The Milwaukee Admirals are 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 ...

team in 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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

(AHL). They play in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

. The team has been playing since 1970, originally as an amateur team called the Milwaukee Wings, but were renamed as the Admirals after their first season. They played an independent schedule until joining the semiprofessional

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 stric ...

(USHL) in 1973. In 1977, the Admirals joined the International Hockey League (IHL) when the USHL transitioned to a

junior league The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (Junior League or JL) is a private, nonprofit educational women's volunteer organization aimed at improving communities and the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society. With ...

. When the IHL ceased operations in 2001, the Admirals joined the AHL.

History

Independent era

The Admirals first took to the ice in the winter of 1970 as an amateur club known as the Milwaukee Wings. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Citizens Benefit Association, they lost their first game on January 25 when the Madison All-Stars beat them 17–7. They got their first win five days later when they defeated the Milwaukee Winter Club 10–8. They finished the season with 8 wins and 7 loses. The next year the team was sold by the original owner Reed Fansher to a group of investors. One of the investors, Erwin J. Merar, owned an appliance store and the team was renamed the "Admirals" after a brand of household appliances sold in Merar's store.

United States Hockey League era

Beginning with the 1973– 74 season the Admirals joined the

. Their first season in a league was not particularly successful as they ended the season in last place in their division. They won only 11 games, lost 35, and tied two games that season. The Admirals won the USHL league championship in 1976, winning seven straight games in the league's playoffs. In the off-season, the team was purchased by former

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 Divisio ...

announcer Lloyd Pettit and his wife, Jane Bradley Pettit.

International Hockey League era

For the

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

– 78 season the Admirals joined the International Hockey League as the USHL was becoming a strictly amateur league. The Admirals appeared in the IHL's Turner Cup finals only once ( 1983), where they lost to Toledo in six games.

American Hockey League era

The Admirals, along with five other IHL franchises, joined the

for the

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

– 02 season when the IHL ceased operations. The team was allowed to keep their nickname despite the presence of 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 hocke ...

in the AHL, as Milwaukee had used the nickname since 1970, well before the Norfolk team was established as the

Hampton Roads Admirals The Hampton Roads Admirals were a professional ice hockey team in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). They played in Norfolk, Virginia at the Norfolk Scope Arena from 1989 until 2000, when the owners purchased an expansion American Hockey Le ...

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 ...

. In the 2015–16 season, Norfolk moved to the AHL's Pacific Division as the fourth incarnation of the

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 ...

They won their first Calder Cup in 2004 when they defeated the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barr ...

. Prior to the finals, Milwaukee needed seven games to defeat the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in the first round. Then the Admirals defeated 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 ...

in six games to advance to the conference finals. The Admirals then eliminated the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

four games to one. Milwaukee went on to sweep the

to win the Calder Cup. The Admirals completed a rare postseason run in which they needed one fewer game to eliminate their opponents in each subsequent series. The Admirals were purchased in June 2005 by a group of investors, led by Harris J. Turer, including

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

owner Mark Attanasio, assistant general manager

Gord Ash Gordon Ian Ash (born December 20, 1951) is Vice President of Baseball Projects of the Milwaukee Brewers. He left his role as assistant general manager with Milwaukee in 2015. He was the general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays from 1995 to 2001. ...

, and pitcher

Ben Sheets Ben Michael Sheets (born July 18, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. Sheets is a four-time MLB All-Star (2001, 2004, 20 ...

. The Brewers subsequently became the sole uniform sponsor of the Admirals, and the Admirals wear a Brewers logo patch on their sweaters. The Admirals won their second division title as a member of the American Hockey League in 2006, clinching the title on the last day of their schedule with a win over the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Leag ...

. In the 2006 Calder Cup playoffs after narrowly winning a seven-game playoff series over the

Iowa Stars The Iowa Stars, later known as the Iowa Chops, were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The club was based in Des Moines, Iowa at the Wells Fargo Arena. History The Stars were founded by Howard Baldwin, of Hockey Holdi ...

, Milwaukee swept both the Houston Aeros and

to advance to their second Calder Cup final series. To their disappointment, the Admirals would lose in six games to the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...

. On August 1, 2006, the Admirals unveiled a new logo and a change in color scheme from the traditional red-and-blue to black, white, and light blue. They used this logo until 2015, when the Admirals unveiled another new logo, keeping the Lake Michigan blue from 2006, but replaced black with navy blue. Also, the skeleton motif was kept with the hat that adorns the skeleton's head as a callback to the Admirals logos used from 1976 to 1997. This logo received very positive reviews, resulting in it becoming SportsLogos.net's 2015 Best New Primary Logo of the Year. On March 16, 2016, Milwaukee Admirals owner/CEO Harris Turer along with Wisconsin Center District (WCD) announced that the Admirals signed a 10-year contract, bringing the Admirals to the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena for the 2016-17 AHL season. This 10-year contract also results in a $6.4 million investment to bring the arena up to AHL standards with the Admirals contributing two million and the rest being supplied by the Wisconsin Center District. The team won its second regular season championship in the 2019–20 season, which was curtailed by 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 identi ...

