The Tri-City Americans are an American major

junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

team playing in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

and based in

Kennewick, Washington Kennewick () is a city in Benton County, Washington, Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima ...

. Founded in 1966 as the

Calgary Buffaloes The Calgary Centennials were a junior ice hockey team that played in the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) from 1966–1977. They played in Calgary, Alberta, Canada at the Stampede Corral. History A charter member of the Canadian Major Junio ...

, the team settled in Kennewick in 1988 after a number of relocations. The team plays its home games at

Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once th ...

, which was purpose-built for the team. The team has won one

Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy The Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the regular season champion of the Western Hockey League. It is named after one of the league's founders, Scotty Munro. Munro served as the general manager of the Estevan Bruins, one of the ...

as regular season champions and have played in one league playoff final; however, the Americans have not won a playoff championship.

History

Foundations

The Americans franchise began as a founding franchise of the league, beginning as the Calgary Buffaloes in 1966. The original team was renamed the "Centennials" after one season. In 1977, the franchise relocated to

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

and was known as the

Billings Bighorns The Billings Bighorns were a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League who played from 1977 to 1982. The team was originally the Calgary Centennials. They played at the MetraPark Arena in Billings, Montana. The team wore uniforms based ...

—part of an initial wave of American teams in the league. In 1982, the team moved again, this time to

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, where the team played for one season as the Nanaimo Islanders. The team then moved to

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

, BC, to become the second incarnation of the

New Westminster Bruins The New Westminster Bruins were a Junior ice hockey#Major junior, major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. There were two franchises that carried this name: * 1971–1981 (formerly the Estevan Bruins, now the Kamloops Blazers) * ...

. In 1987, owner Ron Dixon proposed moving the team to the Tri-Cities area if local investors would put together enough money for a new arena; the proposal was endorsed, and the team moved to Kennewick and became known as the Americans in the fall of 1988. The move was seen as a gamble given the lack of hockey history in Tri-City area, but it paid off—within a few seasons, the team counted nearly 4,000 season ticket holders.

Tumultuous beginnings

The team's new arena in Kennewick, the Tri-Cities Coliseum, was not ready in time for the start of the team's first season in Washington, forcing the team to seek practice ice in Walla Walla and to play its first seventeen games on the road. The team's inaugural game was a 4–2 loss in

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

against the Chiefs. The team finally debuted in their new home arena on November 20, 1988, defeating the

Seattle Thunderbirds The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. Founded in 1971 as the Vancouver Nats, the team arrive ...

4–3 in overtime in front of 6,000 spectators. Led by stars

Stu Barnes Stuart Douglas Barnes (born December 25, 1970) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward. He played 16 seasons at Centre (ice hockey), centre in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets (1972–96), Winnipeg Jets, ...

and goaltender

Olaf Kolzig Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; ) is a Dutch, Polish, Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" and ''laibaz'' "heirloom, descendant". Old Eng ...

, the Americans were playoff contenders from the outset. The team gained widespread attention during their second season when they staged a one-game walk-out; Dixon hired

Bill LaForge Bill LaForge (September 2, 1951 – June 19, 2005) was a Canadian ice hockey coach. LaForge briefly coached the Vancouver Canucks in National Hockey League, but enjoyed more success in junior ice hockey with Western Hockey League and the Ontari ...

to manage the team, and when he stepped in for coach Rick Kozuback and allegedly levied verbal abuse at players and instructed them to injure their opponents, the players refused to play in their December 31, 1989 game against the

Portland Winter Hawks The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1950 as the Edmonton Oil Kings, the team relocated to Portland in 1976 and was known as the Winter Hawks until 2009. The team plays in the U.S. Divisio ...

. Dixon ultimately agreed that Kozuback would continue coaching the team, rather than LaForge. In that season's playoffs, during their first round series against the Thunderbirds, Kozuback and several players got into a physical altercation with fans, who had apparently been pouring beer onto the bench; Kozuback and two players were suspended, while Seattle was fined for its fans' actions. Despite re-branding as the Americans, the team wore the New West Bruins' black-and-gold colors for the first two seasons in Kennewick, before Dixon finally paid for new uniforms in their red, white, and blue color scheme in 1990. The team found limited success in its first two decades, winning its first playoff series in 1995 over Spokane, but never advancing past the Division final.

