Charlotte Checkers (1993–2010) Players
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The Charlotte Checkers are a professional
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 based 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 ...
. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in 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 ...
(AHL), and are the top minor league affiliate of the
Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...
of 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). The Checkers play their home games at
Bojangles' Coliseum Bojangles Coliseum, originally Charlotte Coliseum and formerly Independence Arena and Cricket Arena, is a 10,829-seat multi-purpose arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, which al ...
. The current organization is the third team by this name; it succeeded a Checkers franchise that 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 ...
from 1993 until 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 ...
. The original Checkers team played in the city from 1956 to 1977, originally in the
Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart ...
and then in the Southern Hockey League. The franchise is one of six teams to replace and share a name with a predecessor franchise from a lower-tier league; the others are the
Bakersfield Condors The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team based in Bakersfield, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their home games at Dignity Healt ...
,
Colorado Eagles The Colorado Eagles are a professional ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Pacific Division of the American Hockey League. The Eagles were founded as an expansion franchise in 2003 in the Central Hockey League and ...
,
Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team based in Ontario, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena. The fra ...
,
Rockford IceHogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...
, and
San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team based in San Diego. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Anaheim Ducks. The team plays its home games at Pechanga Arena. History On Jan ...
.


History

The franchise was originally based in
Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...
, as the
Capital District Islanders The Capital District Islanders were a team in the American Hockey League based in Troy, New York, which is located within a region popularly called the Capital District. The Islanders were the principal minor league affiliate of the National Hoc ...
from 1990 to 1993. They then became 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 ...
from 1993 to 2010, until the River Rats were sold to MAK Hockey, LLC, led by Charlotte beer distributor Michael Kahn, owner of the ECHL Checkers. The new ownership relocated the team to Charlotte for the
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
season, renaming the franchise the "Charlotte Checkers", and relinquished the ECHL franchise to the league. The Checkers are the second North Carolina–based team to play at the highest level of minor-league hockey, following the
Carolina Monarchs The Carolina Monarchs were a short-lived ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Greensboro Coliseum, succeeding the ECHL Greensboro Monarchs, some of whose owners accepted an expansion pro ...
, who played in
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 ...
from 1995 to 1997. The Checkers inherited the River Rats' affiliation with the
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 ...
, in keeping with a recent trend to have NHL teams' top affiliates geographically close to their parent teams in order to ease movement between the AHL and the NHL. The AHL Checkers' first home game was October 15, 2010, at the
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 front of 12,512 spectators, which set an attendance record for a hockey game in Charlotte. On February 26, 2011, the attendance record was broken as 12,933 fans watched the Checkers defeat the Connecticut Whale 1–0. Almost a year later, on February 25, 2012, the attendance record was broken yet again as 13,102 fans watched the Checkers fall to the
Oklahoma City Barons The Oklahoma City Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team's first season was 2010–11 AHL season, 2010–11. They played their home games at the Cox Convention Center, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. ...
, 3–2. On April 11, 2015, the attendance record was broken a third time as 13,219 fans watched the last Checkers game at Time Warner Cable Arena, a 2–0 loss to the
Rockford IceHogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...
. In late 2014, the Checkers announced they would return in the following season to the
Bojangles' Coliseum Bojangles Coliseum, originally Charlotte Coliseum and formerly Independence Arena and Cricket Arena, is a 10,829-seat multi-purpose arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, which al ...
, the home of the previous Checkers teams until 2005. As Kahn detailed, the move would reconnect with said team legacy. Additionally, having a dedicated arena allowed for "greater control over every aspect of our business, including scheduling, amenities, game presentation and sponsorship inventory." To make sure the Coliseum was up to AHL standards, the Charlotte City Council arranged to provide $16 million to fund renovations. While Time Warner Cable Arena had been one of the largest arenas in the AHL, it left much to be desired as a hockey venue. It seated 14,100 people, but over 4,000 seats had obstructed views. In Charlotte on May 9 and 10, 2018, in game four of the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs, the Checkers and the
Lehigh Valley Phantoms The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The team competes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and serves as the primary development team for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey Le ...
played the longest game in the history of the American Hockey League. A 1–1 tie was broken by a Phantoms' goal at 6:48 of the fifth overtime period, more than six hours after the game began. The Checkers made 95 shots against Lehigh Valley goalie Alex Lyon. The 2018–19 season was the Checkers' best season as an AHL team to date and one of the best in Charlotte's hockey history. They won their first division title with 110 points and the
Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy The Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy is presented annually to the AHL team that finishes the regular season with the most points or highest points percentage. The award is named after late former AHL board member Macgregor Kilpatrick. The award was f ...
for the league's best regular season record. It was the first time a Charlotte hockey team had broken the 100-point barrier since the SHL Checkers earned 101 points in 1974–75. They defeated the defending champion
Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies are owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a c ...
in the Eastern Conference finals to advance to their first Calder Cup final. They defeated the
Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...
in five games to win their first AHL title, and the seventh hockey championship by a Charlotte-based team. The following 2019–20 season was curtailed by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and the Calder Cup was not awarded. Following the cancelled postseason, the Hurricanes ended their affiliation with the Checkers after ten seasons, resulting in the Checkers affiliating with the
Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...
beginning with the 2020–21 season. However, due to the ongoing restrictions during the pandemic, the Checkers were one of three teams that opted out of the
2020–21 AHL season The 2020–21 AHL season was the 85th season of the American Hockey League. Due to the ongoing restrictions in the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the regular season was pushed back to February 5, 2021, and the league's playoff tournament champi ...
. When the Checkers returned for the 2021–22 season, they remained the primary affiliate of the Panthers, but agreed to also serve as the affiliate for the 2021–22 expansion team
Seattle Kraken The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The t ...
. The Kraken's general manager
Ron Francis Ronald Michael Francis Jr. (born March 1, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey sports executive and former player. He currently serves as the president of hockey operations for the Seattle Kraken. He spent most of his career as either a player or ex ...
formerly worked for the Hurricanes when the team was still affiliated with the Checkers.


Season-by-season results


Players


Current roster

Updated April 15, 2025.


Team captains

* Bryan Rodney, 2010–11 *
Brett Sutter Brett Darryl Sutter (born June 2, 1987) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current assistant coach for the Calgary Wranglers of the American Hockey League (AHL). Sutter was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the sixth round ( ...
, 2011–14 * Michal Jordan, 2014–15 * Derek Ryan, 2015–16 * Patrick Brown, 2016–19 *
Roland McKeown Roland McKeown (born January 20, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing for the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League (AHL). McKeown was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round (50th ...
, 2019–20 *
Zac Dalpe Zac Dalpe (born November 1, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who currently plays for the Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Florida Panthers in the National Hockey League (NHL ...
, 2021–present


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte Checkers American Hockey League teams 2010 establishments in North Carolina Ice hockey teams in North Carolina Ice hockey clubs established in 2010 Carolina Hurricanes minor league affiliates Florida Panthers minor league affiliates Seattle Kraken minor league affiliates