Wichita Thunder

The Wichita Thunder are a minor league hockey team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team played in the Central Hockey League from 1992 until 2014, and then in the ECHL since the 2014–15 season. From 1992 until December 2009, the Thunder played in the Britt Brown Arena located in the northern Wichita suburb of Park City. In January 2010 (the second half of the 2009–10 season), the team began playing its home games at the newly built Intrust Bank Arena. The Thunder are currently the ECHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks.[1]

Wichita Thunder
CityWichita, Kansas
LeagueECHL
ConferenceWestern
DivisionMountain
Founded1992 (in the CHL)
Home arenaIntrust Bank Arena
ColorsBlue, black
   
Owner(s)Rodney Steven
Brandon Steven
Johnny Steven
General managerJoel Lomurno
Head coachBruce Ramsay
MediaThe Wichita Eagle
KAKE-TV
KWCH
AffiliatesSan Jose Sharks (NHL)
San Jose Barracuda (AHL)
Franchise history
1992–presentWichita Thunder
Championships
Regular season titles3 (1993–94, 1994–95, 2011–12)
Conference titles2 (1997–98, 2011–12)
Ray Miron President's Cup2 (1993–94, 1994–95)
Current season

Franchise history

Central Hockey League

The Thunder was one of the first six original teams of the second iteration of the Central Hockey League, along with the Oklahoma City Blazers, Tulsa Oilers, Memphis RiverKings, Dallas Freeze and the Fort Worth Fire. Wichita played its first home game at Britt Brown Arena on November 4, 1992, in front of a crowd of 5,486. In the same season, the Thunder had its first sellout in team history when the crowd of 9,686 fans watched the Thunder defeat Oklahoma City 4–3.

The Thunder was originally coached by Gary Fay, but after a 6–20 start, he was replaced by Doug Shedden. The season was quickly turned around by Shedden, and it finished its first season with a 25–32–2 record. On April 5, 1993, the Thunder goaltender Robert Desjardins was named the first CHL Rookie of the Year. In the following two seasons, the Thunder was the regular season champion (Adams Cup) and playoff champion (William Levins Memorial Cup). Ron Handy was the Playoff Most Valuable Player for both seasons and was the only player in Central Hockey League history to win the award on multiple occasions. In the 1993–94 season, Doug Shedden won the Coach of the Year award, Robert Desjardins won the Regular Season Most Valuable Player award and Paul Jackson won the Scoring Champion award.

On May 14, 1995, Shedden resigned to become coach of the Louisiana IceGators of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). Don Jackson was hired as the new head coach on July 21, 1995. He led the Thunder to a 22–39–3 record and missed the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. On July 19, 1996, Jackson resigned to become head coach of the Kansas City Blades of the International Hockey League (IHL). Jackson was replaced by Bryan Wells to become the Thunder's fourth head coach in franchise history. Wells went on to coach the Thunder for five seasons, making the playoffs in four out of the five seasons he coached. On May 2, 2001, Wells was dismissed as head coach.

After the dismissal of Wells, the Thunder announced that James Latos would be the new head coach. In Latos' first season coaching, the team went 24–34–6 and was out of the playoffs. Latos was fired the following season after a disappointing start of 8–19–7. Five days after his dismissal, the Thunder announced that Derek Laxdal would become the team's new head coach. Laxdal went on to coach the Thunder for two seasons to an 87–58–8 record while securing two separate playoff places. On August 3, 2005, Laxdal announced his resignation to become the head coach of the ECHL's Idaho Steelheads.

Mark French took over as head coach from 2005 to 2007. During his tenure, he compiled a record of 70–59–16. He was fired mid-season in December 2007 with a 4–13 record. He went on to become the assistant coach of the AHL's Hershey Bears and the following season took them to a championship as head coach. The Thunder then named former player Rob Weingartner to lead the team. Weingartner played for the Thunder from 1992 to 1996 when he was a member of two championship teams. Weingartner compiled a record of 16–29–2 during his tenure. He has since become the head coach of the Western States Hockey League's Wichita Jr. Thunder.

Brent Bilodeau was hired during the 2008 off-season and led the team for two seasons and a record of 22–48–0. He was fired early in his second season and became the assistant coach of the Western Hockey League's Tri-City Americans for two seasons. After the Thunder fired Bilodeau nine games into the 2009–10 season, Jason Duda was given the job on an interim basis while on injured reserve. Duda owns several franchise records from his Thunder career, scoring 870 points in 14 seasons. He finished the season with a 7–43–5 record and became an assistant coach under the next head coach, Kevin McClelland.