Twenty-first century

Struggling on and off the ice, the team was nearly relocated to

Chilliwack Chilliwack ( ) is a city of about 100,000 people and in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located about east of the City of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. The enumerated population is 93,203 in the city and 113,767 in the gr ...

, British Columbia, in 2004. However, an ownership group including former players Kolzig and Barnes, along with Bob Tory and Dennis Loman, purchased the team and kept it in Kennewick. In 2021, Barnes would be named the team's head coach. The Americans' had their most successful run in a five-season period from 2007–08 to 2011–12, when the team topped the U.S. Division four times. In 2007–08, led by goaltender

Chet Pickard Chet Pickard ( ; born November 29, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He most notably played in the American Hockey League and the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He holds a German passport. Playing career Pickard play ...

and coach-of-the-year

Don Nachbaur Donald Kenneth Nachbaur (born January 30, 1959) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is currently serving as head coach for the Wenatchee Wild in the Western Hockey League (WHL). He played eight seasons in the Nationa ...

, the team won the regular season title with a 52-win, 108-point season, before losing a seven-game conference final series against Spokane that featured a then-record five overtime games. The following season, at their annual New Year's Eve game against the Chiefs on December 31, 2008, the Americans set a team record for attendance with 6,042 attendees. In 2009–10, the Americans won their third straight division title and advanced to the championship series for the first time in history. They faced the

Calgary Hitmen The Calgary Hitmen are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Hitmen play in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL), hosting their home games at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Bret "Hitman" Hart, a prof ...

, losing the series in five games.

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''

Championship history

: 2007–08 * Conference championships: 2009–10 * Regular season Division titles (4): 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12

WHL Championship final

* 2009–10: Loss, 1–4 vs

Players

NHL alumni

Alumni of the Americans who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). Scott Gomez was the first former American to win the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

. *

Carter Ashton Carter Ashton (born April 1, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Ashton was drafted 29th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2009 NHL entry draft. He was bo ...

* Milan Bartovic *

Jake Bean Jake Bean (born June 9, 1998) is a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bean was drafted in the first round, 13th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina H ...

* Shawn Belle * Alexandre Boikov *

Brian Boucher Brian Boucher ( ; born January 2, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who is a game analyst on national TNT games and also Philadelphia Flyers games on NBC Sports Philadelphia. He played 13 seasons in the National Ho ...

* Jason Bowen *

Brandon Carlo Brandon Carlo (born November 26, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Boston Bruins selected him in the second round, 37th overall, of the 2015 NHL entry dra ...

Dylan Coghlan Dylan Coghlan (born February 19, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Defenceman (ice hockey), defenceman for the Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NH ...

Eric Comrie Eric Comrie (born July 6, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Jets in the second round (59th overall) in the 2013 NHL entry draft. Playing c ...

* Kimbi Daniels * Chris Driedger * Brad Ference * Brett Festerling *

Dan Focht Dan Focht (born December 31, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round, 11th overall, in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career After playing three seasons in the ...

Morgan Geekie Morgan Geekie (born July 20, 1998) is a Canadian ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Personal life Geekie was born on July 20, 1998, in Strathclair, Manitoba to parents Craig and Tobi ...

Scott Gomez Scott Carlos Gomez (born December 23, 1979) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He was the assistant coach for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Gomez had previously played in the NHL with t ...

* Patrick Holland *

* Zenith Komarniski * Jaroslav Kristek *

Jason Labarbera Antonio Jason LaBarbera (born January 18, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played parts of 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally drafted by the New York Rangers in the 1998 NHL Entry ...

* Daymond Langkow *

Brett Leason Brett Leason (born April 30, 1999) is a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played with the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He wa ...

* Scott Levins *

Bill Lindsay William Hamilton Lindsay (born May 17, 1971) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Quebec Nordiques, Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks, Montreal Canadiens and ...

* Jason Marshall * Josef Melichar *

Steve Passmore Steve Passmore (born January 29, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques as their ninth-round pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. He played 93 games in the NHL between 1998 and 2004 with ...

