| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| League | American Hockey League |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | Atlantic |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Home arena | Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza |
| Colors | Black, gold, white, red |
| Mascot | Tux |
| Owner(s) | Ronald Burkle Mario Lemieux |
| General manager | Jason Spezza |
| Head coach | Kirk MacDonald |
| Captain | Phil Kemp |
| Media | Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Scranton Times-Tribune SportsNet Pittsburgh WILK Newsradio AHL.TV (Internet) |
| Affiliates | Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) |
| Franchise history | |
| 1981–1988 | Fredericton Express |
| 1988–1993 | Halifax Citadels |
| 1993–1996 | Cornwall Aces |
| 1999–present | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 2: (2010–11,2016–17) |
| Division titles | 4: (2005–06,2007–08,2010–11,2016–17) |
| Conference titles | 3: (2001,2004,2008) |
| Calder Cups | 0 |
 Current season | |
TheWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (sometimes known as theWBS Penguins) are a professionalice hockey team based inWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They are theAmerican Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of theNational Hockey League'sPittsburgh Penguins. They play at theMohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza inWilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania. They have won theMacgregor Kilpatrick Trophy twice for having the best record in the regular season.
ThePittsburgh Penguins' top minor league affiliate throughout the 1990s was theCleveland Lumberjacks of theIHL. However, in the mid-1990s, the IHL began moving away from being a developmental league and more towards being an independent minor league. For this reason, the Penguins wanted their top minor league affiliate in the AHL. The Penguins purchased the dormantCornwall Aces AHL franchise from theColorado Avalanche in 1996,[1][2] but left the team inactive until the 1999–2000 season due to construction delays at their intended home–a new arena in Wilkes-Barre Township. The team is affectionately referred to as the "Baby Penguins" by fans. Their mascot is Tux the penguin, who wears number No. 99 in reference to the team's first season, in 1999.
The Penguins have gone to theCalder Cup final three times but have never won thechampionship. The team went all the way to the finals in theirsecond season, losing to theSaint John Flames in six games. The Penguins returned to the finals in theirfifth season, but were swept by theMilwaukee Admirals. They most recently made it to the finals in2008 by way of beating thePortland Pirates in a seven-game series in the Eastern Conference finals. They went on to play theChicago Wolves in the final, but lost the series in six games.
The WBS Penguins won theMacgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for the best finish in the regular season, in 2011, with 117 points. GoaltenderBrad Thiessen was named the recipient of theAldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award, an award given to the AHL's most outstanding goaltender for each season. He posted a record of 35–8–1 in 46 appearances, along with a 1.94 goals-against-average and a .922 save percentage. Head coachJohn Hynes won theLouis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award, awarded to the most outstanding AHL coach of the season. Despite the best regular season finish in team history, the Penguins were eliminated in the second round of the2011 playoffs by theCharlotte Checkers in six games.
The Penguins have made the playoffs in all but four seasons of their existence. The Penguins held a playoff streak of 16 seasons from the2002–03 season to the2017–18 season.
Prior to the2009–10 season, they held the inaugural Penguins Black and Gold Game, an intra-squad game which featured members of the Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and was the first ever head-to-head meeting betweenSidney Crosby andEvgeni Malkin. The game was a complete sellout and tickets never reached the general public. The Penguins organization held its second Black and Gold Game prior to the2010–11 season on September 19, 2010.
In 2009, they also spawned an affiliatedyouth level organization, the Wilkes-Barre Junior Pens. The team is based out of the Ice Rink at Coal Street Park, which also serves as a practice facility for the Penguins.[3]
The Penguins' biggest rivals had been thePhiladelphia Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of Pennsylvania's other NHL team, thePhiladelphia Flyers. After that team moved toGlens Falls, New York, (as theAdirondack Phantoms) theHershey Bears, also located in Pennsylvania, became the major rivals of the Penguins (they are currently the AHL affiliate of another rival of the Pittsburgh Penguins, theWashington Capitals). In 2014, the Adirondack Phantoms relocated back to eastern Pennsylvania as theLehigh Valley Phantoms.
