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Western Hockey League team in Portland, Oregon
Portland Winterhawks City Portland, Oregon League Western Hockey League Conference Western Division U.S. Founded 1950 Home arena Veterans Memorial Coliseum Colors Biscuit black, buzzer red, squall gray, celly gold, ice whiteThe Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1950 as the Edmonton Oil Kings, the team relocated to Portland in 1976 and was known as the Winter Hawks until 2009. The team plays in the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL), one of three constituent leagues of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The Winterhawks have made a record thirteen appearances in the WHL championship series—including a record-tying four straight from 2011 to 2014—winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup three times and capturing two Memorial Cup titles. They were the first American-based team to participate in and win either championship. The team plays its home games at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The franchise was founded in 1950 as the Edmonton Oil Kings. Under Bill Hunter's leadership, the Oil Kings were a founding franchise of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League in 1966.[2] Despite winning two league titles in the early 1970s, the arrival of Hunter's Edmonton Oilers in the World Hockey Association precipitated the relocation of the franchise.[3] In the spring of 1976, it was announced that the franchise, owned by Brian Shaw, would move to Portland, making it the league's first American team and leading the league to simplify its name to the Western Hockey League.[4] The success of the team would lead to the establishment of several more teams in the Northwest United States over the ensuing decades.[3]
In their first season in Portland, the club would lose 7–2 to a travelling Russian club in an exhibition match watched by more than 5,000 fans.[5] Overall, the team carried over its success from its early days in Edmonton—in their first eleven seasons in Portland, the Winterhawks failed to make the playoffs only once, and advanced to the league final five times, winning their first Ed Chynoweth Cup in 1982 and the Memorial Cup in 1983.[6] In 1982, the Winterhawks became the first American team to win the WHL championship and also the first to compete for the Memorial Cup.[7] In 1983, despite losing the WHL championship series, the Winterhawks participated in the Memorial Cup by virtue of hosting the tournament—the first American team to do so.[8] Brian Shaw had advocated for the participation of a fourth team as tournament host, and after the Winterhawks—led by star rookie Cam Neely and goaltender Mike Vernon—won the tournament, the CHL opted to continue with the new format going forward.[6]
The Winterhawks hosted the tournament again in 1986, awarded the tournament when it became clear that the original host of New Westminster would be unable to host due to also hosting the 1986 World Expo.[6] In 1998, the Winterhawks, led by Brenden Morrow and Marián Hossa, earned their way back to the Memorial Cup—hosted by the rival Spokane Chiefs—with an Ed Chynoweth Cup championship; they won their second Memorial Cup title with a 4–3 overtime win in the final over the Guelph Storm.[6]
The Winterhawks advanced to four consecutive WHL championship series from 2011 to 2014, just the second team to do so after the New Westminster Bruins won four consecutive titles from 1975 to 1978. From 2012 to 2014, the Winterhawks met the revived Edmonton Oil Kings in each league final.[9] The Winterhawks won one of the finals, in 2013, to advance to the team's fifth Memorial Cup tournament, where it lost the final to the Halifax Mooseheads.[10]
On November 28, 2012, the WHL announced sanctions against the Winterhawks for a series of player benefits violations over the four previous seasons.[11] As punishment for the violations, WHL Commissioner Ron Robison suspended the team from participation in the first five rounds of the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft, and the team forfeited their first round picks from the 2014 to 2017 drafts and was fined $200,000. The WHL also suspended General Manager and Head Coach Mike Johnston for the remainder of the 2012–13 season, including the 2013 WHL playoffs.[11]
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, the franchise filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy. Although the Winterhawks were financially stable, owner Bill Gallacher used the team as security against an unpaid loan; Gallacher ultimately had to sell the franchise in order to repay debts.[12] The WHL Board of Governors approved Winterhawks Sports Group (WSG) as the new owners of the franchise, effective January 1, 2021. Along with the Winterhawks franchise, WSG also acquired the operations of the Winterhawks Skating Center in Beaverton, Oregon, and the Winterhawks Junior Hockey programs.[13] Prior to the start of the 2021–22 WHL season, the team announced that it would be returning to the Veterans Memorial Coliseum full-time after previously dividing games between the Coliseum and Moda Center since 1995.[14]
The 2023–24 season saw the Winterhawks advance to their first championship final in ten seasons, where they were defeated by the Moose Jaw Warriors in four consecutive games.[15]
Uniforms, logos, and mascot[edit] The Winterhawks logo from 1976 to 2021, adopted from the Chicago Blackhawks.The team was known as the Winter Hawks until May 2009, when it issued a press release stating that, "the space...has announced its retirement", and that the team was renaming itself the Winterhawks.[16][17]
