The Island Storm is an inactive Canadian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team based in

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

. The team is a charter member of the

National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; french: Ligue nationale de basketball du Canada) is a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketb ...

that began play in the 2011–12 season. The Storm plays its home games at the

Eastlink Centre The Eastlink Centre (formerly known as the Charlottetown Civic Centre) is a combined hockey/basketball arena and trade and convention facility located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. History The facility's original name was the ...

. Former

Vermont Frost Heaves The Vermont Frost Heaves were a professional basketball team in Vermont, United States, that last played in the Premier Basketball League, last coached by Joe Salerno. History The formation of the team was announced in December 2005 by foundi ...

head coach Joe Salerno served as the team's head coach for the first six seasons until he parted ways with the team in May 2017. In 2021, the Storm were granted a one-year leave of absence after they were the last remaining team based in the Maritimes.

History

The Storm were established in 2011 and made their debut in the inaugural

2011–12 NBL Canada season The 2011–12 NBL Canada season was the inaugural season of the National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; french: Ligue nationale de basketball du Canada) is a Canadian professional men's minor le ...

. It is owned by

resident Duncan Shaw, who played a major role in founding the league. Initially, it was unclear whether it would be based in the island's cities of

or Summerside. However, it was later confirmed that the team would play their home games in Summerside, specifically at the

Credit Union Place The Credit Union Place is a 1,763-seat multipurpose arena located in Dauphin, Manitoba. The arena is part of the Parkland Recreation Complex, which also includes a curling rink and an aquatic centre. The arena opened in April 2006, at a cost of ...

. NBL Canada president and co-founder

Andre Levingston Andre Levingston is an American entrepreneur and basketball coach. He was formerly an auto detailer and schoolteacher. He is a co-founder of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) and most recently served as the owner and president of th ...

praised the co-owners at the announcement, "We want the right individuals who are going to bring you the very best, because you deserve the very best. That is why we have these two gentlemen here." Comparing Prince Edward Island's low population to the relatively sparsely populated

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

, MacKay said, "We're going to be the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

of basketball." A name-the-team contest that was sponsored by several newspapers was held to determine the Summerside basketball team's nickname. After receiving more than 400 entries, it was announced that they would be called the "Storm." According to McKay, it was chosen because "it's short, to the point and it has so much opportunity to play on the name and market the team." He also said it worked well through

alliteration Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...

. The nickname was suggested by 14 people. A contest to determine the Storm's mascot name, sponsored by Basketball PEI and

Greco Pizza Restaurant Greco Pizza Restaurant is a franchise restaurant chain consisting of over 100 outlets in Eastern Canada. The restaurants also deliver pizza. Greco bills itself as the largest pizza chain in Atlantic Canada. History The first Greco Pizza restaur ...

, was held in September 2011.

Home arenas

Originally opened in 1990, the

is a sports-entertainment arena in

, Canada. The arena has a capacity of 4,000 when set up for basketball. The Storm share the arena with the

Charlottetown Islanders The Charlottetown Islanders are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, the Islanders play their home games at the Eastlink Centre, which has 3,717 arena se ...

of the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

Players

Current roster

Season-by-season record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Island Storm National Basketball League of Canada teams Sport in Charlottetown Sports teams in Prince Edward Island Basketball teams in Canada Basketball teams established in 2011