ECHL

On October 7, 2014, soon before the 2014–15 CHL season was set to begin, it was announced that the Central Hockey League had ceased operations and the Thunder, along with the Allen Americans, Brampton Beast, Quad City Mallards, Missouri Mavericks, Rapid City Rush and Tulsa Oilers, were all approved for membership into the ECHL for the 2014–15 season.[2][3] The team finished fifth out of seven teams in the Central Division, scoring 73 points out of 144.

On April 16, 2016, the Thunder announced that the team would not renew McClelland's contract for the 2016–17 season. He had been with the Thunder since 2010 and guided the team for six seasons becoming the longest tenured coach in Thunder history, leading the team for 408 games. During his time in Wichita, McClelland compiled a record of 194–166–48, earning a playoff spot in his first season and taking the team to the playoff finals in the following two seasons while still in the CHL. However, he failed to lead the team into the ECHL playoffs in his two seasons leading the team in the ECHL and the Thunder finished last in the overall standings in the 2015–16 season.

Malcolm Cameron was announced as the new head coach on May 20, 2016.[4] One of his stated intentions in his opening press conference was to establish the Thunder's first NHL affiliation for the upcoming season. On July 4, 2016, the Ottawa Senators' assistant general manager, Randy Lee, said that his team was in negotiations for an affiliation with the Thunder for the 2016–17 season.[5] The affiliation with the Senators and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, was finally confirmed on July 14.[6] After one season, the Thunder changed affiliations to the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) and Bakersfield Condors (AHL). After three seasons, and one playoff appearance, Cameron was not offered an extension.[7]

On May 15, 2019, the Thunder announced that the former Tulsa Oilers' head coach Bruce Ramsay would be Cameron's replacement.[8]

Season-by-season records
Regular season Playoffs
SeasonGPWLTOTLSOLPtsGFGAPIMStandingYear1st round2nd round3rd roundFinals
1992–93602533—025224232018766th of 6, CHL1993—did not qualify
1993–946440186——8630927525221st of 6, CHL1994—W, 4–3, DALW, 4–0, TUL
1994–956644184——9232026825131st of 7, CHL1995—W, 4–1, OKCW, 4–2, SA
1995–96642239——34727038023046th of 6, CHL1996—did not qualify
1996–97662531——106027932426604th of 5, Western Div.1997—OKCL, 1–4, FTW—
1997–98703531——47430230323212nd of 5, Western Div.1998—W, 3–2, TULW, 4–3, OKCL, 0–4, COL
1998–99703426——107825726221583rd of 6, Western Div.1999—L, 1–3, SA——
1999–00703726——78124523120492nd of 6, Western Div.2000—L, 2–3, OKC——
2000–01703032——86825125124185th of 6, Western Div.2001—did not qualify
2001–02642434——65420326219133rd of 4, Northwest Div.2002—did not qualify
2002–03642136—524921626118374th of 4, Northwest Div.2003—did not qualify
2003–04643524—147519419715582nd of 5, Northwest Div.2004—W, 3–1, COLL, 1–4, BS—
2004–05604017—218321015817842nd of 4, Northwest Div.2005—W, 4–3, BSL, 2–4, COL—
2005–06643818—448423320018412nd of 4, Northwest Div.2006—L, 1–4, BS——
2006–07642828—086419121318413rd of 4, Northwest Div.2007L, 2–4, BS———
2007–08642042—114215624719055th of 5, Northwest Div.2008did not qualify
2008–09642041—214316823014194th of 4, Northwest Div.2009did not qualify
2009–1064950—142312825713547th of 7, Northern Conf.2010did not qualify
2010–11663426—247424923111895th of 9, Turner Conf.2011L, 2–3, MO———
2011–12664419—129123118110771st of 7, Berry Conf.2012—W, 4–1, RGVW, 4–2, TEXL, 1–4, FW
2012–13663919—268624018211062nd of 10, CHL2013—W, 4–0, ARZW, 4–0, FTWL, 3–4, ALN
2013–14662730—45632012239739th of 10, CHL2014—did not qualify
2014–15723231—277321324015085th of 6, Central Div.2015did not qualify
2015–16721841—764915024011524th of 4, Central Div.2016did not qualify
2016–17722144—614918927812917th of 7, Central Div.2017did not qualify
2017–18723430—627622223510914th of 7, Mountain Div.2018L, 2–4, COL———
2018–19722931—937022425112865th of 7, Mountain Div.2019did not qualify
2019–20622430—80561812337946th of 7, Mountain Div.2020Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21714122—62902181909852nd of 7, Western Conf.2021—L, 2–3, FW——
2021–22722736—906320225810627th of 7, Mountain Div.2022did not qualify
2021–22723332—617322723812295th of 7, Mountain Div.2023did not qualify

