The Las Vegas Thunder 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 competing in the International Hockey League. The team's home rink was at the

Thomas & Mack Center The Thomas & Mack Center is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada. It is home of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team of the Mountain West Conference. History The facility was fi ...

. They began play in the 1993–1994 season, folding on April 18, 1999. The demise of the franchise was precipitated by the refusal of

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

officials to negotiate with team owners regarding a new agreement to continue playing at the Thomas & Mack Center after the 1998–1999 season. Without a facility that was suitable even for temporary use, the Thunder were forced to shut down.

History

The Thunder made a strong showing in their first season, finishing with the best record in the league: 115 points and a 52–18–11 record. They topped that performance in 1995–1996 when they again finished with the league's best record (122 points, 57–17–8). The Thunder lost in the conference finals that season. Throughout the team's history they garnered player development deals with the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

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 ...

, the ECHL's

Knoxville Cherokees The Knoxville Cherokees were an East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. History The franchise was formed in 1988 along with the ECHL. The team moved to Florence, South Carolina in 1997 and was renamed the Pee Dee Prid ...

and

Mississippi Sea Wolves The Mississippi Sea Wolves are a professional hockey team based in Biloxi, Mississippi, and play in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The Sea Wolves are members of the FPHL. They are a revival of a team by the same name that played in the ECHL, ma ...

and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

side

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Hockey Club Lokomotiv (russian: ХК Локомотив, en, Locomotive HC), also known as Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, is a Russian professional ice hockey team, based in the city of Yaroslavl, playing in the top level Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) ...

. The Thunder's main rivals included the Denver/Utah Grizzlies, Los Angeles/Long Beach Ice Dogs,

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play th ...

, and Phoenix Roadrunners. These rivalries later saw a rebirth 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 ...

with the

Las Vegas Wranglers The Las Vegas Wranglers were a professional ice hockey team based in Las Vegas Valley. The Wranglers were members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League). The Wranglers were founded a ...

. The team's mascot was "Boom-Boom", a polar bear. The franchise was replaced by: *

of the

(2003–2015) *

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expan ...

of the

(2017–present) The Golden Knights later acknowledged their Thunder predecessors by basing their 2020–21 Reverse Retro jerseys off of the Thunder's "V-stripe" pattern.

Notable alumni

Brent Ashton Brent Kenneth Ashton (born May 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League between 1979 and 1993. Despite being a fine goalscoring winger, he was known during his career f ...

Radek Bonk Radek Bonk (born 9 January 1976) is a former Czech professional ice hockey player who most recently played for Oceláři Třinec of the Czech Extraliga. Playing career Bonk was born in Czechoslovakia and began his hockey career playing for Sl ...

Ilya Byakin Ilya Vladimirovich Byakin (russian: Илъя Владимирович Бякин; born February 2, 1963 in Sverdlovsk, Soviet Union) is a retired ice hockey player who played in the Soviet Hockey League and National Hockey League. He played for ...

Pavol Demitra Pavol Demitra (; 29 November 1974 – 7 September 2011) was a Slovak professional ice hockey player. He played nineteen seasons of professional hockey, for teams in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League (CSL), National Hockey League (NHL), S ...

* /

Paul DiPietro Paul Anthony DiPietro (born September 8, 1970) is a Canadian-born Swiss former professional ice hockey player. A Stanley Cup champion with the Montreal Canadiens, he played forward and made the roster for the Swiss national ice hockey team at ...

Bryan Fogarty Bryan Charles Fogarty (June 11, 1969 – March 6, 2002) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played for the Quebec Nordiques, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens. A great star in the junior leagues and a high draft choice in the N ...

Brent Gretzky Brent Gretzky (born February 20, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, and the brother of Wayne and Keith Gretzky. He briefly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Playing career Gretzky wa ...

Glen Gulutzan Glen Gulutzan (born August 12, 1971) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently an assistant coach for the Edmonton Oilers. Playing career Gulutzan played junior hockey with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Brandon Wheat Kings and ...

* Alex Hicks *

Greg Hawgood Gregory William Hawgood (born August 10, 1968) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, Pittsb ...

Peter Ing Peter A. Ing (born April 28, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 74 games in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, and Detroit Red Wings between 1989 and 1993. Biography I ...

Curtis Joseph Curtis Shayne Joseph (né Munro; born April 29, 1967) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional player. Nicknamed "Cujo", Joseph was immediately recognizable on the ice for his masks featuring a snarling dog, drawing inspiration fro ...

* / Andre Sioui * Jim Kyte * /

Patrice Lefebvre Patrice Lefebvre (born June 28, 1967) is a Canadian-born Italian former ice hockey player. Lefebvre played three games in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals during the 1998–99 NHL season. Biography Lefebvre was born in Mont ...

Clint Malarchuk Clint Malarchuk (born May 1, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1981 and 1992. He has been a coach for four NHL teams and two minor league teams, most recently the C ...

Wes McCauley Wes McCauley (born January 11, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current National Hockey League (NHL) referee. He is the son of John McCauley, who was also an NHL referee, and his wife Irene. A defenceman during his p ...

* / Petr Nedved *

Michel Petit Michel Petit (born February 12, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from the 1982–83 NHL season to the 1998–99 NHL season. Upon his retirement Petit had played for a then- ...

* Manon Rhéaume *

Pokey Reddick Eldon Wade "Pokey" Reddick (born October 6, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League from 1986–87 to 1993–94. Playing career As a youth, Reddick played in the 1977 Quebec International Pee ...

Ruslan Salei Ruslan Albertovich Salei ( Belarusian: Руслан Альбертавіч Салей; Russian: Руслан Альбертович Салей; November 2, 1974 – September 7, 2011) was a Belarusian professional ice hockey player. Salei pla ...

Alexei Yashin Alexei Valeryevich Yashin (russian: Алексей Валерьевич Яшин; born 5 November 1973) is a Russian former professional ice hockey centre who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators and New ...

Sergei Zholtok Sergei Zholtok, who was also known as Sergejs Žoltoks (December 2, 1972 – November 3, 2004) was a Latvians, Latvian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston B ...

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes''

Head coaches

Butch Goring Robert Thomas "Butch" Goring (born October 22, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders and Boston Bruins. He is a four- ...

1993–94 * Chris McSorley 1995–98 *

1998–99

Honors

:Division Titles : 2 – 1994, 1996 :Turner Cups : 0 :Regular Season Titles : 2 – 1994, 1996

External links

The Internet Hockey Database - Las Vegas Thunder
{{IHL (1945–2001) International Hockey League (1945–2001) teams Sports teams in Las Vegas Ice hockey teams in Nevada Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Ice hockey clubs established in 1993 Sports clubs disestablished in 1999 Thomas & Mack Center 1993 establishments in Nevada 1999 disestablishments in Nevada Arizona Coyotes minor league affiliates