The Utica Devils were a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

team of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team was based in Utica, New York, and played its home games at the

Utica Memorial Auditorium The Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium is a 3,860-seat multi-purpose arena in Utica, New York, with a capacity of 5,700 for concerts. Nicknamed the Aud, it is the home arena of the Utica Comets, the AHL affiliate of the ...

History

The Utica Devils were AHL affiliate of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

's New Jersey Devils from 1987 to 1993. The franchise was moved from

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metro ...

, at the end of the 1986–87 season, where it played as the

Maine Mariners Maine Mariners may refer to: * Maine Mariners (AHL), an ice hockey team in Portland, Maine, which operated from 1977 to 1992 * Maine Mariners (ECHL) The Maine Mariners are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL that began play in the 2018 ...

. The Utica Devils displaced the Mohawk Valley Comets of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League that had played there since 1985. Utica was coached by Tom McVie for four seasons from 1987 to 1991, followed by

Herb Brooks Herbert Paul Brooks Jr. (August 5, 1937 – August 11, 2003) was an American ice hockey player and coach (ice hockey), coach. His most notable achievement came in Ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics, 1980 as head coach of the gold medal-winnin ...

in 1991–92 and Robbie Ftorek in 1992–93. Notable players who at one time were Utica Devils include Martin Brodeur, Bill Guerin, Kevin Todd, Corey Schwab, Bobby Holik,

Claude Vilgrain Claude Vilgrain (born March 1, 1963) is a Haitian-born Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played in 89 National Hockey League games with the Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, and Philadelphia Flyers. He played in the ...

, Valeri Zelepukin, Jason Smith, and Jim Dowd. In 1993, the NHL's Calgary Flames purchased the Utica Devils franchise from the New Jersey Devils and subsequently relocated the team to

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of K ...

, to become the Saint John Flames. The Devils moved their AHL affiliation to the Albany River Rats the same year. Utica gained the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Colonial Hockey League in 1993, which only lasted one season before folding and being replaced by the Utica Blizzard in 1994. The AHL eventually returned to Utica in 2013 with the Utica Comets using the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

' franchise. In April 2021, a new trademark was filed for the brand "Utica Devils" by

Robert Esche Robert L. Esche (born January 22, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who is the current president of the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Utica City FC of the Major Arena Soccer League (MAS ...

, the operator of the Utica Comets, for a potential relocation of the Binghamton Devils. On May 6, it was announced that the Devils would affiliate with Utica, but the Comets name would remain.

Season-by-season results

Team records

:Goals: 53, Paul Ysebaert, 1989–90 :Assists: 81, Kevin Todd, 1990–91 :Points: 118, Kevin Todd, 1990–91 :Penalty Minutes: 359, Bill Huard, 1990–91 :GAA: 2.71, Chris Terreri, 1987–88 :SV%: .910, Chris Terreri, 1987–88 :Career goals: 126, Jeff Madill, 1987–91 :Career assists: 163, Kevin Todd, 1988–93 :Career points: 264, Paul Ysebaert, 1987–90 :Career penalty minutes: 1216,

Jamie Huscroft James W. Huscroft (born January 9, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who spent parts of ten seasons in the National Hockey League. Playing career Huscroft was born in Creston, British Columbia. A tough defensive defe ...

, 1987–92 :Career goaltending wins: Craig Billington, 59 :Career shutouts: 3, Craig Billington :Career games: 273,

Dave Marcinyshyn David Joseph Marcinyshyn (born February 4, 1967) is a Canadians, Canadian retired professional ice hockey Defenceman (ice hockey), defenceman. Marcinyshyn was born in Edmonton, Alberta. Undrafted in the NHL Entry Draft, Marcinyshyn signed with t ...

, 1987–91

References

External links

The Internet Hockey Database – Utica Devils
New Jersey Devils minor league affiliates Ice hockey teams in New York (state) Ice hockey clubs established in 1987 Sports clubs disestablished in 1993 1987 establishments in New York (state) 1993 disestablishments in New York (state) {{NewYork-sport-team-stub