The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

. A member of 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 ...

's Western Conference, Central Division, they play in the 5,113-seat

Wings Event Center Wings Event Center (formerly Wings Stadium) is a 5,113-seat multi-purpose arena located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The arena, opened in 1974, is home to the Kalamazoo Wings, an ice hockey team in the ECHL. The stadium changed the name to the Wing ...

. They are the affiliate of the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

of the

National Hockey League 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 ...

, and the

Cleveland Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hock ...

of 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 ...

. Kalamazoo is home to the "Green Ice Game". Played since 1982 on St. Patrick's Day, it is one of the most celebrated games in

minor league hockey Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

. The team has sought to duplicate the game's success with the Pink Ice Game (Valentine's Day), the Orange Ice Game (Halloween), the Lavender Ice game (Hockey Fights Cancer) and the Rainbow Ice game (Pride Night).

History

The team began in the 1999–2000 season as the

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...

Madison Kodiaks The Madison Kodiaks were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Madison, Wisconsin, during the 1999–2000 United Hockey League season. Affiliated with the AHL Milwaukee Admirals, the Kodiaks were an expansion team that filled the void ...

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. After one season in Madison, the franchise moved to Kalamazoo, where it renamed itself the Wings in honor of the original Wings that had played in the International Hockey League from 1974 through 2000. The new Wings obtained the right to use the old Wings' name and logo, as well as using the original team's history as its own. The K-Wings played in the UHL from October 2000 until June 1, 2009, when they withdrew because of concerns that the league, which had renamed itself the International Hockey League in 2007, might go bankrupt. Eight days later, the K-Wings joined the ECHL. From September 13, 2012 until the end of the 2014–15 season, the Wings had an affiliation with the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

. They were also affiliated with the

and

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

as well as their AHL affiliates the

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a former ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ar ...

and

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated wit ...

, respectively. Prior to the 2015–16 season, the ECHL required teams to only have one official NHL/AHL affiliate, leading to the K-Wings only keeping their Columbus affiliation and the Blue Jackets' new AHL affiliate, the

Lake Erie Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hock ...

. They ended their affiliation with the Blue Jackets after one season and affiliated with the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

and

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...

for the 2016–17 season. They changed again for the 2017–18 season to the Canucks and Comets, their previous affiliates for several seasons. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the Wings voluntarily suspended operations for the

2020–21 ECHL season The 2020–21 ECHL season was the 33rd season of the ECHL. Due to the ongoing restrictions in the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the regular season was pushed back to December 11, 2020. The Fort Wayne Komets were the Kelly Cup champions, defeat ...

. When the team returned for the 2021–22 season, they switched their affiliation back to the

. On June 23, 2022, the Wings signed an affiliation extension with the Blue Jackets (and therefore the

also) for the 2022-23 season

Season records

Players

Current roster

Updated November 23, 2022.

Retired numbers

* #1 Georges Gagnon * #13 Tyler Willis * #22 Mike Wanchuk * #26

Kevin Schamehorn Kevin Dean Schamehorn (July 28, 1956 – December 8, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger. He played in 10 National Hockey League games with the Detroit Red Wings and the Los Angeles Kings between 1976 and 1980. The rest of h ...

* #27 Neil Meadmore

Team records

Single season

:Goals: 46 Nick Bootland (2007–08) :Assists: 70 Daniel Carriere (2005–06) :Points: 94

Kory Karlander Kory Karlander (born March 21, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who most notably played for the Kalamazoo Wings in the ECHL. In his 17th season as a professional hockey player, at the age of 39, Karlander was named to th ...

(2007–08) :Penalty minutes: 344 Tyler Willis (2003–04) :GAA: 2.02

Ryan Nie Ryan Nie (born April 15, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Career Nie started his professional career with the Kalamazoo Wings of the UHL, signing with the team prior to the 2006-07 season as a backup to former long ...

(2006–07) :SV%: .929

(2006–07)

Career

:Career games played: 614 Justin Taylor (2010–22) :Career goals: 237 Justin Taylor (2010–22) :Career assists: 263

(2004–13) :Career points: 457 Justin Taylor (2010–22) :Career penalty minutes: 1,463 Tyler Willis (2003–10) :Career goaltending games played: 422

Joel Martin Joel Martin (born April 22, 1982) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently the Head Coach of the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL. Playing career Junior Martin played for the Western Hockey League from 2000–03, wh ...

(2004-18) :Career goaltending wins: 152

(2004–18) :Career shutouts: 18

(2004–18)

References

External links

Kalamazoo Wings Official Website
{{Michigan Sports ECHL teams Professional ice hockey teams in Michigan Ice hockey clubs established in 1999 Sports in Kalamazoo, Michigan Philadelphia Flyers minor league affiliates Columbus Blue Jackets minor league affiliates Vancouver Canucks minor league affiliates San Jose Sharks minor league affiliates New York Islanders minor league affiliates Tampa Bay Lightning minor league affiliates 1999 establishments in Wisconsin