The Henderson Silver Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in Henderson, Nevada, that began play in the 2020–21 American Hockey League (AHL) season. The team plays its home games at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada. The team is an owned-and-operated affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights.
| Henderson Silver Knights | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Henderson, Nevada |
| League | American Hockey League |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Pacific |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Home arena | Lee's Family Forum |
| Colors | Henderson silver, Vegas gold, medieval black |
| Owner(s) | Black Knight Sports and Entertainment (Bill Foley, Chair) |
| General manager | Tim Speltz[1] |
| Head coach | Ryan Craig[2] |
| Captain | Jake Bischoff |
| Media | MyLVTV 1230 AM The Game |
| Affiliates | Vegas Golden Knights (NHL) |
| Franchise history | |
| 1971–1972 | Tidewater Wings |
| 1972–1975 | Virginia Wings |
| 1979–1999 | Adirondack Red Wings |
| 2002–2020 | San Antonio Rampage |
| 2020–present | Henderson Silver Knights |
 Current season | |
History
editThe franchise began in 1971 as the Tidewater/Virginia Wings in the Norfolk, Virginia of the greater Hampton Roads area. The team played in Virginia as an owned and operated affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings until 1975 where after a two year suspension they moved to Glens Falls, New York as the Adirondack Red Wings. In 1999, the Red Wings suspended operations of the team. The franchise remained dormant until 2002, when it was purchased by the ownership of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs and resurrected as the San Antonio Rampage.[3] The team then spent the next eighteen years in San Antonio.
On February 6, 2020, the Vegas Golden Knights announced it had purchased the franchise from the Spurs with the intent to relocate it to the Las Vegas area.[4] The purchase and relocation was approved by the league on February 28.[5] The team was announced to initially play at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada,[6] while the club's new 6,000-seat arena is constructed at the site of the Henderson Pavilion in Henderson, Nevada.[7]
On May 28, 2020, the Vegas Golden Knights announced the team name as the Henderson Silver Knights.[8] The team is named for Nevada's nickname "The Silver State" and adopted the slogan "Home Means Henderson," inspired by the Nevada state song "Home Means Nevada." On August 31, 2020, Emanuel Viveiros was announced as the club's initial head coach.[9] The start of the Silver Knights' inaugural season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On February 5, 2021, the team named Patrick Brown as their first captain a day before their inaugural game of the 2020–21 AHL season.[10] The Silver Knights finished their first regular season earning the top seed in the Pacific Division. The Pacific Division was the only division in the AHL that chose to have a postseason, and the teams had a playoff for the John D. Chick Trophy and division title. As the top seed, the team earned a bye to the semifinals, where they swept the San Jose Barracuda in two games before losing the division championship to the second seeded Bakersfield Condors in three games.
When the 2021–22 season schedule was released, it was revealed the Silver Knights would begin play in Henderson earlier than expected with the first home game at the new Dollar Loan Center (now Lee's Family Forum) to take place on April 2, 2022.[11] In the 2022 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs, the Silver Knights lost in the first round to the Colorado Eagles in a 2–0 series sweep.
Season-by-season records
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | PCT | GF | GA | Standing | Year | Prelims | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Finals |
| 2020–21 | 39 | 25 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 51 | .654 | 125 | 102 | 1st, Pacific | 2021[a] | — | BYE | BYE | W, 2–0, SJ | L, 1–2, BAK |
| 2021–22 | 68 | 35 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 75 | .551 | 209 | 203 | 6th, Pacific | 2022 | L, 0–2, COL | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | 72 | 29 | 38 | 0 | 5 | 63 | .438 | 201 | 221 | 9th, Pacific | 2023 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2023–24 | 72 | 28 | 36 | 3 | 5 | 64 | .444 | 190 | 243 | 8th, Pacific | 2024 | Did not qualify | ||||
- ^ The 2021 Calder Cup playoffs were not held; the Pacific Division held a postseason tournament for the division title. The bottom four teams had single-elimination play-in games to qualify for the semifinals (the first two rounds). The division semifinals and finals were best-of-three for the John D. Chick Trophy (the last two rounds).
Players
editCurrent roster
editUpdated May 12, 2024.[12]
Team captains
edit- Patrick Brown, 2020–21[13]
- Ryan Murphy, 2021[14]
- Brayden Pachal, 2022–2023[15]
- Jake Bischoff, 2023–present[16]
References
edit- ^ "Tim Speltz Named General Manager of the Henderson Silver Knights". OurSports Central. September 2, 2021.
- ^ "Ryan Craig Named Head Coach of Henderson Silver Knights". National Hockey League. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- ^ Fischel, Mark (January 30, 2003). "San Antonio Rampage "Stampede" into the AHL". HockeysFuture.com. Retrieved June 17, 2005.
- ^ "Vegas Golden Knights Purchase AHL Franchise Membership". National Hockey League. February 6, 2020.
- ^ "AHL heading to Las Vegas in 2020-21". AHL. February 28, 2020.
- ^ "Vegas Golden Knights Issue AHL Update". National Hockey League. February 12, 2020.
- ^ "Vegas Golden Knights And City Of Henderson Issue AHL Update". National Hockey League. February 13, 2020.
- ^ "It's Henderson Silver Knights!". 8newsnow.com. 2020-05-28.
- ^ "Henderson Silver Knights Announce Hiring Of Head Coach Manny Viveiros". NHL.com. August 31, 2020.
- ^ "Henderson Silver Knights Name Leadership Group for Inaugural Season". OurSports Central. February 5, 2021.
- ^ "AHL Silver Knights to end 2021-22 schedule in new home". Las Vegas Review-Journal. July 23, 2021.
- ^ "Roster - Henderson Silver Knights". Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ "Henderson Silver Knights Name Leadership Group For Inaugural Season". Henderson Silver Knights. February 5, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ "Ryan Murphy Wins Eddie Shore Award". Henderson Silver Knights. June 2, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
[Murphy] was promoted to captain late in the season after Patrick Brown was recalled by the Vegas Golden Knights.
- ^ "Brayden Pachal Named Captain of Silver Knights". Henderson Silver Knights. January 20, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ "Jake Bischoff Named Captain of Silver Knights". Henderson Silver Knights. October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.