| Orlando Solar Bears | |
|---|---|
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| City | Orlando, Florida |
| League | ECHL |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | South |
| Founded | 2012 (current ECHL franchise) 1994 (firstIHL franchise) |
| Home arena | Kia Center |
| Colors | Solar purple, seafoam green, sunset orange, sunrise gold, white, black |
| Owner(s) | RDV Sports, Inc.[1] |
| Head coach | Vacant |
| Media | Orlando Sentinel ,WJRR, ECHL.TV, |
| Affiliates | Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) Syracuse Crunch (AHL) |
| Website | orlandosolarbearshockey |
 Current season | |
TheOrlando Solar Bears are a professionalice hockey team that plays their home games atKia Center[2] inOrlando, Florida. They play in the South Division of theECHL's Eastern Conference and are affiliated with theTampa Bay Lightning of theNational Hockey League.
Orlando Pro Hockey Operations, L.P. and primary owners Joe Haleski, Bob Ohrablo, and Jason Siegel, obtained an expansion franchise in theECHL in November 2011.[3] The team revived the name of theoriginal Orlando Solar Bears, who played in theInternational Hockey League from 1995 to 2001.[4] The franchise also retained the original colors of their IHL predecessor, while adding the color Sunrise Gold. They are Orlando's third professional hockey team, after the original Solar Bears andOrlando Seals (2002–2004). Together with theFlorida Everblades ofEstero and theJacksonville Icemen, they are one of three ECHL franchises in Florida. They are the eighth ECHL franchise to have the name of a previous IHL franchise, joining four current teams (Cincinnati Cyclones,Fort Wayne Komets,Utah Grizzlies andKalamazoo Wings) and three former teams (the defunct Phoenix Roadrunners andLong Beach Ice Dogs; and thePeoria Rivermen).
The Solar Bears utilize RDV Sportsplex Ice Den as their training facility and offices.
For their first season in 2012–13, the team became affiliated with theMinnesota Wild of theNHL and theHouston Aeros of theAHL.[5] They hired former NHL playerDrake Berehowsky as the team's first head coach.[6] During their inaugural season, the Solar Bears posted a 20–11–1–4 record on home ice; however, the team struggled on the road and missed the playoffs with a 28–27–7 overall record.[7]
The Solar Bears then namedVince Williams, a former Solar Bears defenseman, as head coach for the 2013–14 season. They also added an affiliation with theToronto Maple Leafs of theNHL and theToronto Marlies of theAHL while also keeping the Wild as an affiliate. The Leafs extended their affiliation with the Solar Bears for an additional two years in 2014 and the Leafs became the Solar Bears' sole NHL affiliate.[8]
The Solar Bears hosted the 2015ECHL All-Star Game atAmway Center on January 21, 2015.
For the 2015–16 season,Anthony Noreen became the head coach of the Solar Bears after guiding theUnited States Hockey League'sYoungstown Phantoms to the league championship and being named USHL Coach of the Year.[9] The Solar Bears also renewed their affiliation with the Maple Leafs and Marlies.[10] The Solar Bears missed the 2016 playoffs and then started the 2016–17 season with a 5-5-1-0 record. On November 14, 2016, head coach Anthony Noreen was replaced by former Solar Bears' head coachDrake Berehowsky.[7]
In May 2017, theDeVos family, owners of theOrlando Magic, agreed to purchase the Solar Bears when the Orlando Pro Hockey Operations, L.P. ownership group informed them that they could no longer sustain the team. The DeVos family were the owners of the IHL Solar Bears from 1995 through 2001.[1]
In the2018 Kelly Cup playoffs, the Solar Bears swept theSouth Carolina Stingrays to win their first playoff series, before losing to the regular season champions, theFlorida Everblades, in the division finals. After the season, the Solar Bears and the Toronto Maple Leafs ended their five-season affiliation when Toronto affiliated with the expansionNewfoundland Growlers team.[11] The Solar Bears then affiliated with theTampa Bay Lightning on a three-year agreement,[12] which was then extended through at least the 2022–23 season.[13]
On April 25, 2022, the team announced that they and Drake Berehowsky had mutually agreed to part ways.[14]
The radio broadcasts for Orlando Solar Bears games are streamed online throughiHeart Radio on the online channel forWYGM "740 the Game" and on Mixlr. News6 WKMG broadcasts select games throughout the season. Joey Battaino, formerly of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, is the play-by-play announcer for the Solar Bears.[citation needed]
As with all ECHL teams, video of Orlando Solar Bears games are available onFloSports and ECHL.TV, usually with a choice between home or away radio feeds for audio. The 2022-2023 season home opener was simulcast onWKMG-TV (Orlando'sCBS affiliate) andCozi TV.[citation needed]
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA | Standing | Avg. attendance | Year | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Kelly Cup |
| 2012–13 | 72 | 28 | 37 | 3 | 4 | 63 | 197 | 253 | 5th, South | 6,668 | 2013 | did not qualify | |||
| 2013–14 | 72 | 43 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 91 | 225 | 219 | 2nd, South | 6,355 | 2014 | L, 2–4,CIN | — | — | — |
| 2014–15 | 72 | 37 | 25 | 6 | 4 | 84 | 236 | 215 | 4th, East | 6,209 | 2015 | L, 2–4,FLA | — | — | — |
| 2015–16 | 72 | 33 | 30 | 4 | 5 | 75 | 224 | 232 | 3rd, South | 6,226 | 2016 | did not qualify | |||
| 2016–17 | 72 | 36 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 82 | 260 | 258 | 4th, South | 5,498 | 2017 | L, 3–4,FLA | — | — | — |
| 2017–18 | 72 | 33 | 30 | 6 | 3 | 75 | 212 | 228 | 3rd, South | 5,461 | 2018 | W, 4–0,SC | L, 1–4,FLA | — | — |
| 2018–19 | 72 | 41 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 88 | 251 | 238 | 2nd, South | 5,612 | 2019 | W, 4–1,SC | L, 1–4,FLA | — | — |
| 2019–20 | 62 | 27 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 60 | 170 | 180 | 5th, South | 5,632 | 2020 | Season cancelled | |||
| 2020–21 | 72 | 36 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 79 | 218 | 232 | 5th, Eastern | 2,464 | 2021 | did not qualify | |||
| 2021–22 | 71 | 33 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 73 | 197 | 226 | 5th, South | 5,120 | 2022 | did not qualify | |||
| 2022–23 | 72 | 30 | 33 | 8 | 1 | 69 | 221 | 264 | 6th, South | 6,033 | 2023 | did not qualify | |||
| 2023–24 | 72 | 38 | 24 | 7 | 3 | 86 | 220 | 206 | 4th, South | — | 2024 | W, 4–2,GRN | L, 1–4,FLA | — | — |
| 2024–25 | 72 | 37 | 25 | 10 | 0 | 84 | 196 | 200 | 4th, South | — | 2025 | W, 4–3,SC | L, 1–4,FLA | — | — |
Orlando Solar Bears alumni that advanced to play in theNHL after playing for the club:
Orlando Solar Bears that played in the NHL before playing with the team:
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