The Baton Rouge Kingfish were a minor 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

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the county seat, parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, E ...

, as a member of the East Coast Hockey League. The franchise arrived in Baton Rouge in 1996 after relocating from

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

, where they had played as the

Erie Panthers The Erie Panthers were a professional ice hockey team, and one of the founding members in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 1988 to 1996, they were one of the most prolific teams in the ECHL. The Panthers wer ...

since 1988 as one of the ECHL's charter teams. After a team-naming contest, they were renamed the Kingfish in honor of legendary Louisiana governor and U.S. Senator Huey P. Long who shared the nickname. They played as the Baton Rouge Kingfish from 1996 to 2003 before moving to

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, as the

Victoria Salmon Kings The Victoria Salmon Kings were a professional ice hockey team based in Victoria, British Columbia, and members of the ECHL. The team debuted in the 2004–05 season and folded after the 2010–11 season. The Chilliwack Bruins of the major juni ...

. They played their home games at the Riverside Centroplex (since renamed

Raising Cane's River Center Raising Cane's River Center (originally named the Riverside Centroplex and later the Baton Rouge River Center) is an entertainment complex in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Opened in 1977, the complex includes: an arena, ballroom, exhibition cent ...

) and maintained a parent club affiliation with the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

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 ...

. Former coaches included

Pierre McGuire Regis Pierre McGuire (born August 8, 1961) is an American-Canadian ice hockey executive who last served as senior vice-president of player development for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously worked as a televis ...

, currently a commentator for

NHL on NBC The ''NHL on NBC'' is an American presentation of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by NBC Sports, and televised on NBC properties, including MSNBC, CNBC, Golf Channel, USA Network and NBCSN in the United States. While NBC covered ...

, Dave Schultz, the NHL's all-time record holder for penalty minutes in a single season (472), and Cam Brown, who served as a player-coach. Brown was also probably the most popular Kingfish player. He played every single season for the Kingfish and was either the captain or the player coach in every season but the first. Cam Brown currently holds the ECHL career records for both games played and penalty minutes. He retired from play in the league after the 2005-06 season as a member of the

Gwinnett Gladiators The Atlanta Gladiators are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Duluth, Georgia. The Gladiators play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at Gas South Arena, approximately northeast o ...

. His #44 was one of two to be retired by the Kingfish along with #55 of defenseman Scott Humeniuk who suffered a stroke while a member of the team.

Louisiana Hockey Rivalries

Although league divisions were restructured several times, the Kingfish played most often in the Southwest Division, which usually included the (

Biloxi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

)

Mississippi Sea Wolves The Mississippi Sea Wolves are a professional hockey team based in Biloxi, Mississippi, and play in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The Sea Wolves are members of the FPHL. They are a revival of a team by the same name that played in the ECHL, ma ...

Mobile Mysticks The Mobile Mysticks were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Mobile, Alabama that played in the ECHL. They played their home games at the Mobile Civic Center. The team was founded in 1995 as an expansion franchise, joining the EC ...

, Birmingham Bulls,

Pensacola Ice Pilots The Pensacola Ice Pilots were a professional ice hockey team located in Pensacola, Florida. The team was previously affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders (2006–07), and the Chicago Blackhawks. They h ...

, New Orleans Brass,

Jackson Bandits The Jackson Bandits were a minor league professional ice hockey team and member of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). The Bandits played at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson, Mississippi between 1999 and 2003. Previously the franchise played ...

, (

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

) Arkansas RiverBlades, and the (

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

) Louisiana IceGators who were one of the most successful franchises in the history of the ECHL, both in wins and ticket sales. The proximity of the IceGators, (about 50 miles west of Baton Rouge) contributed to them immediately becoming a fierce rival of both the Kingfish players and fans, a rivalry dubbed by bumper stickers as "the cold war". The rivalry was exacerbated by the departure of early Kingfish players like Blair Manning and Don Parsons (who was incidentally the original captain for the Kingfish) who went on to have successful careers with the IceGators. Beginning with the Kingfish inaugural season in 1996–1997, the Kingfish and IceGators challenged each other annually for the Atchafalaya Governor's Cup, which was named for the river that divided the two cities and was awarded to the team with the best head-to-head record. The Kingfish won the cup in their first season despite finishing behind the IceGators in the division. The name of the cup was later changed to the Hibernia Cup when

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

subsequently joined the league, effectively making it a 3-way challenge for state bragging rights. New Orleans' arrival in the league did very little if anything to alter the chemistry between the existing rivals though they remained competitive in the division. Despite some modest success in head-to-head games against the IceGators, the Kingfish franchise ultimately spent most of its existence in their shadow, and were never able to match the on-ice success or popularity of the Lafayette club. The best finish for the Kingfish was in 1998–1999 as they went 3-3 in the

Kelly Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...

Playoffs, reaching the conference quarterfinals.

Season results

Kingfish in the NHL

Former Kingfish that went on to play in the NHL include forwards

Reed Low Reed Low (born June 21, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for five seasons. Low was known primarily for his role as an enforcer. Low twice accumulated over 50 penalty minutes in a s ...

Alexandre Burrows Alexandre Ménard-Burrows (born April 11, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks and the Ottawa Senators. He is currently an assistant coach for t ...

, and Raitis Ivanans, defensemen

Shane Hnidy Shane Hnidy ( ; born November 8, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Between 2000 and 2011, he played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Anaheim Ducks, ...

and

David Van Drunen David John Van Drunen (born January 31, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played one game in the National Hockey League game for the Ottawa Senators during the 1999–00 season, on December 13, 1999 against the T ...

, and goaltenders

Johan Hedberg Johan "Moose" Hedberg (born 5 May 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career that lasted from 1993 to 2014 he played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, Atlanta Thrashers, and New Jer ...

, and Travis Scott. Kingfish players that had previously played in the NHL include forward Cam Brown and goaltenders Christian Soucy, Jordan Willis, and

Mike Lenarduzzi Mike "Whopper" Lenarduzzi (born September 14, 1972) is a Canadian retired ice hockey goaltender. He played four games in the National Hockey League with the Hartford Whalers during the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons. The rest of his career, whi ...

, who had previously coached the NHL's

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

in 1993–94, joined the Kingfish in their inaugural season of 1996–97 as their head coach.

References

External links

Baton Rouge River Center

ECHL Official Site
{{ECHLdefunct Defunct ECHL teams Ice hockey teams in Louisiana Ice hockey clubs established in 1996 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2003 St. Louis Blues minor league affiliates