| Utica Comets | |
|---|---|
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| City | Utica, New York |
| League | American Hockey League |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | North |
| Founded | 1932 (first franchise) 1998 (second franchise) |
| Home arena | Adirondack Bank Center |
| Colors | Red, black, white |
| Owner(s) | |
| President | Robert Esche |
| General manager | Dan MacKinnon |
| Head coach | Ryan Parent (interim) |
| Captain | Ryan Schmelzer |
| Media | WKLL (94.9 FM) Observer-Dispatch WKTV NewsChannel 2 WUTR Eyewitness News AHL.TV (Internet) |
| Affiliates | New Jersey Devils (NHL) Adirondack Thunder (ECHL) |
| Franchise history | |
| First franchise | |
| 1932–1935 1935–1951 | Quebec Beavers Springfield Indians |
| 1951–1954 1954–1967 | Syracuse Warriors Springfield Indians |
| 1967–1974 1974–1994 | Springfield Kings Springfield Indians |
| 1994–2005 2005–2013 | Worcester IceCats Peoria Rivermen |
| 2013–2021 | Utica Comets |
| 2021–present | Abbotsford Canucks |
| Second franchise | |
| 1998–2006 2006–2010 | Lowell Lock Monsters Lowell Devils |
| 2010–2017 | Albany Devils |
| 2017–2021 | Binghamton Devils |
| 2021–present | Utica Comets |
| Championships | |
| Division titles | 2 (2014–15,2021–22) |
| Conference titles | 1 (2014–15) |
 Current season | |
TheUtica Comets are a professionalice hockey team based inUtica, New York. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of theAmerican Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated with theNational Hockey League's (NHL)New Jersey Devils. The Comets play their home games at theAdirondack Bank Center. The team was established when theVancouver Canucks relocated their AHL franchise to Utica for the2013–14 season.
The Comets are the second AHL team to call Utica home; another New Jersey Devils-affiliated team, theUtica Devils played in the city from1987 until1993. Before the2021–22 AHL season, the Canucks relocated the franchise used by the Comets toAbbotsford, British Columbia, and the Devils relocated their franchise, the then-Binghamton Devils, to Utica to play as the Comets. As with the Devils, the Comets are owned byJosh Harris andDavid Blitzer underHarris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE).
On March 29, 2013, a deal was announced for thePeoria Rivermen franchise to be purchased byCanucks Sports & Entertainment (CS&E), owners of theNational Hockey League's (NHL)Vancouver Canucks. The deal was later approved by theAmerican Hockey League (AHL) on April 18.[1] The Canucks-owned franchise is one of the oldest professional hockey franchises in existence, dating back to 1932, when the team was known as theQuebec Beavers. In 1935, the franchise moved to Springfield and became theIndians, reviving the name after the original Indians franchise ceased operations during the 1932–33Canadian-American Hockey League season. In addition to the Indians, the team has been known as theSyracuse Warriors,Springfield Kings,Worcester IceCats and then the Rivermen.
After purchasing the franchise, CS&E intended to have the franchise located in a market close toVancouver, British Columbia. Their initial preference wasAbbotsford,British Columbia, which was home to theCalgary Flames' AHL farm club, theAbbotsford Heat. The Heat had been rumored to have plans to relocate to Utica at the time.[2] Negotiations between the Canucks and Abbotsford broke down by April 22, ensuring the Heat would remain in the city.[3] Media reports speculated that the Canucks would move the team to Vancouver and shareRogers Arena, which is also owned by CS&E, with the Canucks. This proved impossible as Vancouver is within Abbotsford's 50-mile territorial radius provided by the AHL.[4] A reported plan to have the team play inSeattle'sKeyArena was disallowed by the NHL, as Seattle was reportedly a candidate to land the troubledPhoenix Coyotes franchise. However, the Coyotes eventually found a new owner with intentions to keep the franchise in Arizona and Seattle eventually received an expansion team in theSeattle Kraken to play in the arena.[5]
By May 2013, CS&E's options for the franchise were dwindling; it did consider keeping the franchise in Peoria,[6] but notified the city on May 13 it would not operate in that city, and the Rivermen were replaced by aSouthern Professional Hockey Leagueteam of the same name.[7] CS&E did consider placing the franchise in dormancy for the2013–14 season, with the Canucks loaning their AHL prospects to other teams.[8] Facing an extended deadline by the AHL to find a new home,[9] CS&E agreed to a deal with Utica, New York, to relocate the franchise to the city's soon-to-be-renovatedMemorial Auditorium.[10] The deal was confirmed on June 14 with an official announcement revealing the Utica Comets name and affiliation, along with logo and jerseys patterned after the Canucks' blue, green and silver color scheme.[11] The Comets' nickname honors several prior professional hockey teams in the Mohawk Valley, most notably theClinton andMohawk Valley Comets, which played from 1927 until 1977 (as the Mohawk Valley Comets, they called the Memorial Auditorium home); theAtlantic Coast Hockey League'sMohawk Valley Comets, which played from 1985 until 1987; and a third team of the same name, which played in theNorth Eastern Hockey League during the 2003–04 season.
