The Charlotte Checkers were an American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, and played in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

(formerly the East Coast Hockey League).

Franchise history

Following a 17-year break from ice hockey, the Checkers returned in 1993 and made the playoffs ten times, including winning the ECHL Championship in 1996. The Checkers franchise was founded in 1993, and was owned by a consortium headed by local auto dealer and

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

team owner

Felix Sabates Feliciano Sergio "Félix" Sabates Jr. (born September 9, 1945) is a retired Cuban-born entrepreneur and philanthropist living in the United States. He is currently a partner in Chip Ganassi Racing teams, which formerly fielded teams in the NASCA ...

, with former

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

president Carl Scheer and NASCAR drivers

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

and

Kyle Petty Kyle Eugene Petty (born June 2, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver, and current racing commentator. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of racer Adam Petty, who was killed in a crash dur ...

among the minority partners. They played in the old Charlotte Coliseum, which was heavily renovated and renamed Independence Arena. Soon after winning the

Jack Riley Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...

in 1996, Sabates sold controlling interest minority partner Tim Braswell, who claimed he could make the team more popular. However, in a case of exceptionally bad timing, this came just as the NFL's

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

were due to open their new downtown stadium. The team's popularity faded, forcing Braswell to sell the Checkers to Hornets owners

George Shinn George Shinn (born May 11, 1941) is the former owner of the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, as well as the Charlotte Knights and Gastonia Rangers minor league baseball teams, along with the Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks, of the World League of Americ ...

and Ray Wooldrige in 2000 for $3 million. However, Shinn and Wooldridge were unable to revive the team at the gate, forcing them to sell the team back to Sabates and Scheer for $500,000. By comparison, Sabates had sold the team in 1996 for $5 million. The Checkers played at the old coliseum, which was later renamed Cricket Arena, until 2005 when they moved to

Time Warner Cable Arena Spectrum Center is an indoor arena located in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. It is owned by the city of Charlotte and operated by its main tenant, the NBA's Charlotte Hornets. The arena seats 19,077 for NBA games but can be expanded to 20, ...

in downtown Charlotte. The team set their all-time attendance record of 12,398 on February 21, 2009 in a 5-2 win against the

Florida Everblades The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida, in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. They play in the ECHL and are affiliated with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (N ...

. Their previous record was 11,237 in a loss against the

Texas Wildcatters The Texas Wildcatters, who took their name from Texas wildcatters, were a professional minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Beaumont, Texas. They played their home games at the Ford Arena. The franchise previously played in Huntin ...

in February 2007. On January 21, 2010, it was reported that Michael Kahn, who had bought the team from Sabates and Scheer in 2006, was in talks to buy the

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Without a viable indoor arena with a ...

, the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

affiliate of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

. On February 10, the sale of the River Rats to Kahn was confirmed. Kahn then moved the Rats to Charlotte and changed their name to the

Checkers Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; British English), is a group of strategy board games for two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform game pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over opponent pieces. Checkers ...

starting with the 2010–11 season. As a result of this, Kahn returned the Checkers ECHL franchise to the ECHL at the end of the

2009–10 ECHL season The 2009–10 ECHL season was the List of ECHL seasons, 22nd season of the ECHL. It ran from October, 2009 until April, 2010, followed by the 2010 Kelly Cup playoffs, Kelly Cup playoffs which lasted until May 21, 2010 as the Cincinnati Cyclones w ...

, ending the franchise's ECHL history.

Season-by-season record

Records as of 2009–10 season. ''Notes: There were no conferences in the ECHL prior to the 1997–98 season. Games tied at end of regulation went directly to shootout from 1995–2000''

Playoffs

*1993–94: Lost to

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

2-1 in first round. *1994–95: Lost to

3-0 in first round. *1995–96: Defeated Roanoke 3-0 in first round; defeated

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

3-2 in quarterfinals; defeated

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

3-1 in semifinals; defeated

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

4-0 to win championship. *1996–97: Lost to

3-0 in first round. *1997–98: Defeated

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

3-1 in first round; lost to

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

3-0 in quarterfinals. *1998–99: Did not qualify. *1999–00: Did not qualify. *2000–01: Lost to

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

3-2 in first round. *2001–02: Lost to

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

3-2 in first round. *2002–03: Did not qualify. *2003–04: Did not qualify. *2004–05: Defeated Columbia 3-2 in first round; defeated

Gwinnett Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulton ...