. Due to the ongoing restrictions during the pandemic, the Admirals were one of three teams that opted out of the

2020–21 AHL season The 2020–21 AHL season was the 85th season of the American Hockey League. Due to the ongoing restrictions in the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the regular season was pushed back to February 5, 2021, and the league championship Calder Cup was n ...

. After the Admirals announced their season was cancelled, team ownership also announced that all of their full-time employees would still be paid for the year.

Team information

League membership

* 1970–1973: independent *1973–1977:

*1977–2001: International Hockey League *2001–present:

NHL affiliation

The Admirals have been the top-level affiliate of the

since that team's founding in 1998. On February 22, 2010, the clubs signed a new agreement that extended that relationship through the 2011–12 season with a mutual option for 2012–13. Coincidentally, the two cities' baseball franchises share a reverse affiliation, as the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the city's association with the music indus ...

are the Triple-A affiliate of the

. During the 2006–07 season, the Admirals were also part of an unusual affiliation agreement with the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

, who used five partial affiliates in the AHL for the 2006–07 season. These five affiliates included the Milwaukee Admirals, the

, the

, and the Hamilton Bulldogs. This arrangement lasted one season, as the Oilers announced a three-year affiliation with 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 Ariz ...

on March 19, 2007.

Logos

The following primary logos from 1970–Present.

Alternative logos

The following alternative logos from 2006–Present.

Mascot

During the 1998 Admirals rebranding efforts, the Admirals created a new mascot, named Roscoe. Roscoe is a "sea dog"-like animal with bright orange fur, a hockey puck-shaped nose, and wears a

bicorne The bicorne or bicorn (two-cornered) is a historical form of hat widely adopted in the 1790s as an item of uniform by European and American army and naval officers. Most generals and staff officers of the Napoleonic period wore bicornes, whic ...

admiral's hat along with an Admirals jersey with the number 98, representing the year Roscoe joined the Admirals organization. At times during breaks and intermission, Roscoe will also ride a zamboni modified to look like a pirate ship. When interacting with fans, Roscoe will sometimes take souvenir hockey pucks from fans and place them on his nose. In 2014, when the Nashville Predators' mascot, Gnash, got injured, Roscoe was "called up" to the Predators and to the NHL, joining with other mascots to entertain fans in Nashville while Gnash recovered.

Season-by-season results

Legend: – round did not exist at the time

Players

Current roster

Updated December 22, 2022.

Team captains

*Neil Meadmore, 1987–88 *

Peter Bakovic Peter George "Pete" Bakovic (born January 31, 1965 in Thunder Bay, Ontario) is a retired professional ice hockey left wing who played briefly in the National Hockey League in the late 1980s for the Vancouver Canucks. Playing career Bakovic ...

, 1988–1991 *

Gino Cavallini Gino J. Cavallini (born November 24, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He is the brother of the NHL hockey player Paul Cavallini. Cavallini played one year for the St. Michael's Buzzers, a Junior hockey team in the O ...

, 1994–1996 *

Tony Hrkac Anthony John Hrkac (; born July 7, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player of Croatian and Ukrainian ancestry who played eighteen seasons of professional hockey. Playing career Collegiate Hrkac was drafted in the second round, ...

, 1996–97 * Jeff Nelson, 1997–1999 * Marc Moro, 1999–2001 * Andy Berenzweig, 2002–03 *

Ray Schultz Ray Schultz (born November 14, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 45 games for the New York Islanders in the National Hockey League; recording four assists and 155 penalty minutes. Schultz was an eighth- ...

, 2003–04 *

, 2004–05 *

Greg Zanon Gregory M. Zanon (born June 5, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenseman who played almost 500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Greg Zanon was drafted in the fifth round, 156th overall, in the 2000 NHL ...

, 2005–06 *

Sheldon Brookbank Sheldon W. Brookbank (born October 3, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the assistant coach of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) under Jere ...

, 2006–07 *

Alex Henry Alexander Lawrence Henry (born October 18, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who most recently played for the Dutch team HYS The Hague from The Hague. He played 177 games in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers, Wash ...

, 2007–08 *

Nolan Yonkman Nolan Yonkman (born April 1, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) before concluding his career with JYP of the Finnish Liiga. Career Yonkman played major junior in the Wes ...

, 2008–2010 *

Brett Palin Brett Palin (born June 23, 1984 in Nanaimo, British Columbia) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Playing career Palin played junior hockey with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL), winning the league c ...

, 2010–11 * Scott Ford, 2011–12, 2013–14 * Mike Moore, 2012–13 * Joe Piskula, 2014–15 *

Colton Sissons Colton Sissons (born November 5, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Sissons was selected by the Predators in the second round (50th overall) of the 2012 NHL Ent ...

, 2015–16 * Trevor Smith, 2016–2018 *

Jarred Tinordi Jarred Michael Tinordi (born February 20, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens 22nd overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Dra ...

