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Hartford Wolf Pack
Hartford-Wolf-Pack-Logo.svg
City Hartford, Connecticut
League American Hockey League
Conference Eastern
Division Atlantic
Founded 1926, in the CAHL
Home arena XL Center
Colors Blue, red, white
              
Owner(s) Madison Square Garden, Inc.
General manager Ryan Martin
Head coach Grant Potulny
Captain Casey Fitzgerald
Media MSG Network
AHL.TV (Internet)
Mixlr (Internet)
Affiliates New York Rangers (NHL)
Bloomington Bison (ECHL)
Franchise history
1926–1976 Providence Reds
1976–1977 Rhode Island Reds
1977–1980 Binghamton Dusters
1980–1990 Binghamton Whalers
1990–1997 Binghamton Rangers
1997–2010 Hartford Wolf Pack
2010–2013 Connecticut Whale
2013–present Hartford Wolf Pack
Championships
Regular season titles 1: (1999–00)
Division Championships 4: (1999–00, 2003–04, 2008–09, 2014–15)
Conference Championships 1: (1999–00)
Calder Cups 1: (1999–00)

The Hartford Wolf Pack is a professional ice hockey team located in Hartford, Connecticut. They are part of the American Hockey League (AHL) and play their home games at the XL Center. The team started in 1926 as the Providence Reds. After moving several times, the team came to Hartford in 1997 and became the Hartford Wolf Pack. It is one of the oldest professional hockey teams still playing today. It is also the oldest minor league hockey team in North America that has played every season since it began.

In October 2010, the team changed its name to the Connecticut Whale. This was done to honor the old Hartford Whalers team from the National Hockey League (NHL). However, after the 2012–13 AHL season, they changed back to their current name, the Hartford Wolf Pack. The Wolf Pack is closely connected to the NHL's New York Rangers. They are one of three professional hockey teams in Connecticut.

How the Hartford Wolf Pack Started

The team that is now the Wolf Pack began in 1926. It was called the Providence Reds and was based in Providence, Rhode Island. The Reds were one of the first five teams in the Canadian-American Hockey League. In 1936, this league joined with another one, the International Hockey League. Together, they formed the International-American Hockey League. This league later became known simply as the American Hockey League (AHL) in 1940.

Moving to New Cities

The Providence Reds, also known as the Rhode Island Reds later on, stopped playing after the 1976–77 season. Soon after, the owners of another team, the Broome Dusters, bought the Reds. They moved the team to Binghamton, New York, and named them the Binghamton Dusters.

In 1980, the team partnered with the Hartford Whalers. Because of this, they changed their name to the Binghamton Whalers. Then, in 1990, they partnered with the New York Rangers. This partnership continues today. With the new partnership, the team changed its name again to the Binghamton Rangers.

Becoming the Hartford Wolf Pack

After the 1996–97 NHL season, the Hartford Whalers moved away from Connecticut. They became the Carolina Hurricanes. Soon after the Whalers left, the Binghamton Rangers moved to Hartford. They started playing at the Hartford Civic Center, which is now called the XL Center.

The team held a contest to choose a new name. They picked "Hartford Wolf Pack." This name refers to a type of submarine and a military tactic called "wolfpacking". Connecticut is known for building submarines and having a major US Navy submarine base. So, the name honored the state's naval history. The team's mascot was named "Sonar," keeping with the submarine theme.

Connecticut Whale Logo
The Connecticut Whale logo, used from 2010 to 2013

The Wolf Pack's first coach was E.J. McGuire. Their first home game was on October 4, 1997. Over 12,900 fans came to watch. P.J. Stock scored the first goal for the Wolf Pack at home. The team made it to the playoffs for their first 12 years. They won the Calder Cup in 2000. They beat the Rochester Americans in the finals. Derek Armstrong was named the playoff MVP.

The Connecticut Whale Era

In the summer of 2010, the Rangers made a deal with former Whalers owner Howard Baldwin. His company took over the team's business side. On September 20, 2010, Baldwin announced the Wolf Pack would change their name. They became the Connecticut Whale to honor the old Hartford Whalers.