* Stephen Peat * Alexander Pechursky * Ronald Petrovicky *

Carey Price Carey Price (born August 16, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently under contract with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Considered one of the best goaltenders in the world during his career, ...

* Michael Rasmussen * Terry Ryan *

Terran Sandwith Terran Sandwith (born April 17, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played eight games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers during the 1997–98 season. Bio Sandwith was born in Edmonton, Al ...

* Jesse Schultz * Ray Schultz * Brendan Shinnimin *

Todd Simpson Todd William Simpson (born May 28, 1973) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who spent parts of 10 seasons in the National Hockey League. He is currently a real estate agent in Kelowna, British Columbia. Playing career Simpson played at Brown ...

* Dan Smith *

Sheldon Souray Sheldon Souray (born July 13, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, and Anaheim Ducks. ...

* Clayton Stoner * Jaroslav Svejkovsky * Billy Tibbetts * Juuso Valimaki * Terry Virtue * Vladimir Vujtek *

Tyler Weiman Tyler Ray Weiman (born June 5, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Colorado Avalanche. Playing career Weiman was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He was d ...

* Parker Wotherspoon * B. J. Young

Retired numbers

The Americans honored Todd Klassen in 1993, months after he was killed in a car crash. The team also began awarding the Todd Klassen Humanitarian of the Year Award annually.

Awards

CHL awards

David Branch Player of the Year Award The David Branch Player of the Year award is given out annually to the player judged to be the most outstanding in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). It is selected from three most valuable players of the respective leagues; the Red Tilson Troph ...

* Brendan Shinnimin: 2011–12

CHL Goaltender of the Year The CHL Goaltender of the Year Award is given out annually to the top goaltender in the Canadian Hockey League. It is chosen from the winners of the goaltending awards from the CHL's three constituent leagues: the Jim Rutherford Trophy ( OHL), ...

: 2006–07 *

: 2007–08

CHL Top Scorer Award * Brendan Shinnimin: 2011–12

Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award The Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award is given out annually to the coach of the year in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Originally called the CHL Coach of the Year Award, the trophy was renamed in 2003 to honour Brian Kilrea when he won h ...

* Jim Hiller: 2011–12

WHL awards

Four Broncos Memorial Trophy The Four Broncos Memorial Trophy is awarded each year to the Western Hockey League's Player of the Year. The trophy is named in honour of four members of the Swift Current Broncos who were killed on December 30, 1986 in the Swift Current Broncos ...

''Player of the year'' *

: 1988–89 * Brendan Shinnimin: 2011–12 Del Wilson Trophy
''Goaltender of the year'' *

: 1996–97 *

: 2006–07 *

: 2007–08, 2008–09

Bob Clarke Trophy The Bob Clarke Trophy is awarded annually to the player who leads the Western Hockey League in points scoring during the regular season. In both years Bobby Clarke, Bob "Bobby" Clarke played in the WHL, he captured the League scoring title. In 19 ...

''Top Scorer'' * Daymond Langkow: 1994–95 * Brendan Shinnimin: 2011–12

Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy The Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the Coach of the Year in the Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is ...

''Coach of the year'' * Don Hay: 1998–99 *

: 2007–08 * Jim Hiller: 2011–12

Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy The Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the Western Hockey League humanitarian of the year. The winner is the player who best shows a commitment to his community and to humanitarian values. The award received its current ...

''Humanitarian of the year'' * Taylor Procyshen: 2008–09 *

Taylor Vickerman Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) **List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Plac ...

: 2014–15

Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy The Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the top executive in the Western Hockey League. It is named for former broadcaster Lloyd Saunders. Winners See also * OHL Executive of the Year * John Horman Trophy - Quebec Major Junior ...

''Executive of the year'' * Don Hay: 1998–99 * Bob Tory: 2006–07, 2007–08 WHL Plus-Minus Award
''Top plus-minus'' * Brendan Shinnimin: 2011–12 * Zach Yuen: 2011–12

References

External links

Tri-City Americans websiteTri-City Herald coverage of Tri-City Americans
{{Washington Sports Amateur ice hockey teams in Washington (state) Kennewick, Washington

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...

Western Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1988 1988 establishments in Washington (state)