Upon moving to Portland in 1976, the Winter Hawks accepted a donation of old jerseys from the National Hockey League's Chicago Black Hawks, and they kept the design for nearly half of a century.[18] Amid pressure for sports teams to abandon Native American caricatures, new ownership opted to rebrand the Winterhawks in 2021. The team unveiled its new look on July 14, 2021, featuring new colors and a new hawk logo.[19]
The Winterhawks' also retired their Tom-A-Hawk bird mascot in 2019.[20]
The Winterhawks hosting the Tri-City Americans on January 24, 2016.The Winterhawks have advanced to three Memorial Cup finals.[6]
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Sven Baertschi played for the Winterhawks from 2010 to 2012. Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs 1976–77 72 36 29 7 - 359 294 79 3rd West Lost semifinal 1977–78 72 41 20 11 - 361 296 93 1st West Eliminated in West Division round robin 1978–79 72 49 10 13 - 432 265 111 1st West Lost final 1979–80 72 53 18 1 - 398 293 107 1st West Eliminated in West Division round robin 1980–81 72 56 15 1 - 443 266 113 2nd West Lost West Division final 1981–82 72 46 24 2 - 380 323 94 1st West Won Championship 1982–83 72 50 22 0 - 495 387 100 1st West Lost final; Won Memorial Cup 1983–84 72 33 39 0 - 430 449 66 3rd West Lost West Division final 1984–85 72 27 44 1 - 365 442 55 4th West Lost West Division semifinal 1985–86 72 47 24 1 - 438 348 95 2nd West Lost West Division final 1986–87 72 47 23 2 - 439 355 96 2nd West Lost final 1987–88 72 24 45 3 - 328 449 51 6th West Did not qualify 1988–89 72 40 28 4 - 408 395 84 1st West Lost final 1989–90 72 24 45 3 - 322 426 51 5th West Did not qualify 1990–91 72 17 53 2 - 298 450 36 5th West Did not qualify 1991–92 72 31 37 4 - 314 342 66 5th West Lost West Division quarterfinal 1992–93 72 45 24 3 - 343 275 93 1st West Lost final 1993–94 72 49 22 1 - 392 260 99 2nd West Lost West Division final 1994–95 72 23 43 6 - 240 308 52 6th West Lost West Division semifinal 1995–96 72 30 39 3 - 283 301 63 6th West Lost West Division quarterfinal 1996–97 72 46 21 5 - 300 196 97 1st West Lost West Division quarterfinal 1997–98 72 53 14 5 - 342 203 111 1st West Won Championship and Memorial Cup 1998–99 72 23 36 13 - 215 278 59 5th West Lost West Division quarterfinal 1999–00 72 16 49 7 0 173 296 39 7th West Did not qualify 2000–01 72 37 27 5 3 254 237 82 2nd West Lost final 2001–02 72 36 25 5 6 269 243 83 1st U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2002–03 72 19 40 8 5 192 243 51 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2003–04 72 34 29 6 3 199 206 77 2nd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2004–05 72 35 27 5 5 204 198 80 2nd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2005–06 72 32 32 3 5 204 258 72 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2006–07 72 17 52 1 2 146 316 37 5th U.S. Did not qualify 2007–08 72 11 58 2 1 132 318 25 5th U.S. Did not qualify 2008–09 72 19 48 3 2 176 288 43 5th U.S. Did not qualify Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs 2009–10 72 44 25 2 1 266 241 91 4th U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2010–11 72 50 19 0 3 303 227 103 1st U.S. Lost final 2011–12 72 49 19 3 1 328 229 102 2nd U.S. Lost final 2012–13 72 57 12 1 2 334 169 117 1st U.S. Won Championship; Lost Memorial Cup final 2013–14 72 54 13 2 3 338 207 113 1st U.S. Lost final 2014–15 72 43 23 2 4 287 237 92 2nd U.S. Lost Western Conference final 2015–16 72 34 31 6 1 228 227 75 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2016–17 72 40 28 1 3 278 256 84 4th U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2017–18 72 44 22 1 5 274 214 94 2nd U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2018–19 68 40 22 3 3 258 210 86 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2019–20 63 45 11 3 4 270 164 97 1st U.S. Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic 2020–21 24 13 8 3 0 96 72 29 2nd U.S. No playoffs held due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021–22 68 47 16 3 2 298 192 99 2nd U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2022–23 68 40 20 5 3 244 218 88 2nd U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2023–24 68 48 15 4 1 330 204 101 1st U.S. Lost final 2024–25 68 36 28 3 1 261 269 76 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference finalFour former Portland Winter Hawks alumni are inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame: Mark Messier, Cam Neely, Marian Hossa, and Mike Vernon.[citation needed]
This is a list of former players inducted into the Portland Winter Hawks franchise Hall of Fame.
Portland Winterhawks retired numbers No. Player Position Career No. retirement 21 Cam Neely RW 1982–1984 March 18, 2023[23]List of Portland Winterhawks alumni who have graduated to play in the National Hockey League.[citation needed]
First round draft picks[edit]Winterhawks players chosen in the first round of the NHL entry draft:[citation needed]
During the 2012–13 season, Winterhawks captain Troy Rutkowski established the new team record for most regular games played for the Winterhawks. His career total of 351 games surpassed the previous mark of 328 games set by Kevin Haupt in the 1998–99 season.[26]
Career records[27] Statistic Player Total Career Most goals Dennis Holland 179 1985–1989 Most assists Todd Robinson 325 1994–1999 Most points Todd Robinson 470 1994–1999 Most points, defenceman Brandon Smith 232 1989–1994 Most games played Troy Rutkowski 351 2008–2013 Most wins (goalie) Mac Carruth 117 2009–2013 Most shutouts (goalie) Mac Carruth 11 2009–2013Media related to Portland Winterhawks at Wikimedia Commons
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