After establishing the team, CS&E began hiring operations personnel.Travis Green became the first head coach,[12] whilePaul Jerrard andNolan Baumgartner were named assistant coaches, andPat Conacher was hired as the director of hockey operations.[13] Utica played its first game on October 11, 2013, a 4–1 loss to theRochester Americans. In the game,Pascal Pelletier scored the first goal in Comets' history.[14] Utica lost two more games before making their home debut. Before the game, the Comets celebrated the region's hockey history with a slide show,Gordie Howe dropped the ceremonial puck and theHanson Brothers from the movieSlap Shot made an appearance. Utica lost the game 4–1 to theAlbany Devils.[15][16] One week after their home opener,Colin Stuart was named teamcaptain.[17] The Comets finished their debut season with 35 victories and 79 points, four points behind the last spot of the playoffs. Seventeen of the team's thirty-eight home games were sold out.[18]
Before the2014–15 season,Cal O'Reilly was named the team's new captain.[19] The Comets saw much improvement in their second season, and afterSven Baertschi andCory Conacher were acquired in trades, the team soon dominated the Western Conference, finishing the regular season as the top seed.[20] During the playoffs, the Comets won theRobert W. Clarke Trophy as Western Conference champions, advancing to theCalder Cup finals against theManchester Monarchs;[21] the Comets would fall to the Monarchs in five games. Following the season, O'Reilly joined his brotherRyan with theBuffalo Sabres.
The2015–16 season saw the departure of many Comets players.Jacob Markstrom became the backup goaltender for the Canucks,Brendan Gaunce and newly-named captainAlex Biega also spent significant time with the Canucks, whileNicklas Jensen andHunter Shinkaruk were traded mid-season to theNew York Rangers andCalgary Flames, respectively. The Comets placed third in the North Division, which was moved to the Eastern Conference at the start of the season. They were eliminated in the first round of the 2016 playoffs, losing the series 3–1 to the Albany Devils.
At the start of the2016–17 season,Carter Bancks was named team captain, replacing Alex Biega, who became a full-time player for the Canucks. The Comets were unable to clinch a playoff berth, falling four points short. However, the team managed to sellout every home game, extending their sellout streak.
On April 26, 2017, the Canucks hired Green as their new head coach after leading the Comets to a 155–110–39 record through their first four seasons.[22] He was replaced byTrent Cull as head coach of the Comets.[23] The Comets continued their sellout streak through the2017–18 season. They qualified for the 2018 playoffs as the fourth seed in the North Division. They lost the opening round in five games to theToronto Marlies, the eventual Calder Cup champions.
On October 19, 2018, the Utica Comets sold out their 121st consecutive regular season game, establishing a new AHL record. They also sold out all of their 17 playoff games hosted during this span, for a combined streak of 138 consecutive sellouts.[24] They reached 200 consecutive regular season sellouts on February 29, 2020.
