Worcester Railers

Worcester Railers
2017–18 ECHL season
City Worcester, Massachusetts
League ECHL
Conference Eastern
Division North
Founded 2017
Home arena DCU Center
Colors Steel Blue, Gray, White
              
Owner(s) Worcester Pro Hockey, LLC (Cliff Rucker, Owner)
General manager Jamie Russell
Head coach Jamie Russell
Media Telegram & Gazette
98.9 Nash Icon
Affiliates New York Islanders (NHL)
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL)
Franchise history
2017– present Worcester Railers

Worcester Railers (also called Worcester Railers HC) are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL announced to begin play for the 2017–18 season. Based in Worcester, Massachusetts, the team will play their home games at the DCU Center, and are the ECHL affiliate of the New York Islanders.[1]

The team replaces the AHL's Worcester Sharks, who relocated to San Jose, California, in 2015 to become the San Jose Barracuda.

History

On January 26, 2015, it was reported that the Worcester Sharks would move to San Jose and share SAP Center at San Jose with their parent club, the San Jose Sharks. These reports were confirmed with the Sharks' official announcement on January 29.[2] Worcester did not initially receive an ECHL team to replace the relocated AHL team, unlike the other markets with relocated AHL teams in 2015, such as Manchester, NH, Norfolk, VA and Glens Falls, NY.

On February 8, 2016, the ECHL announced that Worcester would be home to an expansion team, set to begin play for the 2017–18 season. The team is owned by Cliff Rucker, with Toby O'Brien initially serving as president and general manager (although O'Brien would leave in May 2016 for an NHL job and replaced by former Worcester Sharks executive, Mike Myers, as president). The team will be the ECHL's first franchise in Massachusetts and second in New England, following the Manchester Monarchs. Early reports indicated that ownership group was considering Whitehawks, Railers, and Blast as the name of the team.[3] The team unveiled their name and logo on April 3.[4] On September 12, 2016, Jamie Russell was announced as the team's first head coach and general manager.[5] He had served as head coach of the Elmira Jackals from 2014 to 2016. The team announced their first affiliation with the New York Islanders (NHL) and Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) at the end of the 2016–17 season.[6]

Previously, there were three teams that played in Worcester – Worcester Warriors (1954–1956), Worcester IceCats (1994–2005), and Worcester Sharks (2006–2015).

Current roster

As of July 27, 2017.[7]
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
United States Almeida, BarryBarry Almeida LW L 28 2017 Longmeadow, Massachusetts Railers
United States Fallon, JoeJoe Fallon G L 32 2017 Bemidji, Minnesota Railers
United States Hudson, WoodyWoody Hudson RW R 25 2017 Greece, New York Railers
Canada Masella, BenBen Masella D R 24 2017 Montreal, Quebec Railers
United States McKenzie, KyleKyle McKenzie D L 24 2017 Dallas, Texas Railers
Canada Monk, JoshJosh Monk D R 25 2017 Langley, British Columbia Railers
Canada Rome, AshtonAshton Rome RW R 31 2017 Nesbitt, Manitoba Railers
United States Syner, T. J.T. J. Syner LW L 28 2017 Springfield, Massachusetts Railers

References

  1. ↑ "Worcester Railers to partner with NY Islanders".
  2. ↑ "Sharks Moving AHL Franchise to SAP Center". San Jose Sharks. January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  3. ↑ Nicodemus, Aaron (February 14, 2016). "On Business: Hockey team names for land of the worm, home of the brave". Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Introducing the Worcester Railers professional hockey team". Worcester Magazine. April 3, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Worcester Railers name Jamie Russell coach and GM". Telegram & Gazette. September 12, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Worcester Railers to Announce Affiliation with New York Islanders – Woo Hockey". Woo Hockey. April 27, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Worcester Railers team roster". Worcester Railers. 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
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