Bakersfield Condors

For the American Hockey League team set to begin in 2015-16, see Bakersfield Condors (AHL).
Bakersfield Condors
2014–15 ECHL season
City Bakersfield, California
League ECHL
Conference Western
Division Pacific
Founded 1995
Operated 1995–2015
Home arena Rabobank Arena
Colors

Black, maroon, silver, white

                   
Owner(s) Daryl Katz
General manager John Olver
Head coach Jean-Francois Houle
Media Fox Sports 970
Affiliates Edmonton Oilers (NHL)
Oklahoma City Barons (AHL)
Franchise history
1995–1998 Bakersfield Fog
1998–2015 Bakersfield Condors
2015– Norfolk Admirals
Championships
Division Championships 2009–10

The Bakersfield Condors were a minor league ice hockey team based in Bakersfield, California. The team played in the Pacific Division of the ECHL's Western Conference. The Condors played home games at Rabobank Arena.

Originally known as the Bakersfield Fog, the team was founded in 1995 as a charter member of the West Coast Hockey League. The team assumed its current name in 1998 when it moved into the new Centennial Garden. The Condors, and other West Coast Hockey League affiliates, joined the ECHL in 2003.

For the 2008–09 season, the Condors announced an affiliation with the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League on May 21, 2008. They became the Ducks secondary affiliate, after the Iowa Chops of the American Hockey League.[1] In the following 2009–10 season, the Condors became the Ducks primary affiliate after the Chops were suspended from operations. As a result the Condors started the season with a handful of the Ducks prospects and finished the season first in the Pacific to capture their first division title. On July 12, 2010, the Ducks opted to move closer to their east coast AHL affiliate and cut ties with the Condors after two seasons.[2]

On July 18, 2013, the Condors announced an affiliation with the Edmonton Oilers.[3]

On January 23, 2014, it was announced that the team was purchased by the Daryl Katz-owned Katz Group of Companies, which also owns the Edmonton Oilers.[4] It was announced in 2015 that the ECHL incarnation of the Condors will be relocating to Norfolk, Virginia to become the ECHL version of the Norfolk Admirals, replacing the original Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League in which the original Admirals will be relocating to San Diego, California after this season. The Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League will move to Bakersfield to fill the vacancy. During a Condors game on February 25, it was announced that the AHL team would retain the Bakersfield Condors name.

Season-by-season record

Season League Division GP W L T OTL SOL Pts PCT GF GA PIM Coach(es) Result
1995–96 WCHL WCHL 58 24 29 0 0 5 53 0.457 271 323 1439 Keith Gretzky Out of playoffs
1996–97 WCHL WCHL 64 33 26 0 0 5 71 0.555 345 325 2061 Keith Gretzky Lost in round 1
1997–98 WCHL WCHLS 64 22 37 0 0 5 49 0.383 226 330 1949 Keith Gretzky Lost in round 1
1998–99 WCHL WCHLS 70 21 40 0 0 9 51 0.364 213 308 2010 Kevin MacDonald Lost in round 1
1999–00 WCHL WCHLS 72 34 29 0 0 9 77 0.535 244 272 2343 Kevin MacDonald Lost in round 1
2000–01 WCHL WCHLS 72 26 36 0 0 10 62 0.431 220 273 2147 Kevin MacDonald Lost in round 1
2001–02 WCHL WCHLS 72 32 35 0 0 5 69 0.479 213 237 1377 Paul Kelly Lost in round 1
2002–03 WCHL WCHL 72 41 22 0 0 9 91 0.632 253 186 1625 Paul Kelly Lost in round 1
2003–04 ECHL Pacific 72 25 38 0 0 9 59 0.410 201 236 1750 Paul Kelly,
Marty Raymond 		Out of Playoffs
2004–05 ECHL West 72 40 22 0 5 5 90 0.625 232 205 1691 Marty Raymond Lost in round 1
2005–06 ECHL Pacific 72 40 26 0 2 4 86 0.597 221 222 1814 Marty Raymond Lost in round 3
2006–07 ECHL Pacific 72 41 19 0 3 9 94 0.653 270 236 1556 Marty Raymond Lost in round 3
2007–08 ECHL Pacific 72 26 37 0 2 7 61 0.424 230 280 1772 Marty Raymond Lost in round 2
2008–09 ECHL Pacific 72 33 31 0 3 5 74 0.514 246 263 1250 Marty Raymond Lost in round 1
2009–10 ECHL Pacific 72 38 29 0 4 1 81 0.563 232 243 1270 Marty Raymond Lost in round 2
2010–11 ECHL Pacific 72 41 27 0 2 2 86 0.597 222 210 1528 Marty Raymond Lost in round 1
2011–12 ECHL Pacific 72 24 41 0 4 3 55 0.382 199 241 1356 Matt O'Dette Out of Playoffs
2012–13 ECHL Pacific 72 22 44 0 2 4 50 0.347 171 247 1292 Matt O'Dette Out of Playoffs
2013–14 ECHL Pacific 72 36 30 0 2 4 78 0.542 197 202 1184 Troy Mann Lost in round 3

