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The Calgary Hitmen are a major junior ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Hitmen play in the Western Hockey League (WHL). They play their home games at the Pengrowth Saddledome. Their name is derived from local-born professional wrestler Bret "The Hitman" Hart, a founding owner. Established in 1994, the team has been owned by the Calgary Flames hockey club since 1997. They are the third WHL team to represent Calgary, preceded by the Centennials and Wranglers. The Hitmen have finished three times with the best record in the WHL, and have qualified for the playoffs every season since 1998. In 1999, they became the first Calgary team to win the President's Cup as league champions, and the first to represent Calgary in the Memorial Cup since the Calgary Canadians won the national junior title in 1926. The Hitmen hold numerous WHL attendance records, and in 2004–05 became the first team in the Canadian Hockey League to average 10,000 fans per game. Twenty-nine former Hitmen players have gone on to play in the National Hockey League.
[edit] Franchise historyGraham James left his position as coach and general manager of the Swift Current Broncos to found the Hitmen in 1994.[1] James organized a group of eighteen investors in the club, including star National Hockey League players Theoren Fleury and Joe Sakic along with Bret Hart, famous for his exploits in the World Wrestling Federation.[2] The Calgary Flames, who had just assumed control of the then Olympic Saddledome (now Pengrowth Saddledome) and were looking to fill extra dates in the building, were receptive to the new team.[3] Calgary had been without a WHL team since 1987, when the Calgary Wranglers moved south to become the Lethbridge Hurricanes.[4] The league's expansion into Calgary was met with skepticism, as the league had previously avoided Western Canada's largest markets of Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg, because all previous teams there repeatedly failed in each market against the NHL.[3] [edit] Controversial beginningsThe club selected its name and logo as an homage to local wrestler and patron Bret "The Hitman" Hart. The team's distinctive pink, grey and black jerseys were also modeled after Hart's ring attire.[5] The logo proved immensely popular and Hitmen merchandise sold well at many local retailers.[6] However, the name and logo were subject to heavy criticism from segments of the public and the business community, who panned both as negative stereotypes of violence within the sport.[7] Among the chief critics of the new logo was the Flames organization, who argued that they had received calls from concerned business people, who agreed the name and logo brought up connotations of violence.[8] Struggling to attract corporate sponsors, the Hitmen chose to scrap the "Jason Voorhees"-style logo in favour of an alternate "starburst" logo just two months after it was unveiled.[9] The club brought the original logo back in 1996.[10] The Hitmen entered their first season playing in the newly-formed Central Division, and were predicted to finish as high as third in the five-team division.[11] Instead, they finished as the second-worst regular season team in the league, finishing with an 18–51–3 record.[12] The Hitmen lost CAD$250,000 in their first season and saw their season ticket base halved to 700 for the 1996–97 season. The losses lead to questions about the viability of the club.[13] Citing personal reasons, James resigned as coach and general manager on September 5, 1996, stunning the organization.[14][15] Two days later, the Calgary Police Service revealed that James was being investigated on allegations he sexually abused two former players while he was with the Swift Current Broncos.[16] James was eventually charged, and in the month of January 1997, he plead guilty to two counts of sexual assault.[17] Upon James' conviction, and sentencing to 3½ years in prison, the Hitmen attempted to distance themselves from their former coach.[18] The Hitmen struggled on the ice as well, again missing the playoffs after falling to a record of 15–53–4.[19] The spectre of the Graham James scandal hurt the franchise.[2] The original investors, many of whom played for or were otherwise associated with James, sold the team to the Flames for approximately $1.5 million in June 1997.[20] It was widely speculated that the new owners would change the team name, possibly to the Junior Flames. The Hitmen name was nevertheless retained by the club, along with a new colour scheme and updated logo.[2] [edit] Western Hockey League ChampionshipDean Clark took over the club early the previous season as head coach, and led the 1997–98 Hitmen to a remarkable turnaround. The team improved to a 40–28–4 record and first place finish in the Central Division, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.[19] During the playoffs, the Hitmen defeated the Saskatoon Blades and Swift Current Broncos to reach the Eastern Conference final before falling to the Brandon Wheat Kings.[21] Clark was awarded the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy as WHL Coach of the Year as well as the Canadian Hockey League's Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award.