Bakersfield Condors (1998–2015)

The Bakersfield Condors were a minor league ice hockey team based in Bakersfield, California in the Pacific Division of the ECHL's Western Conference. The Condors played home games at Rabobank Arena.

History

Originally known as the "Bakersfield Fog", the team was founded in 1995 as a charter member of the West Coast Hockey League. They replaced the Bakersfield Oilers of the Pacific Southwest Hockey League when that league folded in 1994. The team became the "Condors" in 1998 when it moved into the new Centennial Garden. The Condors, and other West Coast Hockey League teams, joined the ECHL in 2003.

For the 2008–09 season, the Condors announced an affiliation with the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League on May 21, 2008. They became the Ducks' secondary affiliate, after the Iowa Chops of the American Hockey League. In the following season, the Condors became the Ducks' primary affiliate after the Chops were suspended from operations. As a result, the Condors started the season with a handful of the Ducks' prospects and finished the season first in the Pacific to capture their first division title. On July 12, 2010, the Ducks opted to move their ECHL affiliate closer to their East Coast AHL affiliate and cut ties with the Condors after two seasons.

On July 18, 2013, the Condors announced an affiliation with the Edmonton Oilers.

On January 23, 2014, it was announced that the team was purchased by the Daryl Katz-owned Oilers Entertainment Group, which also owns the Edmonton Oilers. In January 2015, it was announced that the ECHL incarnation of the Condors would be relocating to Norfolk, Virginia and become the Norfolk Admirals after being displaced by the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League relocating to become the new Bakersfield Condors for the 2015–16 season. The original Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League were also relocated following the 2014–15 season to San Diego, California.

Season-by-season record

Records as of May 15, 2015.

Players

Notable NHL alumni

List of Bakersfield Condors alumni who played more than 25 games in Bakersfield and 25 or more games in the National Hockey League.

Notable players

Known for his journalistic contributions, Ken Baker, played one game as goaltender for the Condors in the 2001–02 season, finishing with a win, a 5.00 GAA and a 0.857 save percentage. Baker's dreams of playing professional hockey were cut short due to a tumor that inhibited his ability to build enough muscle for the sport. However, his book ''They Don't Play Hockey in Heaven'' tells the story of his experience with the Condors.

Moreover, Canadian singer and songwriter, Justin Bieber, was also offered a tryout contract by the Bakersfield Condors in September 2012. The Condors released their entry level offer after stating that "Bieber has some hockey skills".

Parker Stanfield played 80 games for the Bakersfield Condors before signing for HP Poprad.

Retired numbers

* 16 – Paul Willett
* 17- Paul Rosebush
* 26 – Glen Mears
* 28 – Jamie Cooke
* 74 – Steve Dowhy

Team highs

The Condors advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in their history in the 2005–06 season. They defeated the Long Beach Ice Dogs in seven games. The Condors lost in the seventh game of the next round against the Fresno Falcons, making it the longest playoff run in Condors history at the time. The Condors did it again the following year, defeating Fresno, but then lost in the second round to the Alaska Aces in four games. However, in the 2013–14 season, the Condors had their furthest playoff run in team history, getting to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the Alaska Aces in six games.

Controversy

In the 2004–05 ECHL playoffs, Condor Ashlee Langdone checked Alaska Ace Scott Gomez (who was playing that season in the ECHL due to the NHL lockout) hard, sending him hip first into the sharp opening of the bench door at the exact moment the trainer opened it for a line change. The resulting injury, a broken pelvis, knocked Gomez out of the rest of the playoffs, and resulted in Langdone being given a boarding penalty and an eight-game suspension. The incident drew a rather negative reaction due to Gomez's status as an NHL all-star.

In March 2011, the Condors held "Charlie Sheen Night" which garnered national media attention as one of the best promotions in minor league sports history. The promotion, based on the antics of the ''Two and a Half Men'' actor, offered fans free admission with proof of a clean drug test, " tiger's blood" margaritas, Charlie Sheen heads on sticks, and if anyone had the money, they could buy the team for $2 million outright. That was Sheen's annual salary for the show he was eventually fired from.

Lawsuit

Head coach Marty Raymond and former assistant coach Mark Pederson were briefly suspended in 2009 for an "internal matter", which was reported at the time to be due to anti-Semitic comments made by both men toward then-Condor Jason Bailey, a Jewish player. The team did not publicly acknowledge the reason for the suspensions until after the season, when GM Matthew Riley stated that "all parties involved were satisfied with the action that was taken." However, in January 2011, the Anaheim Ducks, Condors, Raymond and Pederson were named in a lawsuit filed by Bailey's lawyer, Keith Fink, alleging that his client faced "a barrage of anti-Semitic, offensive and degrading verbal attacks regarding his Jewish faith" during this time with the team. On January 27, ESPN.com released details of court documents in which Fink alleges that Condors' owner Jonathan Fleisig failed to take action after being informed of the issue: promising Bailey's father that the Raymond and Pederson would both be fired, but then failing to do so. The documents also allege that Raymond told Bailey his ex-wife was Jewish and that she was "a 'bitch' for taking all of his money."

References

External links

Bakersfield Condors Official Site

ECHL Official Website

Intotheboards.net – Bakersfield Condors

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Anaheim Ducks minor league affiliates
Edmonton Oilers minor league affiliates
Minnesota Wild minor league affiliates
Ice hockey clubs established in 1998
Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2015
Defunct ice hockey teams in California
Sports clubs and teams in Bakersfield, California
1998 establishments in California
West Coast Hockey League teams
2015 disestablishments in California