Records as of July 1, 2014. [5]

Current roster

Updated April 14, 2015[6]
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
18 Canada Abney, CameronCameron Abney D R 23 2014 Aldergrove, British Columbia Condors
27 United States Block, AustinAustin Block C R 25 2015 Denver, Colorado Condors
23 United States Campbell, TrevorTrevor Campbell D R 24 2015 Kansas City, Missouri Condors
2 Canada Craig, GraemeGraeme Craig D L 21 2014 Red Deer, Alberta Barons
22 Canada Currie, JoshJosh Currie C R 22 2014 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Condors
24 United States Darnell, BrentBrent Darnell F R 23 2015 Canton, Michigan Condors
15 Canada Judson, LukeLuke Judson F R 24 2015 Emo, Ontario Condors
14 Canada Kremyr, JordanJordan Kremyr (C) LW L 28 2014 Cloverdale, British Columbia Condors
33 Canada Lagace, MaximeMaxime Lagace G L 22 2015 Saint-Augustin, Quebec Condors
31 Canada Lazaruk, KrisKris Lazaruk G L 26 2015 Edmonton, Alberta Condors
55 United States Leen, ConnorConnor Leen F L 22 2015 Chester, New York Condors
19 Canada Lessard, JonathanJonathan Lessard RW L 24 2014 Saint-Eustache, Quebec Condors
44 Canada MacNeil, NickNick MacNeil F L 26 2014 Creignish, Nova Scotia Condors
4 United States Marciano, JoeJoe Marciano D R 25 2013 Alta Loma, California Condors
20 Canada Nash, BrendonBrendon Nash (A) D L 28 2014 Kamloops, British Columbia Barons
21 Canada Radjenovic, AndrewAndrew Radjenovic F L 24 2015 Hamilton, Ontario Condors
37 Canada Sylvestre, SebastienSebastien Sylvestre C L 21 2014 Boucherville, Quebec Condors
3 Canada Verpaelst, GabrielGabriel Verpaelst D L 21 2014 Sherbrooke, Quebec Condors
25 Canada Watson, RyanRyan Watson F L 27 2013 Cambridge, Ontario Condors
12 United States Zappia, NickNick Zappia F L 25 2015 Manlius, New York Condors
5 United States Zollars, GentryGentry Zollars D L 29 2015 Bethel Park, Pennsylvania Condors
Staff
Title STAFF MEMBER
Head Coach Jean-Francois Houle
Asst. Coach Ryan Murphy
Asst. Coach Paul Willett

Team captains

Notable NHL alumni

List of Bakersfield Condors alumni who played more than 25 games in Bakersfield and 25 or more games in the National Hockey League.

Notable players

Journalist Ken Baker - Played one game as goaltender for the Condors in the 2001-02 season, finishing with a win, a 5.00 GAA and a 0.857 save percentage.[7] Baker's dreams of playing professional hockey were cut short due to a tumor that inhibited his ability to build enough muscle for the sport. His book "They Don't Play Hockey In Heaven" tells the story of his experience with the Condors.

