The Charlotte Checkers were an American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) 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. Tw ...

team in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, and played in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

(formerly the East Coast Hockey League).

Franchise history

Following a 17-year break from ice hockey, the Checkers returned in 1993 and made the playoffs ten times, including winning the ECHL Championship in 1996. The Checkers franchise was founded in 1993, and was owned by a consortium headed by local auto dealer and

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

team owner Felix Sabates, with former

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

president Carl Scheer and NASCAR drivers

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

and

Kyle Petty Kyle Eugene Petty (born June 2, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of racer Adam Petty, who was killed in a crash duri ...

among the minority partners. They played in the old Charlotte Coliseum, which was heavily renovated and renamed Independence Arena. Soon after winning the Jack Riley Cup in 1996, Sabates sold controlling interest minority partner Tim Braswell, who claimed he could make the team more popular. However, in a case of exceptionally bad timing, this came just as the NFL's

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

were due to open their new downtown stadium. The team's popularity faded, forcing Braswell to sell the Checkers to Hornets owners George Shinn and Ray Wooldrige in 2000 for $3 million. However, Shinn and Wooldridge were unable to revive the team at the gate, forcing them to sell the team back to Sabates and Scheer for $500,000. By comparison, Sabates had sold the team in 1996 for $5 million. The Checkers played at the old coliseum, which was later renamed Cricket Arena, until 2005 when they moved to

Time Warner Cable Arena The Spectrum Center is an indoor arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Located in Uptown, it is owned by the city of Charlotte and operated by its main tenant, the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). T ...

in downtown Charlotte. The team set their all-time attendance record of 12,398 on February 21, 2009 in a 5-2 win against the

Florida Everblades The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida, in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. They play in the ECHL and are affiliat ...

. Their previous record was 11,237 in a loss against the

Texas Wildcatters The Texas Wildcatters, who took their name from Texas wildcatters, were a professional minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Beaumont, Texas. They played their home games at the Ford Arena. The franchise previously played in Hunting ...

in February 2007. On January 21, 2010, it was reported that Michael Kahn, who had bought the team from Sabates and Scheer in 2006, was in talks to buy the

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Without a viable indoor arena with ...

, the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

affiliate of the

NHL 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 ...

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

. On February 10, the sale of the River Rats to Kahn was confirmed. Kahn then moved the Rats to Charlotte and changed their name to the

Checkers Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), is a group of Abstract strategy game, strategy board games for two players which involve forward movements of uniform game ...

starting with the 2010–11 season. As a result of this, Kahn returned the Checkers ECHL franchise to the ECHL at the end of the

2009–10 ECHL season The 2009–10 ECHL season was the 22nd season of the ECHL. It ran from October, 2009 until April, 2010, followed by the Kelly Cup playoffs which lasted until May 21, 2010 as the Cincinnati Cyclones won their second Kelly Cup championship in th ...

, ending the franchise's ECHL history.

Season-by-season record

Records as of 2009–10 season. ''Notes: There were no conferences in the ECHL prior to the 1997–98 season. Games tied at end of regulation went directly to shootout from 1995–2000''

Playoffs

*1993–94: Lost to

Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...

2-1 in first round. *1994–95: Lost to

3-0 in first round. *1995–96: Defeated Roanoke 3-0 in first round; defeated

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

3-2 in quarterfinals; defeated

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

3-1 in semifinals; defeated

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

4-0 to win championship. *1996–97: Lost to

3-0 in first round. *1997–98: Defeated

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

3-1 in first round; lost to

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

3-0 in quarterfinals. *1998–99: Did not qualify. *1999–00: Did not qualify. *2000–01: Lost to

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

3-2 in first round. *2001–02: Lost to

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

3-2 in first round. *2002–03: Did not qualify. *2003–04: Did not qualify. *2004–05: Defeated Columbia 3-2 in first round; defeated Gwinnett 3-1 in quarterfinals; lost to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

4-2 in semifinals. *2005–06: Lost to

2-1 in first round. *2006–07: Lost to

3-0 in first round. *2007–08: Lost to Gwinnett 3-0 in first round. *2008–09: Lost to

4-2 in first round. *2009–10: Defeated Toledo 3-1 in first round; lost to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

4-2 in quarterfinals.

Team records

Single season

:Goals: 48 Sergei Berdnikov (1993–94) :Assists: 61 Matt Robbins (1994–95), Scott King (2000–01), Kevin Hilton (2000–01) :Points: 101 Scott King (2000–01) :Penalty Minutes: 352 Eric Boulton (1996–97) :GAA: 2.43 Scott Meyer (2003–04) :SV%: .923 Scott Meyer (2003–04), Jeff Jakaitis (2008–09), :Wins: 32 Nick Vitucci (1995–96) :Shutouts: 3 Scott Meyer (2003–04), Alex Westlund (2006–07) *Goaltending records need a minimum 25 games played by the goaltender

Career

:Career Goals: 174 Darryl Noren :Career Assists: 229 Darryl Noren :Career Points: 403 Darryl Noren :Career Penalty Minutes: 213 Steve MacIntyre

Notable players

List of Charlotte Checkers alumni who played over 25 games in the ECHL and 25 or more games 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 ...

Retired numbers

*4 – Kurt Seher

References

External links

Charlotte Checkers Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte Checkers (1993-2010) 1993 establishments in North Carolina 2010 disestablishments in North Carolina Charlotte Checkers Defunct ECHL teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1993 Defunct ice hockey teams in North Carolina Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2010 Boston Bruins minor league affiliates Colorado Avalanche minor league affiliates Ottawa Senators minor league affiliates