, 2018–2020 *

Cole Schneider Cole Schneider (born August 26, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey player who currently plays with the Milwaukee Admirals in the American Hockey League (AHL). After leaving the University of Connecticut in 2012, he began his professi ...

, 2021–present

Retired numbers

Notable alumni

Gary Agnew Gary Agnew (born May 24, 1960) is a Canadian ice hockey coach currently serving as an associate coach with the Abbotsford Canucks. He was formerly an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. He has also served a ...

* Shawn Antoski *

Wade Brookbank Wade Brookbank (born September 29, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 127 games in the National Hockey League with the Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and Carolina Hurricanes between 2003 an ...

* Marc Crawford *

Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and playwright, known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accol ...

Scott Darling Scott Darling (born December 22, 1988) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes. Darling was selected by the Phoenix C ...

* Peter DeBoer *

Martin Erat Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austra ...

* Kelly Fairchild * Filip Forsberg *

Blake Geoffrion Blake Daniel Geoffrion (born February 3, 1988) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He last played with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League. He was a second round selection of the Nashville Predators, 56th ov ...

Don Gibson Donald Eugene Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson wrote such country standards as " Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjoy ...

Adam Hall Adam John Hall (born August 14, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey player. A second round selection of the Nashville Predators in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Hall played in the National Hockey League for the Nashville Predators, ...

Dan Hamhuis Daniel Hamhuis (born December 13, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in 2001 by the Nashville Predators. Hamhuis played major junior hockey with the Prince ...

* Patric Hornqvist * Jim Johannson * Roman Josi * Claude Julien * David Legwand * Bob Mason * Chris Mason * Cal O'Reilly *

Gino Odjick Wayne Gino Odjick (September 7, 1970 – January 15, 2023) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1990 to 2002 for the Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders, Philadelph ...

Darren Pang Darren Robert Pang (born February 17, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played his professional career with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (1984–85 and 1987–89). He is currently the lead ...

* Pete Peeters * Rich Peverley * Yves Preston * Alexander Radulov * Pekka Rinne *

Ken Sabourin Ken R. Sabourin (born April 28, 1966) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played 74 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames and Washington Capitals between 1989 and 1992. The rest of his career, which lasted fro ...

Mike Santorelli Michael Santorelli (born December 14, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played with Genève-Servette HC of the National League A and in the National Hockey League with the Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, Winn ...

Buzz Schneider William Conrad "Buzz" Schneider (born September 14, 1954) is an American former ice hockey player best remembered for his role on the US Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. He was also a member ...

Ronnie Stern Ronald Stern (born January 11, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for 12 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and San Jose Sharks. Playing career Stern was born ...

Ryan Suter Ryan Suter (born January 21, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild. Suter's father, Bob Suter, wa ...

Jordin Tootoo Jordin John Kudluk Tootoo (; born February 2, 1983) is a Canadian former professional hockey player, who played for the Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks. Of Inuit, Ukrainian and English descent, ...

Kimmo Timonen Kimmo Samuel Timonen (born 18 March 1975) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Chicago Blackhawks. Timonen had ...

Steve Tuttle Steve Walter Tuttle (born January 5, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for parts of three seasons (1988–1991) for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, scoring a total of 28 goals in his career. ...

* Scottie Upshall *

Tomas Vokoun Tomas may refer to: People * Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name * Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name * Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name * Tomas (surname), a French and Croatian s ...

* Shea Weber *

Colin Wilson Colin Henry Wilson (26 June 1931 – 5 December 2013) was an English writer, philosopher and novelist. He also wrote widely on true crime, mysticism and the paranormal, eventually writing more than a hundred books. Wilson called his phil ...

Dale Yakiwchuk Dale Yakiwchuk (born October 17, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He was drafted in the second round, 30th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft; however, he never played in the National Ho ...

Team records

Single season

* Goals: Danny Lecours, 75, (1982–83) * Assists: Dale Yakiwchuk, 100, (1982–83) * Points: Dale Yakiwchuk, 138, (1982–83) * Penalty minutes:

, 381, (1992–93) * GAA:

Connor Ingram Connor Brent Ingram (born March 31, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the third round, 88th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2016 NHL ...

, 1.92, (2019–20) * SV%: Connor Ingram, .933, (2019–20)

Career

* Career goals: Danny Lecours, 445 * Career assists: Fred Berry, 379 * Career points: Danny Lecours, 814 * Career penalty minutes:

, 1233 * Career goaltending wins: Rich Sirois, 119 * Career shutouts: Brian Finley, 11 * Career games: Danny Lecours, 641

References

External links

*
The Internet Hockey Database - Milwaukee Admirals (AHL)

The Internet Hockey Database - Milwaukee Admirals (IHL)

The Internet Hockey Database - Milwaukee Admirals (USHL)

The Internet Hockey Database - Milwaukee Admirals (Independent)
{{Wisconsinsports Boston Bruins minor league affiliates Chicago Blackhawks minor league affiliates Nashville Predators minor league affiliates Vancouver Canucks minor league affiliates Ice hockey teams in Wisconsin Ice hockey clubs established in 1970 1970 establishments in Wisconsin