	F	L	26	2018	Hancock, Michigan	Canucks
7001310000000000000♠31		Ivan Kulbakov	G	L	22	2018	Gomel, Belarus	Comets
7000300000000000000♠3		Stefan LeBlanc	D	L	22	2019	Oakville, Ontario	Comets
7001490000000000000♠49		Michael Leighton	G	L	37	2019	Petrolia, Ontario	Comets
7001130000000000000♠13		Kole Lind	RW	R	20	2018	Shaunavon, Saskatchewan	Canucks
7000200000000000000♠2		Evan McEneny	D	L	24	2014	Hamilton, Ontario	Canucks
7001200000000000000♠20		Tom Pyatt	C	L	32	2019	Thunder Bay, Ontario	Canucks
7001390000000000000♠39		Colton Saucerman	D	R	26	2018	Colorado Springs, Colorado	Comets
7000600000000000000♠6		Ashton Sautner	D	L	24	2015	Flin Flon, Manitoba	Canucks
7001260000000000000♠26		Jaime Sifers (A)	D	R	36	2017	Stratford, Connecticut	Comets
–		Ryan Spooner	C	L	27	2019	Ottawa, Ontario	Canucks
7001210000000000000♠21		Brendan Woods	LW	L	26	2017	Palmyra, Pennsylvania	Comets

Team captains

There have been four Comets players who have served as the Captain. Colin Stuart was the franchise's first captain, who was appointed until he left the team as a free agent in 2014. Current captain Carter Bancks is the franchise's longest-tenured captain, who has held the position since 2016.

• 
  Colin Stuart, 2013–2014


• 
  Cal O'Reilly, 2014–2015


• 
  Alex Biega, 2015–2016


• 
  Carter Bancks, 2016–present

References

External links

• Utica Comets official website