The Hampton Roads Admirals were a 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 East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). They played in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

at the

Norfolk Scope Norfolk Scope is a multi-function complex in Norfolk, Virginia, comprising an 11,000-person arena, a 2,500-person theater known as Chrysler Hall, a exhibition hall and a 600-car parking garage. The arena was designed by Italian architect/engin ...

Arena from 1989 until 2000, when the owners purchased an expansion

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 ...

franchise that became the

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: * Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hock ...

. In 2015, the AHL Admirals were relocated and the ECHL returned to Norfolk with the current Norfolk Admirals.

Expansion

One-time

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

and

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

executive Blake Cullen was looking to expand into the Norfolk area for hockey. He arranged an exhibition game between the

Virginia Lancers The Virginia Lancers were a minor league hockey team that played in several leagues from 1983 until 1990. Their home ice was the Vinton Sports Complex, which held 3400 people. Atlantic Coast Hockey League (1983–1987) The Virginia Lancers w ...

and the

Carolina Thunderbirds The Carolina Thunderbirds were a professional ice hockey team located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The Thunderbirds played their home games at the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum before the arena was demolished in 1989. ...

(originally listed as the Carolina Cougars) to take place at the

. Cullen said that he "would be happy with 3,000 fans and 4,000 or more would be very encouraging. " The game, played on a Wednesday night between a fourth and fifth place team, drew over 6,200 fans. Because of the turnout, the ECHL was willing to offer Cullen a new franchise for free. However, when a group of five businessmen offered the league $25,000 for territorial rights, Commissioner Pat Kelly told Cullen that he "was a man of his word" and offered the franchise to him for the same price, in which Cullen accepted. A naming contest would be held in the summer of 1989. Bettie Ann denDekker would win the contest with the name "Admirals".

Inaugural Season

The Hampton Roads Admirals were introduced for the 1989-90 season and developed a rivalry with the

Vinton, Virginia Vinton is a town in Roanoke County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,059 at the 2020 census. Vinton is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Roanoke Region of Virginia. History By the late 18th century, settlers ...

throughout the season. The Admirals provided "attention and credibility to the ECHL by drawing an average of 5,885 fans in their inaugural season. Until the Admirals joined the league, owners considered 2,000 fans to be "a good crowd. They would make the post-season in their first season, going 29-29-2 before losing to the

Erie Panthers The Erie Panthers were a professional ice hockey team, and one of the founding members in the ECHL, East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 1988 to 1996, they were one of the most prolific teams in the ECHL. The Panther ...

three games to two in a five game series of the opening round of the Riley Cup playoffs. The credibility also caught the attention of two

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 ...

teams: the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

and the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

. Detroit agreed to send eight prospects, while the

agreed to sending a goaltender and an unspecified number of players.

Championships

The Admirals were the flagship franchise of the ECHL, having won 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 ...

s in 1991 and 1992, and the Patrick J. Kelly Cup in 1998. The three championships won by the franchise is matched only by the South Carolina Stingrays and Alaska Aces. Two years later, the Admirals moved up to the

(AHL).

Season-by-season record

Playoffs

*1989–90: Lost to

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

3-2 in quarterfinals. *1990–91: Defeated

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

3-1 in quarterfinals; defeated Johnstown 4-1 in semifinals; defeated

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 ...

4-1 to win championship. *1991–92: Defeated

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

3-1 in first round; defeated

2-0 in quarterfinals; defeated

3-1 in semifinals; defeated

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

4-0 to win championship. *1992–93: Lost to

3-1 in quarterfinals. *1993–94: 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 = ...

2-1 in first round; lost to Wheeling 3-1 in quarterfinals. *1994–95: Lost to

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 first round. *1995–96: Lost to

3-0 in first round. *1996–97: Defeated Roanoke 3-1 in first round; lost to

3-2 in quarterfinals. *1997–98: Defeated Peoria 3-0 in first round; defeated Roanoke 3-2 in quarterfinals; defeated Wheeling 4-2 in semifinals; defeated

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 ...

4-2 to win championship. *1998–99: Lost to

3-1 in first round. *1999–00: Defeated Huntington 3-2 in first round; lost to Trenton 3-2 in quarterfinals.

Team records

Notable players

Serge Aubin Serge D. Aubin (born February 15, 1975) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey centre who played 374 games in the National Hockey League for the Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets and Atlanta Thrashers. He is c ...

Byron Dafoe Byron Dafoe (born February 25, 1971) is a British-Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was born in Worthing, England, United Kingdom and moved to Comox, British Columbia with his mother at the age of two months. Between 199 ...

* Aaron Downey *

Olaf Kolzig Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...

* Patrick Lalime * Jan Lasak * Stephen Valiquette

References

External links

The Internet Hockey Database - Hampton Roads Admirals
{{ECHLdefunct Defunct ECHL teams Ice hockey teams in Virginia Sports in Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk Admirals Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States 1989 establishments in Virginia 2000 disestablishments in Virginia Ice hockey clubs established in 1989 Sports clubs disestablished in 2000 Nashville Predators minor league affiliates Washington Capitals minor league affiliates