| Newfoundland Growlers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | St. John's, NL |
| League | ECHL |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | North |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Folded | 2024 |
| Colours | Gold, black |
| Parent club(s) | Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) Toronto Marlies (AHL) |
| Championships | |
| Kelly Cups | 2019 |
TheNewfoundland Growlers were a professionalminor league ice hockey team in theECHL based inSt. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The team began play in the2018–19 season with home games held atMary Brown's Centre. They were affiliated with theToronto Maple Leafs of theNational Hockey League (NHL) andToronto Marlies of theAmerican Hockey League (AHL).[1] TheECHL terminated the team's membership in2024 for failure to fulfill league bylaws.[2]
The search for a new professional hockey team for St. John's began after theMontreal Canadiens announced in July 2016 that their affiliate, theSt. John's IceCaps of theAmerican Hockey League (AHL), would move to the newly constructedPlace Bell arena inLaval, Quebec for the start of the2017–18 season.Danny Williams, from the incumbent franchise, stated his intention to find a replacement.[3][4]
From that point two rival groups formed: the operators of theSt. John's Edge basketball team, which played at theMile One Centre, who wanted aQuebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) franchise for the arena; and another, led by local businessman Dean MacDonald andGlenn Stanford of the former IceCaps, who were looking for anECHL team.[5][6]
The ECHL franchise was conditionally approved but was delayed in late January 2018 after the dispute with the St. John's Edge ownership group over arena rights went toarbitration.[7] After the lease issue was settled, the ECHL officially approved St. John's application on March 13, 2018, placing the team in the North Division of the Eastern Conference for the2018–19 season.[8] The ECHL ownership group reportedly created a partnership with theToronto Maple Leafs, which would bring the organization back to St. John's for the first time since the team relocated their AHL affiliate, theSt. John's Maple Leafs, to Toronto in 2005.[9] The affiliation was confirmed on June 14.[1] Among the names considered for the new franchise were Shamrocks, Storm, Regiment, and Newfoundland Growlers.[10] The team announced its name as the Newfoundland Growlers on May 22. The name refers to theNewfoundland dog, specifically theWorld War I mascot of theRoyal Newfoundland Regiment,Sable Chief.Ryane Clowe, a Newfoundland native, previously an assistant coach with theNew Jersey Devils, was named head coach on June 20.[11] John Snowden was added as assistant coach on July 19 after serving in the same capacity for the Maple Leafs' previous ECHL affiliate, theOrlando Solar Bears.[12]
The Growlers played their first game on October 12, 2018, a 3–2 win over theFlorida Everblades in front of a sold-out arena.[13] In January 2019, Clowe stepped down due to health concerns and was replaced by assistant coach John Snowden.[14] The Growlers finished the season first in their division with 94 points. The Growlers then advanced to the finals of the2019 playoffs defeating theToledo Walleye in six games to win theKelly Cup. The Growlers were the second team after the 1989–90Greensboro Monarchs to win the ECHL championship in its first season of operations.[15][16] They were also the first Canadian team to win the Cup.
The Growlers did not defend their title in 2020 as the playoffs were cancelled due to the onset of theCOVID-19 pandemic. The club then voluntarily suspended operations for the2020–21 ECHL season due to ongoing pandemic travel restrictions.[17] In the 2021 offseason, head coach John Snowden was hired by the Growlers' AHL affiliate, theToronto Marlies, as an assistant coach[18] withEric Wellwood later named head coach for the2021–22 season.[19] With Wellwood unavailable in February 2022 due to COVID-19 protocols, the Growlers hiredDanielle Goyette as a temporary assistant coach, making Goyette the first woman to coach an ECHL team.[20]
Buddy the Puffin served as the mascot of the Growlers. Buddy, a longtime sports mascot in St. John's, was previously the mascot of the St. John's Maple Leafs and later the St. John's IceCaps. Buddy wore number 92, which represents 1992, the year that he was introduced as the mascot of the St. John's Maple Leafs. Chris Abbott, the man who wore Buddy's costume, died in 2022. Buddy was then retired by the Growlers. In December 2022, the Growlers introduced Buddy Jr. sporting the number 22. Buddy was also the mascot for theSt. John's Edge basketball team.[21]
In July 2021, co-tenant of Mile One Centre, the St. John's Edge basketball team, were not given the option to renew their lease despite being in negotiations with the Growlers ownership, Deacon Sports and Entertainment (DSE), to purchase the Edge.[22][23][24] This led to a dispute between DSE and the City of St. John's as the Growlers still needed to renew their lease agreement as well, which they did, signing a three-year agreement in August 2021.[25] However, the operations of the arena was continued to be criticized by DSE and tickets were not being sold a week before their first scheduled home game of the 2021–22 season.[26]
On October 27, 2021, citingworkplace harassment of arena employees, the city voted to evict the team, which elicited the threat of a lawsuit from DSE.[27] A third-party investigation was undertaken. The Growlers initially scheduled their first six home games for theCoca-Cola Coliseum inToronto, the home of their AHL parent club, theToronto Marlies, in case they could not secure a local arena.[28][29] They subsequently came to an agreement with the nearby town ofConception Bay South to play their first six games at the CBS Arena.[30] On November 18, DSE and the city of St. John's came to an agreement to play the rest of the season at the Mile One Centre, renamedMary Brown's Centre, in early November.[31]
On April 2, 2024, the ECHL terminated the team's membership for failure to fulfill league bylaws. Both the Growlers and their sister team, theTrois-Rivières Lions, had been experiencing financial difficulties. The ECHL assumed transitional ownership of the Trois-Rivières Lions pending the franchise's sale to new owners.[2][32] As a result of cessation, all eligible Growlers' players signed to astandard player contract were released asunrestricted free agents, allowing other league members to sign up to two former players.[nb 1] Contrarily, all Growlers players under anAHL or NHL structured contract were deemed ineligible to play the six remaining games of the2023–24 ECHL season.[33]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA | Standing | Year | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Kelly Cup |
| 2018–19 | 72 | 43 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 94 | 258 | 207 | 1st, North | 2019 | W, 4–2,BRM | W, 4–2,MAN | W, 4–1,FLA | W, 4–2,TOL |
| 2019–20 | 60 | 42 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 85 | 240 | 177 | 1st, North | 2020 | Season cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2020–21 | Opted out of participating due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic | 2021 | did not participate | |||||||||||
| 2021–22 | 67 | 42 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 89 | 262 | 191 | 2nd, North | 2022 | W, 4–3,TRL | W, 4–3,REA | L, 1–4,FLA | — |
| 2022–23 | 72 | 48 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 98 | 271 | 217 | 1st, North | 2023 | W, 4–1,ADK | W, 4–1,REA | L, 2–4,FLA | — |
| 2023–24 | 66 | 28 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 66 | 220 | 234 | Ceased operations before conclusion of season | 2024 | — | |||
| Totals | 337 | 203 | 108 | 18 | 8 | 432 | 1,251 | 1,026 | – | |||||
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