Players

Current roster
Updated June 24, 2023.[9]
Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
8 Canada Ben Allison C L 21 2023 Halifax, Nova Scotia Thunder
1 Canada Roman Basran G L 22 2023 Delta, British Columbia Thunder
12 United States Peter Bates F L 27 2022 Evanston, Illinois Thunder
19 Canada Kelly Bent C L 28 2022 Halifax, Nova Scotia Thunder
36 United States Brett Boeing C L 28 2023 Barrington, Illinois Thunder
27 Canada Dillon Boucher LW L 26 2023 Head of Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia Thunder
21 United States Jay Dickman (A) C L 30 2022 St. Paul, Minnesota Thunder
44 Canada Dominic Dockery D L 26 2022 Lockport, New York Thunder
7 Canada Gavin Gould F L 27 2023 North Vancouver, British Columbia Thunder
6 Canada Zack Hoffman D R 25 2022 Newcastle, Ontario Thunder
3 Canada Cole Larkin D R 21 2023 Mermaid, Prince Edward Island Thunder
34 Canada Jason Pineo C R 25 2023 Toronto, Ontario Thunder
28 Canada Xavier Pouliot D R 24 2023 Saint-Isidore, Quebec Thunder
25 United States Sam Sternschein LW R 25 2022 Syosset, New York Thunder
83 United States Jake Wahlin LW L 26 2022 St. Paul, Minnesota Thunder
24 Canada Connor Walters D R 26 2022 Welland, Ontario Thunder
29 United States Brayden Watts (A) RW R 24 2020 Bakersfield, California Thunder

Retired numbers

Notable NHL alumni

List of Wichita Thunder alumni who played more than 25 games in Wichita and 25 or more games in the National Hockey League.

Leaders

Head coaches
Name Year(s) Record
Gary Fay 1992 6–20
Doug Shedden 1992–1995 103–49–12
Don Jackson 1995–1996 22–50–29
Bryan Wells 1996–2001 161–146–39
James Latos 2001–2003 32–53–13
Sean O'Reilly Interim 1–0–0
Derek Laxdal 2003–2005 87–58–8
Mark French 2005–2007 70–56–16
Rob Weingartner 2007–2008 16–29–2
Brent Bilodeau 2008–2009 22–52
Jason Duda Interim 7–40–4
Kevin McClelland 2010–2016 194–166–48
Malcolm Cameron 2016–2019 84–105–27
Bruce Ramsay 2019–present

General managers
Name Tenure
Bill Shuck 1992–2002
David Holt 2003–2005
Chris Presson 2005–2008
Joel Lomurno 2008–present

Awards and trophies

The following lists the league awards which have been won by the Thunder team and its players.[11]

ECHL

Most Valuable Player

Coach of the Year

General Manager of the Year

Community Service Award

CHL

References
  1. San Jose Sharks (August 25, 2022). "Sharks Enter Affiliation Agreement With Wichita Thunder". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  2. "CHL Clubs Join ECHL for 2014-15 Season". Central Hockey League. October 7, 2014. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  3. "ECHL Accepts Seven Members". ECHL. October 7, 2014. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  4. Lutz, Jeffrey (May 19, 2016). "Malcolm Cameron will be Wichita Thunder's next coach". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  5. "Ottawa Senators name Wichita Thunder new ECHL affiliate". Silver Seven Sens. SB Nation. July 4, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  6. "Thunder Lands Affiliation Agreement with Ottawa Senators". OurSports Central. July 14, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  7. Eldridge, Taylor (April 10, 2019). "Wichita Thunder hockey team parts ways with head coach Malcolm Cameron". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  8. "WICHITA NAMES BRUCE RAMSAY AS HEAD COACH". ECHL. May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  9. "Wichita Thunder Roster - Wichita Thunder Hockey". Wichita Thunder. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  10. Hall, John (October 18, 2010). "Duda's Number 11 Retired in Wichita". Pro Hockey News. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  11. "Central Hockey League Historical Award Winners". Central Hockey League. Archived from the original on November 3, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  12. "Wichita's Beauregard Named 2020-21 Warrior Hockey/ECHL Most Valuable Player". OurSports Central. June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  13. "WICHITA'S RAMSAY RECEIVES JOHN BROPHY AWARD AS ECHL COACH OF THE YEAR". ECHL. June 8, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
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