[22] Calgary improved to 51–13–8 in 1998–99, finishing one point ahead of the Kamloops Blazers for the regular season title.[23] Led by Brad Moran, Pavel Brendl and goaltender Alexandre Fomitchev, the Hitmen lost just five games in the playoffs en route to their first President's Cup, at home, before a WHL playoff record crowd of 17,139.[23][24] The Hitmen became the first Calgary-based team to qualify for the Memorial Cup since the Calgary Canadians in 1926.[25] In the 1999 Memorial Cup, the Hitmen opened their tournament with a 5–3 victory over the Ontario Hockey League's Belleville Bulls, followed by a 4–3 loss to the host Ottawa 67's.[26] The Hitmen followed with a 3–1 win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.[27] Finishing atop the round robin standings, the Hitmen earned a bye into the championship game, and a rematch against the 67's.[28] The championship game was a back-and-forth affair. Ottawa held 4–1 and 6–5 leads, while Calgary led 5–4 at one point and tied the game late to send it to overtime.[29] The Hitmen fell short of winning the title however, as Ottawa's Matt Zultek won the game 1:58 into overtime.[30] Brendl and Matt Kinch were named to the Memorial Cup All-Star team.[31] The Hitmen entered the 1999–2000 season with a strong squad, along with expectations at making another run to a Memorial Cup.[29] The club finished the regular season with a record of 58–12–2–2, once again winning the regular season title.[32] The team set franchise records for victories (58) and points (120), which stood until the 2008–09 year.[19] After sweeping the Moose Jaw Warriors and Saskatoon Blades, the Hitmen were upset by the Kootenay Ice in the Eastern Conference final, falling four games to one.[32] [edit] Recent yearsEntering a rebuilding period, the Hitmen finished third or fourth in the Central Division between 2001 and 2004, winning only one playoff series during that time.[33] The Hitmen acquired goaltender Justin Pogge from the Prince George Cougars during the 2004–05 season.[34] Pogge's goaltending, along with the offensive leadership of forward Andrew Ladd,[35] saw the Hitmen win their first playoff series in four years.[19] They could not follow up on their victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes, however, losing their second round series against the Brandon Wheat Kings in seven games.[36] The Hitmen were heavily marketed by the Flames during the National Hockey League's 2004–05 lockout. As a result, the Hitmen averaged 10,062 fans per game and set a new league attendance record. The season total of 362,227 fans smashed the old record by over 45,000.[37] The Hitmen became the first Canadian Hockey League team to average over 10,000 fans per game, having the highest average attendance of any junior or professional team in North America that year.[38] The 2005–06 Hitmen battled the Medicine Hat Tigers for the top spot in the Western Hockey League for most of the season.[39] Calgary finished with 101 points, their best total since 1999–00, however, finishing two points behind Medicine Hat for the best record in the league.[40] The team again disappointed in the playoffs, falling to the Moose Jaw Warriors in the Eastern Conference semi-final.[40] Pogge's performance during the season earned him honours as both the WHL player of the year and CHL goaltender of the year.[41] Calgary fell to third in the Central Division in 2006–07.[19] In the playoffs, they upset the Kootenay Ice, who finished 19-points ahead of Calgary in the regular season. The Hitmen then defeated the East Division champion Brandon Wheat Kings to reach the Eastern Conference final for the fourth time in franchise history, where they were subsequently defeated by the Tigers.[42] The Hitmen entered the 2007–08 season with expectations of being strong contenders, voted the pre-season pick to finish atop the Eastern Conference by the league's coaches and general managers.[43] The team lived up to expectations, winning the Central Division, and finishing with the best record in the East for the first time since 2000.[44] During a late season game, Calgary broke the league's single-game attendance record, as an announced crowd of 19,305 watched Calgary defeat Kootenay by a score of 6 goals to 1.[45] In the playoffs, the Hitmen defeated the Moose Jaw Warriors and Swift Current Broncos in six games apiece, advancing to the Eastern Conference finals for the second consecutive season.[46] Following the graduation of several players, including Karl Alzner, who was named both WHL player of the year and CHL defenceman of the year, the 2008–09 Hitmen were expected to enter a rebuilding period. Instead, they captured the franchise's third Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the regular season champion, earning the top seed in the playoffs.[47] The team tied or broke 21 franchise records during the regular season, including wins (59), points (122) and goals for (334). Joel Broda led the league with 53 goals, while Brandon Kozun and Brett Sonne finished 2nd and 3rd in league scoring with 108 and 100 points respectively; it was only the second time in franchise history that two players topped the 100-point mark in the same season.