The name change happened on November 27, 2010. The last game as the "Wolf Pack" was on November 26, 2010. They played against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Sound Tigers won in a shootout. On November 27, 2010, the team played their first game as the "Whale." They played the Sound Tigers again and won in a shootout. Over 13,000 fans attended this debut game.

XL-Center-12-10-22-5
A picture of the XL Center during a Hartford Wolfpack game on 12/10/22.

The Connecticut Whale hosted a special outdoor game in 2011. It was called the Whale Bowl and was held at Rentschler Field. The Whale lost to the Providence Bruins in a shootout.

In June 2012, the New York Rangers ended their partnership with Baldwin. His company had run into financial trouble.

Returning to the Wolf Pack Name

In April 2013, after just two and a half seasons, the team decided to go back to being the "Wolf Pack." Global Spectrum, the company managing the team and the XL Center, announced this change in May 2013.

The Wolf Pack team does not officially claim the history of the Providence and Binghamton teams. However, it is the only AHL team that has played every season since the league started in 1936. This makes the Wolf Pack the oldest continuously playing minor league hockey team in North America. Only a few NHL teams are older than the Wolf Pack.

Hartford Wolf Pack Team Information

Team Mascots

The Wolf Pack started with one mascot in 1997. It was a wolf named Sonar. His name fit the submarine theme of the team. Later, another mascot named Torpedo joined, but he has since retired.

When the team became the Connecticut Whale in 2010, Sonar was joined by Pucky the Whale. Pucky was the mascot for the old Hartford Whalers. Sonar took a break during the 2012–13 season, and Pucky was the only mascot. When the team changed back to the Wolf Pack, Sonar returned, and Pucky retired.

Season Results: How the Wolf Pack Played Each Year

Regular season Playoffs
Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL SOL Points PCT Goals
for		 Goals
against		 Standing Year Prelims 1st
round		 2nd
round		 3rd
round		 Final
1997–98 80 43 24 12 1 — 99 .619 272 227 2nd, New England 1998 — W, 3–0, BNH W, 4–3, WOR L, 1–4, SJF —
1998–99 80 38 31 5 6 — 87 .544 256 256 2nd, New England 1999 — W, 3–0, SPR L, 0–4, PRO — —
1999–00 80 49 22 7 2 — 107 .669 249 198 1st, New England 2000 — W, 3–2, SPR W, 4–1, WOR W, 4–3, PRO W, 4–2, RCH
2000–01 80 40 26 8 6 — 94 .588 263 247 2nd, New England 2001 — L, 2–3, PRO — — —
2001–02 80 41 26 10 3 — 95 .594 249 243 2nd, East 2002 BYE W, 3–2, MAN L, 1–4, HAM — —
2002–03 80 33 27 12 8 — 86 .538 255 236 3rd, East 2003 L, 0–2, SPR — — — —
2003–04 80 44 22 12 2 — 102 .638 198 153 1st, Atlantic 2004 BYE W, 4–1, POR W, 4–0, WOR L, 3–4, WBS —
2004–05 80 50 24 — 3 3 106 .663 206 160 2nd, Atlantic 2005 — L, 2–4, LOW — — —
2005–06 80 48 24 — 6 2 104 .650 292 231 2nd, Atlantic 2006 — W, 4–3, MAN L, 2–4, POR — —
2006–07 80 47 29 — 3 1 98 .613 231 201 2nd, Atlantic 2007 — L, 3–4, PRO — — —
2007–08 80 50 20 — 2 8 110 .688 266 198 2nd, Atlantic 2008 — L, 1–4, POR — — —
2008–09 80 46 27 — 3 4 99 .619 243 216 1st, Atlantic 2009 — L, 2–4, WOR — — —
2009–10 80 36 33 — 6 5 83 .519 231 251 6th, Atlantic 2010 — Did not qualify
2010–11 80 40 32 — 2 6 88 .550 221 223 3rd, Atlantic 2011 — L, 2–4, POR — — —
2011–12 76 36 26 — 7 7 86 .566 210 208 2nd, Northeast 2012 — W, 3–0, BRI L, 2–4, NOR — —
2012–13 76 35 32 — 6 3 79 .520 213 222 2nd, Northeast 2013 — Did not qualify
2013–14 76 37 32 — 1 6 81 .533 202 220 3rd, Northeast 2014 — Did not qualify
2014–15 76 43 24 — 5 4 95 .625 221 214 1st, Northeast 2015 — W, 3–2, PRO W, 4–2, HER L, 0–4, MAN —
2015–16 76 41 32 — 3 0 85 .559 202 199 6th, Atlantic 2016 — Did not qualify
2016–17 76 24 46 — 4 2 54 .355 194 280 7th, Atlantic 2017 — Did not qualify
2017–18 76 34 33 — 6 3 77 .507 208 252 6th, Atlantic 2018 — Did not qualify
2018–19 76 29 36 — 7 4 69 .454 209 266 8th, Atlantic 2019 — Did not qualify
2019–20 62 31 20 — 6 5 73 .589 171 173 4th, Atlantic 2020 — Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 24 14 9 — 1 0 29 .604 82 74 2nd, Atlantic 2021 — No playoffs were held
2021–22 72 32 32 — 6 2 72 .500 205 225 7th, Atlantic 2022 — Did not qualify
2022–23 72 35 26 — 4 7 81 .563 227 215 5th, Atlantic 2023 W, 2–0, SPR W, 3–1, PRO L, 0–3, HER — —
2023–24 72 34 28 — 7 3 78 .542 204 219 5th, Atlantic 2024 W, 2–1, CHA W, 3–1, PRO L, 0–3, HER — —