On December 29, 2018, during the final season of their initial six-year affiliation agreement, the Canucks and Comets extended their affiliation agreement for up to an additional six years, with potential opt outs every two seasons.[25][26]
The Comets played their first 61 games of the2019–20 season, but the last 15 games of the season were postponed on March 12, 2020, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and then cancelled entirely.[27] The start of the2020–21 season was also pushed back to February 2021. The Comets also agreed to a one-year dual affiliation with theSt. Louis Blues after theSpringfield Thunderbirds opted out of the 2020–21 season.[28] Prior to the pandemic-related schedule changes, the Comets planned to host theSyracuse Crunch in an outdoor game at the Griffiss Business and Technology Park inRome, New York, on February 13, 2021,[29] however, the game was not held as the season had not started.[30]
In April 2021, a new trademark was filed for the brandUtica Devils byRobert Esche, the president of the Utica Comets, for a potential relocation of theBinghamton Devils.[31] On May 4, the Canucks announced that they plan to relocate the Comets' franchise toAbbotsford, British Columbia, pending final discussions with the city of Abbotsford and league approval.[32] On May 6, the league approved of both relocations while the Comets and the Devils announced a ten-year affiliation agreement for the Comets to operate the Devils' AHL franchise.[33] The Utica team remained branded as the Comets[34] but changed their team colors to match the Devils.[35]Kevin Dineen was brought on as the first head coach under the Devils' affiliation.[36]
The Comets started the2021–22 AHL season with an 11–game winning streak, tying the1984–85Rochester Americans for the most consecutive wins to start a season by an AHL team. They would win their next game against theCharlotte Checkers to break the previous record, with a 12–0–0–0 record to start the regular season.[37] Their streak was snapped at 13 games following a loss to theRochester Americans on November 24.[38] The Comets would use this winning streak to help them finish with a North division regular season championship, and with the best points percentage in the Eastern Conference.[39] They would have a bye in the first round, but would lose in five games to theRochester Americans in the North Division Semifinals.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | OTL | SOL | Points | PCT | Goals for | Goals against | Standing | Year | Prelims | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Finals |
| 2013–14 | 76 | 35 | 32 | 5 | 4 | 79 | .520 | 187 | 216 | 3rd, North | 2014 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2014–15 | 76 | 47 | 20 | 7 | 2 | 103 | .678 | 219 | 182 | 1st, North | 2015 | — | W, 3–2,CHI | W, 4–3,OKC | W, 4–2,GR | L, 1–4,MCH |
| 2015–16 | 76 | 38 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 88 | .579 | 224 | 217 | 3rd, North | 2016 | — | L, 1–3,ALB | — | — | — |
| 2016–17 | 76 | 35 | 32 | 7 | 2 | 79 | .520 | 195 | 220 | 5th, North | 2017 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2017–18 | 76 | 38 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 88 | .579 | 211 | 216 | 4th, North | 2018 | — | L, 2–3,TOR | — | — | — |
| 2018–19 | 76 | 34 | 34 | 6 | 2 | 76 | .500 | 224 | 257 | 6th, North | 2019 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2019–20 | 61 | 34 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 73 | .598 | 210 | 186 | 3rd, North | 2020 | Season cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 2020–21 | 28 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 33 | .589 | 89 | 88 | 4th, North | 2021 | No playoffs were held | ||||
| 2021–22 | 72 | 43 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 95 | .660 | 246 | 206 | 1st, North | 2022 | BYE | L, 2–3,ROC | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | 72 | 35 | 27 | 6 | 4 | 80 | .556 | 215 | 222 | 4th, North | 2023 | W, 2–0,LAV | L, 1–3,TOR | — | — | — |
| 2023–24 | 72 | 32 | 29 | 5 | 6 | 75 | .521 | 221 | 226 | 6th, North | 2024 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2024–25 | 72 | 31 | 33 | 6 | 2 | 70 | .486 | 196 | 223 | 7th, North | 2025 | Did not qualify | ||||
There have been four players who have served as thecaptain in the first franchise, and one in the second.Colin Stuart was the first franchise's first captain, who was appointed until he left the team as a free agent in 2014, while Ryan Schmelzer is the first and current captain of the second franchise, holding the position since his appointment in 2021.Carter Bancks and Ryan Schmelzer are tied as the longest-tenured captains of either franchise, having both held the position for four seasons.
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