The Danbury Whalers were a minor league professional

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 the

Federal Hockey League The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. D ...

that began play in the 2010–11 season. Based in

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

, the Whalers played at the Danbury Ice Arena, located in CityCenter Danbury. Their name comes from the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to 19 ...

, who were a professional ice hockey team based in Connecticut and played in Hartford from 1975 to 1997 before relocating to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and S ...

as the

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, ...

. Until the 2014–15 season, the Danbury Whalers were an affiliate of the

Evansville IceMen The Evansville IceMen were a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL in Evansville, Indiana. The franchise was originally a member of the United Hockey League before it merged into the Central Hockey League in 2010. The franchise has won four po ...

of the ECHL.

History

On March 22, 2013, the Whalers won their first FHL Commissioner's Cup Title by sweeping the

Dayton Demonz The Dayton Demonz were a professional ice hockey team based in Dayton, Ohio, in the Federal Hockey League. After the Dayton Gems of the Central Hockey League ceased operations, the Demonz were created as an expansion team in the FHL. The team pl ...

in front of a home standing-room only crowd of 3,116 fans. On April 3, 2015, the Danbury Ice Arena announced that it did not want to renew its contract with the Danbury Whalers and gave them a notice to evict by April 17, leaving the team homeless. Prior to their eviction, the Whalers led the FHL home attendance for the league's first five seasons. On June 3, 2015, due to the eviction of the Danbury Whalers, the Federal Hockey League announced a new team based in

Brewster, New York Brewster is a village and the principal settlement within the town of Southeast in Putnam County, New York. Its population was 2,390 at the time of the 2010 census. The village, which is the most densely populated portion of the county, was nam ...

, to be called the Stateline Whalers, and would play at the Brewster Ice Arena under former Danbury Whalers CEO and managing partner, Herm Sorcher. The team was announced as being owned by Barry Soskin, who also owns the

Port Huron Prowlers The Port Huron Prowlers are a minor professional ice hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Port Huron, Michigan, the Prowlers play their home games at the McMorran Arena. History T ...

, the

Danville Dashers The Danville Dashers were a semi-professional ice hockey team that played in Danville, Illinois Danville is a city in and the county seat of Vermilion County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 33,027. As of 2019, the popul ...

, and the former

. The Danbury Whalers were officially considered to be on hiatus for the season by the FHL, but gave up their naming and territorial rights to Brewster. On June 27, it was reported that the FHL had approved of a new team in Danbury, Connecticut, to replace the departed Whalers. Local businessmen, Bruce Bennett and Edward Crowe were announced as the ownership group. Bennett would announce the new team as the

Danbury Titans The Danbury Titans were a professional ice hockey team based in Danbury, Connecticut. Replacing the Danbury Whalers, the team was founded as an expansion team in the Federal Hockey League. They played their home games at the Danbury Ice Arena. ...

and had signed a six-year lease to play at the Danbury Ice Arena. On July 15, during the team's inaugural booster club meeting, Danbury Titans ownership confirmed that the league had re-organized and they will own the new Brewster team (formerly announced as the Stateline Whalers); Barry Soskin will continue to own the Danville Dashers and Port Huron Prowlers but no longer be involved in Brewster. On July 18, Bennett announced the team would be called the Brewster Bulldogs and would have no connection to the former Whalers franchise.

Season-by-season record

References

External links

News-Times article announcing Whalers' entry
Federal Prospects Hockey League teams Danbury, Connecticut Ice hockey teams in Connecticut Ice hockey clubs established in 2010 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2015 Sports in Fairfield County, Connecticut {{Connecticut-sport-team-stub

History

Season-by-season record

See also

References

External links