Players of the Hartford Wolf Pack

Current Team Roster

Updated November 23, 2024.

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
55 Canada Belzile, AlexAlex Belzile (A) RW R 33 2023 Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec Rangers
9 United States Berard, BrettBrett Berard LW L 22 2023 East Greenwich, Rhode Island Rangers
21 Sweden Blidh, AntonAnton Blidh (A) LW L 30 2023 Mölnlycke, Sweden Rangers
42 Czech Republic Chmelar, JaroslavJaroslav Chmelar F R 21 2024 Nove Mesto nad Metuji, Czechia Rangers
70 Canada Domingue, LouisLouis Domingue G R 33 2022 Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec Rangers
67 Canada Dufort, IsaacIsaac Dufort LW L 22 2024 Laval, Quebec Wolf Pack
4 United States Fitzgerald, CaseyCasey Fitzgerald (C) D R 28 2024 North Reading, Massachusetts Rangers
31 Canada Garand, DylanDylan Garand G L 23 2022 Kamloops, British Columbia Rangers
24 Canada Groulx, BoBo Groulx C L 25 2024 Rouen, France Rangers
5 Canada Harpur, BenBen Harpur D L 30 2022 Hamilton, Ontario Rangers
25 United States Hillman, BlakeBlake Hillman D L 29 2022 Elk River, Minnesota Wolf Pack
17 United States Jenkins, BladeBlade Jenkins LW L 24 2024 Jackson, Michigan Wolf Pack
38 Canada Korczak, RyderRyder Korczak C R 22 2022 Yorkton, Saskatchewan Rangers
16 Canada Leschyshyn, JakeJake Leschyshyn C L 26 2023 Raleigh, North Carolina Rangers
14 United States Mackey, ConnorConnor Mackey D L 28 2023 Tower Lakes, Illinois Rangers
7 United States McCarthy, CaseCase McCarthy D R 24 2024 Troy, New York Wolf Pack
18 Canada McConnell-Barker, BryceBryce McConnell-Barker C L 21 2023 London, Ontario Wolf Pack
20 Canada Nash, RileyRiley Nash Injured Reserve C R 36 2023 Consort, Alberta Wolf Pack
78 Canada Othmann, BrennanBrennan Othmann LW L 22 2023 Scarborough, Ontario Wolf Pack
32 Canada Rempe, MattMatt Rempe C R 23 2022 Calgary, Alberta Rangers
44 Canada Robertson, MatthewMatthew Robertson D L 24 2021 Edmonton, Alberta Rangers
28 Canada Roobroeck, DylanDylan Roobroeck F L 20 2024 London, Ontario Rangers
58 Canada Scanlin, BrandonBrandon Scanlin D L 26 2022 Hamilton, Ontario Rangers
37 United States Sucese, NateNate Sucese LW L 28 2024 Fairport, New York Wolf Pack
10 Slovakia Sykora, AdamAdam Sykora LW L 20 2023 Piestany, Slovakia Rangers

