Worcester Railers HC
| Worcester Railers HC | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Worcester, Massachusetts |
| League | ECHL |
| Conference | Eastern Conference |
| Division | TBD |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Home arena | DCU Center |
| Colors |
Steel Blue, Gray, White |
| Owner(s) | Worcester Pro Hockey, LLC (Cliff Rucker, Owner) |
| General manager | Jamie Russell |
| Head coach | Jamie Russell |
| Media | Telegram & Gazette |
| Franchise history | |
| 2017– | Worcester Railers HC |
Worcester Railers HC are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL announced to begin play for the 2017–18 season. Based in Worcester, Massachusetts, the team will play their home games at the DCU Center.
The team replaces the AHL's Worcester Sharks, who relocated to San Jose, California, in 2015 to become the San Jose Barracuda.
History
On January 26, 2015, it was reported that the Worcester Sharks would move to San Jose and share SAP Center at San Jose with their parent club, the San Jose Sharks. These reports were confirmed with the Sharks' official announcement on January 29.[1] Worcester did not initially receive an ECHL team to replace the relocated AHL team, unlike the other markets with relocated AHL teams in 2015, such as Manchester, NH, Norfolk, VA and Glens Falls, NY.
On February 8, 2016, the ECHL announced that Worcester would be home to an expansion team, set to begin play for the 2017–18 season. The team is owned by Cliff Rucker, with Toby O'Brien initially serving as president and general manager (although O'Brien would leave in May 2016 for an NHL job and replaced by former Worcester Sharks executive, Mike Myers, as president). The team will be the ECHL's first franchise in Massachusetts and second in New England, following the Manchester Monarchs. Early reports indicated that ownership group was considering Whitehawks, Railers, and Blast as the name of the team.[2] The team unveiled their name and logo on April 3.[3] On September 12, 2016, Jamie Russell was announced as the team's first head coach and general manager.[4] He had served as head coach of the Elmira Jackals from 2014 to 2016.
This market was previously served by:
- Worcester Warriors (1954–1956) - members of the Eastern Hockey League (1954–55) and Atlantic Hockey League (1955–56).
- Worcester IceCats (1994–2005) - affiliated with the St. Louis Blues.
- Worcester Sharks (2006–2015) - affiliated with the San Jose Sharks.
References
- ↑ "Sharks Moving AHL Franchise to SAP Center". San Jose Sharks. January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
- ↑ Nicodemus, Aaron (February 14, 2016). "On Business: Hockey team names for land of the worm, home of the brave". Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ↑ "Introducing the Worcester Railers professional hockey team". Worcester Magazine. April 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Worcester Railers name Jamie Russell coach and GM". Telegram & Gazette. September 12, 2016.
External links
- Worcester Railers HC (Official website)
