The Odessa Jackalopes were a minor 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

Odessa, Texas Odessa () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, Ector County with portions extending into Midland County, Texas, Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. The team played in the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

(CHL), and was an affiliate of the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

. The Jackalopes played their home games at Ector County Coliseum. All Jackalopes games were broadcast live on

KMCM KMCM (96.9 FM broadcasting, FM), branded as "KMCM 97 Gold", is a radio station that serves the Midland–Odessa metropolitan area with classic hits by broadcasting the Classic Hits satellite feed from Westwood One. Its studios are located at t ...

from the franchise's inaugural year until the 2009–10 season when KFZX took over the broadcasting rights to the live games and the Monday talk show called Hockey Talk.

History

In October 1997, Odessa joined the

Western Professional Hockey League The Western Professional Hockey League (abbreviated WPHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league. The WPHL operated from 1996 to 2001 with teams based in the southern United States, primarily Texas and Louisiana. The league started with six te ...

(WPHL). In their first season the home games drew an average of 4,000 spectators. Over the next couple of seasons that number leveled off, and the team averaged just over 3,200 hockey fans each game. The team mascot, a

jackalope The jackalope is a mythical animal of North American folklore described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns. The word ''jackalope'' is a portmanteau of ''jackrabbit'' and ''antelope''. Many jackalope taxidermy mounts, including the original, ...

, quickly became one of the most popular in hockey's minor leagues, and team merchandise featuring the snarling, antlered rabbit, has sold well throughout the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Leagues

The Jackalopes continued playing in the WPHL until 2001, when the league merged with the Central Hockey League. Beginning with the 2001–02 season, the Jackalopes played in the CHL. On March 23, 2011, the ownership group confirmed that they would be leaving the CHL and joining the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

(NAHL), by purchasing an existing NAHL franchise and moving it to Odessa and adopting the same name.

Captains

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Sébastien Thinel Sébastien Thinel (born March 24, 1981) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey Winger. On August 23, 2011, Thinel was signed by the Missouri Mavericks of the Central Hockey League for the 2011–12 season. During that season, Thinel bec ...

Alternate Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an alternative to mainstream superh ...

- Philippe Plante
Alternate - Mike Ramsay Note: Thinel named as captain replacing injured David van Drunen & Ramsay named alternate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odessa Jackalopes (1997-2011) Odessa, Texas Defunct Central Hockey League teams Defunct ice hockey teams in Texas Ice hockey clubs established in 1997 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2011 1997 establishments in Texas 2011 disestablishments in Texas New York Islanders minor league affiliates Sports in Odessa, Texas