Team Captains Through the Years

  • Ken Gernander, 1997–05
  • Craig Weller, 2005–07
  • Andrew Hutchinson, 2007–08
  • Greg Moore, 2008–09
  • Dane Byers, 2009–10
  • Wade Redden, 2011–12
  • Aaron Johnson, 2013–14
  • Ryan Bourque, 2015–16
  • Mat Bodie, 2016–17
  • Joe Whitney, 2017–18
  • Cole Schneider, 2018
  • Steven Fogarty, 2019–20
  • Vincent LoVerde, 2021
  • Jonny Brodzinski, 2021–24
  • Casey Fitzgerald, 2024–present

Retired Jersey Numbers

Hartford Wolf Pack retired numbers
No. Player Position Career No. retirement
12 Ken Gernander RW 1997–2005 October 8, 2005

The Wolf Pack has also honored former Hartford Whalers players. They hung their jerseys in the arena rafters. This is a way to show respect, even if their numbers are not officially retired by the Wolf Pack. In 2006, Ulf Samuelsson (#5), Ron Francis (#10), and Kevin Dineen (#11) were honored. Their jerseys joined those of Rick Ley (#2), Gordie Howe (#9), and John Mckenzie (#19). These numbers were already retired by the Whalers.

AHL Hall of Fame Members

Some players and coaches from the Wolf Pack have been honored in the AHL Hall of Fame.

AHL Hall of Fame Honored Members
Name Seasons Induction Year
Ken Gernander 1997-2005 (player)
2005-07 (asst. coach)
2007-17 (head coach)		 2013
Jean-Francois Labbe 1998-2001 (player) 2016
John Paddock 1999-2002 (head coach) 2010
Brad Smyth 1997-2002, 2005-06 (player) 2019

Famous Players Who Played for the Wolf Pack

The following players played at least 100 games for Hartford. They also played at least 100 games in the National Hockey League.

  • Artem Anisimov
  • Derek Armstrong
  • Drew Bannister
  • Matt Beleskey
  • Jonny Brodzinski
  • Jason Dawe
  • Nigel Dawes
  • Dan Girardi
  • Ryan Graves
  • Micheal Haley
  • Chad Johnson
  • Jason LaBarbera
  • Tomas Kloucek
  • Lauri Korpikoski
  • Oscar Lindberg
  • Jamie Lundmark
  • J. T. Miller
  • Al Montoya
  • Dominic Moore
  • Mike Mottau
  • Garth Murray
  • P. A. Parenteau
  • Corey Potter
  • Dale Purinton
  • Tom Pyatt
  • Wade Redden
  • Michael Sauer
  • P.J. Stock
  • Cam Talbot
  • Brent Thompson
  • Dale Weise
  • Craig Weller

Team Records: Best Performances

These are some of the best records set by Hartford Wolf Pack players.

Single Season Records

  • Goals: 50, Brad Smyth (2000–01)
  • Assists: 69, Derek Armstrong (2000–01)
  • Points: 101, Derek Armstrong (2000–01)
  • Penalty Minutes: 415, Dale Purinton (1999–2000)
  • Goals Against Average (GAA): 1.59, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)
  • Save Percentage (SV%): .936, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)
  • Shutouts: 13, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)
  • Goaltending Wins: 34, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)

Career Records

  • Goals: 184, Brad Smyth
  • Assists: 204, Derek Armstrong
  • Points: 365, Brad Smyth
  • Penalty Minutes: 1240, Dale Purinton
  • Shutouts: 21, Jason LaBarbera
  • Goaltending Wins: 91, Jason LaBarbera
  • Games Played: 599, Ken Gernander

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Connecticut Whale para niños

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