Retired numbers

Team highs

The Condors advanced past the 1st Round of the playoffs for the first time in their history in the 2005–06 season. They defeated the Long Beach Ice Dogs in seven games. The Condors lost in the seventh game of the next round against the Fresno Falcons, making it the longest playoff run in Condors history at the time. The Condors did it again the following year, defeating Fresno, but then lost in round 2 to the Alaska Aces in four games. However, in the 2013-14 season, the Condors had their furthest playoff run in team history, getting to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the Alaska Aces in 6 games, winning 2 and losing 4.

Controversy

In the 2004–05 ECHL playoffs, Condor Ashlee Langdone checked Alaska Ace Scott Gomez (who was playing that season in the ECHL due to the NHL strike) hard, sending him hip first into the sharp opening of the bench door at the exact moment the trainer opened it for a line change. The resulting injury, a broken pelvis, knocked Gomez out of the rest of the playoffs, and resulted in Langdone being given a boarding penalty and a one-game suspension. The incident drew a rather negative reaction due to Gomez' status as an NHL all star.

In March of 2011, the Condors held "Charlie Sheen Night" which garnered national media attention as one of the best promotions in minor league sports history. The night, based on the antics of the Two and A Half Men star, offered fans free admission with proof of a clean drug test, Tiger Blood Margaritas, Charlie Sheen heads on sticks, and if anyone had the money, they could buy the team for $2 million outright. That was Sheen's annual salary for the show he was eventually fired from.

In 2012, the Condors offered Canadian pop-star Justin Bieber an entry level contract, stating that "he has some hockey skills".[8]

Lawsuit

Head coach Marty Raymond and former assistant coach Mark Pederson were briefly suspended in 2009 for an "internal matter", which was reported at the time to be due to anti-Semitic comments made by both men toward then-Condor Jason Bailey, a Jew.[9] The team didn't publicly acknowledge the reason for the suspensions until after the season, when GM Matthew Riley stated that "all parties involved were satisfied with the action that was taken."[10] However, in January 2011, the Anaheim Ducks, Condors, Raymond and Pederson were named in a lawsuit filed by Bailey's lawyer, Keith Fink, alleging that his client faced "a barrage of anti-Semitic, offensive and degrading verbal attacks regarding his Jewish faith" during this time with the team.[11] On January 27, ESPN.com released details of court documents in which Fink alleges that Condors' owner Jonathan Fleisig failed to take action after being informed of the issue: promising Bailey's father that the Raymond and Pederson would both be fired, but then failing to do so. The documents also state that Raymond allegedly told Bailey his ex-wife was Jewish "and that she was a 'bitch' for taking all of his money."[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Condors join Ducks organization". KGET TV 17. 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  2. ↑ "Ducks to get new ECHL partner". OC Register. 2010-07-12. Archived from the original on 15 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  3. ↑ http://bakersfieldcondors.com/news/condors-secure-nhl-affiliation-with-the-edmonton-oilers/
  4. ↑ Mike Griffith (2014-01-22). "Condors sale to Oilers approved". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  5. ↑ "Bakersfield Condors season statistics and records 1995-Present". Hockeydb.com. 2010-09-01. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  6. ↑ "Roster - BakersfieldCondors.com". Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Ken Baker profile". HockeyDB.com. 2009-02-03. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
  8. ↑ "Justin Bieber offered pro hockey tryout". The Vancouver Sun. 11 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  9. ↑ Rodriguez, Sabrina (29 May 2009). "Racist comments may have led to Condors coaches' suspension". Bakersfield Now. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  10. ↑ Baxter, Kevin (26 January 2011). "Former Ducks minor league player says he faced anti-Semitic remarks". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  11. ↑ "US Jewish ice hockey player sues club for anti-Semitism". BBC News. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  12. ↑ Burnside, Scott (28 January 2011). "Details emerge of Jason Bailey's suit". ESPN. Retrieved 28 January 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bakersfield Condors.