3-1 in quarterfinals; lost to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

4-2 in semifinals. *2005–06: Lost to

2-1 in first round. *2006–07: Lost to

3-0 in first round. *2007–08: Lost to

3-0 in first round. *2008–09: Lost to

4-2 in first round. *2009–10: Defeated Toledo 3-1 in first round; lost to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

4-2 in quarterfinals.

Team records

Single season

:Goals: 48

Sergei Berdnikov Sergei Pavlovich Berdnikov (russian: Серге́й Павлович Бердников; born January 5, 1971, in Bratsk, USSR), is a Russian former ice hockey player. He played for Avangard Omsk Hockey Club Avangard (russian: ХК Аванг� ...

(1993–94) :Assists: 61

Matt Robbins Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

(1994–95), Scott King (2000–01), Kevin Hilton (2000–01) :Points: 101 Scott King (2000–01) :Penalty Minutes: 352

Eric Boulton Eric Boulton (born August 17, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. Boulton was drafted 234th overall in the ninth round of the 1994 draft by the New York Rangers. While he never played for the Rangers, he played for t ...

(1996–97) :GAA: 2.43 Scott Meyer (2003–04) :SV%: .923 Scott Meyer (2003–04), Jeff Jakaitis (2008–09), :Wins: 32

Nick Vitucci Nick Vitucci (born June 16, 1967) is a former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was the head coach of the ECHL's Toledo Walleye from 2009 to 2014. In 2008, Vitucci was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame. Playing career During his playin ...

(1995–96) :Shutouts: 3 Scott Meyer (2003–04), Alex Westlund (2006–07) *Goaltending records need a minimum 25 games played by the goaltender , text_color = white , bg_color = #6495ED , team = Charlotte Checkers

Career

:Career Goals: 174

Darryl Noren Darryl is an English name, a variant spelling of Darell. Male variations of this name include: Darlin, Daryl, Darrell, Darryl, Daryll, Darryll, Darrell, Darrel. Female and unisex variations of this name include: Daryl, Darian, Dareen, Darell ...

:Career Assists: 229 Darryl Noren :Career Points: 403 Darryl Noren :Career Penalty Minutes: 213 Steve MacIntyre

Notable players

* Scott Bailey *

Eric Cairns Eric Cairns (born June 27, 1974) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman and current director of player development for the New York Islanders. His last season (2006) was with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL. Playing career Drafted in the ...

Daniel Girardi Daniel Girardi (born April 29, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Undrafted, Girardi played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning as a stay-at-home defenseman ...

* Chris Holt * Dusty Jamieson *

Antti Laaksonen Antti Akseli Laaksonen (born October 3, 1973) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey left winger who last played for the Lukko of the SM-Liiga. Antti had a seven-year NHL career, mostly as a third line wing and penalty killer for the Boston ...

Jason LaBarbera Antonio Jason LaBarbera (born January 18, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played parts of 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally drafted by the New York Rangers in the 1998 NHL Entry ...

* Steve MacIntyre *

* David Oliver *

Paxton Schafer Paxton Schafer (born February 26, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Schafer was drafted 47th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft and played three games for them during the 1996–97 season. The r ...

* Rob Tallas *

Shawn Wheeler Shawn Wheeler (born June 8, 1966) is a retired professional ice hockey forward and coach. He was born in Mount Vernon, New York. Wheeler played college hockey at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where he helped lead the Pointers in ...

* Derek Wilkinson *

Peter Worrell Peter J. Worrell (born August 18, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Worrell played seven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Florida Panthers and the Colorado Avalanche. During that time he was considered ...

* Joe Zappala

Retired numbers

*4 – Kurt Seher

References

External links

Charlotte Checkers Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte Checkers (1993-2010) 1993 establishments in North Carolina 2010 disestablishments in North Carolina Charlotte Checkers Defunct ECHL teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1993 Ice hockey teams in North Carolina Sports clubs disestablished in 2010 Boston Bruins minor league affiliates Colorado Avalanche minor league affiliates Ottawa Senators minor league affiliates