[48] In the playoffs, the Hitmen won 12 straight games, sweeping the Oil Kings, Hurricanes and Wheat Kings to reach the WHL finals for the first time since 1999. In the finals, they were stunned by the Kelowna Rockets, losing the first three games of the series before winning the next two to extend the series to a sixth game.[49] The Hitmen lost game six in overtime, and the series 4–2, to end their season.[50] Sonne was named WHL Player of the Year, while General Manager Kelly Kisio was named Executive of the Year for the second time in recognition of the Hitmen's season.[51] [edit] Community impact 2005 teddy bear toss The Hitmen are active within the community, supporting numerous programs and charities. They host an annual teddy bear toss each December. The 13th annual Petro Canada Teddy Bear Toss, held on December 2, 2007, saw what the Hitmen claim to be a world record 26,919 bears tossed on to the ice by 17,341 fans.[52] The bears are donated to charities throughout the Calgary area. A few of the bears are personally delivered by the players to the Alberta Children's Hospital, an event highly anticipated by patients attending the hospital.[53] The Hitmen are also partners with the Calgary Board of Education and their Read On! Literacy for Life program. Author Sigmund Brouwer has released numerous young adult oriented mystery novels that centre around the team and fictitious Hitmen players.[54] The ninth book in the series, titled Hitmen Star, was published in 2008.[55] Copies of the books are distributed to sixth grade students throughout Calgary and southern Albertan schools; with Hitmen and former National Hockey League players helping to encourage students to take an active interest in reading.[54] [edit] Season-by-season recordNote: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
[edit] Players[edit] Current roster
[edit] NHL alumni Ryan Getzlaf played four seasons with the Hitmen between 2001–05. Thirty-six players have been selected from the Hitmen roster at the National Hockey League's entry drafts.[56] Of those, nine players were selected in the first round. The highest drafted players in club history were Pavel Brendl (1999) and Andrew Ladd (2004). Both players were selected fourth overall.[56] Four players were selected in the 2007 draft: Karl Alzner (5th overall to Washington), Alex Plante (15th overall to Edmonton), Brett Sonne (3rd round to St. Louis) and Carson McMillan (7th round to Minnesota).[57] Twenty-nine former Hitmen players have gone on to play in the National Hockey League.[58] The first was Ryan Bast, who played two games with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1998–99.[59] In the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, Ladd became the first Hitmen graduate to win the Cup, winning it along with fellow teammates of the Carolina Hurricanes.[60] The feat was repeated one year later by Ladd's former teammate, Ryan Getzlaf, who won it with the Anaheim Ducks.[61] One former player has had his number retired by the Hitmen. Brad Moran, the franchise's all-time leading scorer, had his number 20 retired in 2005.[62] [edit] Head coachesDean Clark has thus far been the most successful coach for the Calgary Hitmen. Clark coached 333 regular season games from October 1996 until the end of the 2000–01 season.[63] During that time, he was the most successful coach in terms of wins in the Western Hockey League, and was subsequently named the Canadian Hockey League's Coach of the Year in 1997–98.[64] Clark led the Hitmen to three division titles, two regular season titles, one league championship, and coached the Hitmen to their first Memorial Cup final.[65] Kelly Kisio is the team's former head coach from the 2004–05 season to the end of the 2007–08 season, a role he shared with Dean Evason in his first year at the helm of the Hitmen.[66] Kisio stepped down as coach in 2008, naming former assistant Dave Lowry, as head coach for the 2008–09 season.[67] Kisio has been the team's general manager since the beginning of the 1998–99 season.[68]
[edit] Club records
Hitmen "Wall of Fame", hanging above section 104 at the Pengrowth Saddledome Individual
Team
[edit] Awards and honours Carson McMillan and Kyle Bortis accept the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the 2008–09 regular season champions. The Calgary Hitmen have captured numerous awards during the franchise's history.[41] Hitmen players have been named the WHL's most outstanding player twice in the past three seasons. Defenceman Karl Alzner won the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy in 2007–08 along with being named the defenceman of the year,[69] while goaltender Justin Pogge was named player and goaltender of the year in 2005–06.[70] Pogge was also named the top goaltender in the nation by the Canadian Hockey League.[41] As a whole, the Hitmen have won the Eastern Division five times,[19] and three times have been the regular season champions of the Western Hockey League.[41] President's Cup Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy Central Division titles Four Broncos Memorial Trophy Bob Clarke Trophy Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy Brad Hornung Trophy Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy Del Wilson Trophy Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy WHL Plus-Minus Award
St. Clair Group Trophy [edit] Notes
[edit] See also[edit] References
[edit] External links
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