Kansas City Blades

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Kansas City Blades logo

The Kansas City Blades ice hockey team was a minor league ice hockey club that played in the International Hockey League from 1990 until the demise of the league in May 2001. The Blades were first affiliated with the San Jose Sharks, and then the Vancouver Canucks. The Blades' best season was in 1991-92, when they won the Turner Cup Championship. They advanced to the Turner Cup Championship Finals again in 1995, only to lose in four straight games to the Denver Grizzlies, who were playing their only season in Colorado before moving to Utah (to make room for the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, who were moving from Quebec) in the summer of 1995. The Blades never made it back to the IHL finals again, and ceased operations after playing six more seasons, before missing the cut for the American Hockey League. The Blades' home ice was Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, which was home to the NHL's Kansas City Scouts for a couple of seasons during the 1970s. Famous NHL players who played for the Blades include Arturs Irbe, Jeff Odgers, Sandis Ozolinsh, Ray Whitney, Patrick Lalime, and Jean-Sebastien Aubin.