The Las Vegas Thunderbirds are a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

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

United States Premier Hockey League The United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is an American ice hockey league. Founded in 2012, the USPHL has grown to over 60 organizations from across the United States fielding teams in the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC), ...

(USPHL). The Thunderbirds play their home games at City National Arena.

History

The Las Vegas Thunderbirds were announced by the

Western States Hockey League The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union. Previously, it was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 199 ...

(WSHL) as an expansion team on February 14, 2019. They began play in the 2019–20 season. Team ownership includes Corey St. Germain, while its president is former

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 ...

player John Marks. A first-round selection (ninth overall) in the

1968 NHL Entry Draft The 1968 NHL Amateur Draft was the sixth NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Selections by round Below are listed the selections in the 1968 NHL amateur draft. Round one ;Notes # The Oakland Seals ...

by the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

, Marks has coached at the junior level as well as professional hockey. He retired from coaching in 2015 after four seasons leading the

Fargo Force The Fargo Force is a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Force have won one league championship in 2018 and was awarded USHL Organization of the Year for 2008–09 and 2012–13. ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

. In 2020, the Thunderbirds left the WSHL after one season and joined another independent junior hockey league, the

(USPHL), at the Premier (Tier III) level.

Season-by-season records

References

External links

Las Vegas Thunderbirds website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sports In Las Vegas Sports in the Las Vegas Valley Sports teams in Las Vegas Ice hockey teams in Nevada Ice hockey clubs established in 2019 2019 establishments in Nevada