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | Tied | OTL | SOL | Points | PCT | Goals for | Goals against | Standing | Year | Prelims | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Finals |
| 1999–00 | 80 | 23 | 43 | 9 | 5 | — | 60 | .375 | 236 | 306 | 5th, Empire State Div. | 2000 | — | Did not qualify | |||
| 2000–01 | 80 | 36 | 33 | 9 | 2 | — | 83 | .519 | 252 | 248 | 2nd, Mid-Atlantic Div. | 2001 | — | W, 3–2,SYR | W, 4–2,PHI | W, 4–0,HER | L, 2–4,SJF |
| 2001–02 | 80 | 20 | 44 | 13 | 3 | — | 56 | .350 | 201 | 274 | 4th, South Div. | 2002 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2002–03 | 80 | 36 | 32 | 7 | 5 | — | 84 | .525 | 245 | 248 | 3rd, South Div. | 2003 | W, 2–0,UTA | L, 1–3,GR | — | — | — |
| 2003–04 | 80 | 34 | 28 | 10 | 8 | — | 86 | .538 | 197 | 197 | 3rd, East Div. | 2004 | BYE | W, 4–3,BRP | W, 4–2,PHI | W, 4–3,HFD | L, 0–4,MIL |
| 2004–05 | 80 | 39 | 27 | — | 7 | 7 | 92 | .575 | 227 | 219 | 4th, East Div. | 2005 | — | W, 4–2,BNG | L, 1–4,PHI | — | — |
| 2005–06 | 80 | 51 | 18 | — | 5 | 6 | 113 | .706 | 249 | 178 | 1st, East Div. | 2006 | — | W, 4–3,BRP | L, 0–4,HER | — | — |
| 2006–07 | 80 | 51 | 23 | — | 2 | 4 | 108 | .675 | 276 | 221 | 2nd, East Div. | 2007 | — | W, 4–2,NOR | L, 1–4,HER | — | — |
| 2007–08 | 80 | 47 | 26 | — | 3 | 4 | 101 | .631 | 223 | 187 | 1st, East Div. | 2008 | — | W, 4–1,HER | W, 4–1,PHI | W, 4–3POR | L, 2–4,CHI |
| 2008–09 | 80 | 49 | 25 | — | 3 | 3 | 104 | .650 | 274 | 212 | 3rd, East Div. | 2009 | — | W, 4–1,BRP | L,3–4HER | — | — |
| 2009–10 | 80 | 41 | 34 | — | 2 | 3 | 87 | .544 | 239 | 229 | 3rd, East Div. | 2010 | — | L, 0–4,ALB | — | — | — |
| 2010–11 | 80 | 58 | 21 | — | 0 | 1 | 117 | .731 | 261 | 183 | 1st, East Div. | 2011 | — | W, 4–2,NOR | L, 2–4,CHA | — | — |
| 2011–12 | 76 | 44 | 25 | — | 2 | 5 | 95 | .625 | 235 | 215 | 2nd, East Div. | 2012 | — | W, 3–2,HER | L, 3–4,STJ | — | — |
| 2012–13 | 76 | 42 | 30 | — | 2 | 2 | 88 | .579 | 185 | 178 | 3rd, East Div. | 2013 | — | W, 3–0,BNG | W, 4–3,PRO | L, 1–4,SYR | — |
| 2013–14 | 76 | 42 | 26 | — | 3 | 5 | 92 | .605 | 206 | 185 | 6th, Eastern Conf. | 2014 | — | W, 3–1,BNG | W, 4–3,PRO | L, 2–4,STJ | — |
| 2014–15 | 76 | 45 | 24 | — | 3 | 4 | 97 | .638 | 212 | 163 | 4th, Eastern Conf. | 2015 | — | W, 3–0,SYR | L, 1–4,MCH | — | — |
| 2015–16 | 76 | 43 | 27 | — | 4 | 2 | 92 | .605 | 230 | 203 | 3rd, Atlantic Div. | 2016 | — | W, 3–0,PRO | L, 3–4,HER | — | — |
| 2016–17 | 76 | 51 | 20 | — | 3 | 2 | 107 | .704 | 247 | 170 | 1st, Atlantic Div. | 2017 | — | L, 2–3,PRO | — | — | — |
| 2017–18 | 76 | 45 | 22 | — | 6 | 3 | 99 | .651 | 252 | 223 | 2nd, Atlantic Div. | 2018 | — | L, 0–3,CHA | — | — | — |
| 2018–19 | 76 | 36 | 30 | — | 7 | 3 | 82 | .539 | 232 | 228 | 6th, Atlantic Div. | 2019 | — | Did not qualify | |||
| 2019–20 | 63 | 29 | 26 | — | 3 | 5 | 66 | .524 | 164 | 193 | 5th, Atlantic Div. | 2020 | — | Season cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2020–21 | 32 | 13 | 13 | — | 4 | 2 | 32 | .500 | 92 | 107 | 5th, North Div. | 2021 | — | No playoffs were held | |||
| 2021–22 | 76 | 35 | 33 | — | 4 | 4 | 78 | .513 | 209 | 225 | 4th, Atlantic Div. | 2022 | W, 2–1,HER | L, 0–3,SPR | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | 72 | 26 | 32 | — | 8 | 6 | 66 | .458 | 191 | 224 | 8th, Atlantic Div. | 2023 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2023–24 | 72 | 39 | 24 | — | 8 | 1 | 87 | .604 | 211 | 194 | 3rd, Atlantic Div. | 2024 | L, 0–2,LV | — | — | — | — |
| 2024–25 | 72 | 40 | 24 | — | 7 | 1 | 88 | .611 | 244 | 215 | 4th, Atlantic Div. | 2025 | L, 0–2,LV | — | — | — | — |
WonMacgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for the best record in the regular season
Round not held
Updated November 6, 2025.[4]
Players listed have played at least 100 games with the Penguins and 100 games in the NHL.
As of the 2009–10 AHL Season. Data from the AHL Hall of Fame Website.[5]
Per the AHL Hall of Fame:[6]
Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy (AHL regular season champions) Frank Mathers Trophy (Eastern Conference regular season champions from 2004 to 2011) Richard F. Canning Trophy (Eastern Conference playoff champions) F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy (East Division regular season champions from 2002 to 2011) Robert W. Clarke Trophy (Western Conference playoff champions) | Eddie Shore Award (best defenseman) Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award (best goaltender) Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award (goalies with lowestgoals against avg.)
Yanick Dupre Memorial Award (AHL Man of the Year Service) Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award (coach of the year)
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The [Pittsburgh] Penguins will move and rename the AHL's Cornwall Aces after buying the franchise from the Avalanche.
[Godfrey] Wood will be responsible for finding a home for the [Pittsburgh] Penguins' incoming AHL team, the defunct Cornwall Aces franchise Pittsburgh bought from the Colorado Avalanche.
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