Kansas City Blades
The Kansas City Blades were an ice hockey team in the International Hockey League. They played from 1990 to 2001 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA at Kemper Arena. From 1991 to 1996, the Blades were a farm team of the San Jose Sharks of the NHL, from the 1999/2000 season of the Vancouver Canucks.
History
The Blades took on the operation of gambling in the International Hockey League with the start of season 1990/91. After the collection still clearly missed the playoffs in the first year, the team finished its second season in first place in the division. Before the season 1991/92 they had entered into a farm team contract with the newly formed NHL franchise the San Jose Sharks. Under the later Sharks coach Kevin Constantine the team reached the final of the Turner Cup, where the Muskegon Lumberjacks were beaten in the series 4-0. The following year, they failed in the second playoff round. The 1993/94 season ended despite a positive record this season after the regular season before Jim Wiley, another later coach of the Sharks, the team again led to the Turner Cup Finals, where, however, the Denver Grizzlies defeated. Because of the contract with San Jose 's event included Artūrs Irbe, Viktor Kozlov, Patrick Lalime, Sandis Ozoliòš, Ville Peltonen, Mike Rathje and Ray Whitney, all subsequent NHL professionals in Kansas City. With the end of season 1995/96 ended the cooperation, as the Sharks with the Kentucky Thoroughblades took on a new farm team.
After the departure of the Sharks, the Blades could not build on the previous successes. At the beginning of the 1999/2000 season, the Blades have entered into a partnership with the Vancouver Canucks. In the last two seasons of IHL you missed each a place in the playoffs significantly. After the dissolution of IHL at the end of the 2000 /01 the franchise of the Kansas City Blades was discontinued, due to received no gaming license for the American Hockey League.
Season statistics
Note: GP = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Losses after Overtime, Pts = Points, GF = Goals Scored, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalty minutes
Club Records
Career
Season
Well-known former players
- Canada Jean -Sebastien Aubin
- United States Mark Beaufait
- Shean Donovan Canada
- Latvia Artūrs Irbe
- Russia Viktor Kozlov
- Canada Patrick Lalime
- Latvia Sandis Ozoliòš
- Finland Ville Peltonen
- Czech Republic Michal Pivoňka
- Canada Mike Rathje
- Jarkko Ruutu Finland
- Ray Whitney Canada
Blocked numbers
Champion team of 1991/92 season
- Goalkeepers: Wade Flaherty, Artūrs Irbe
- Defender: Mike Colman, Gord Frantti, Duane Joyce, Dean Kolstad, Rick Lessard, Pat MacLeod, Sandis Ozoliòš, Tom Pederson, Claudio Scremin
- Attacker: John Carter, Ed Courtenay, Dale Craig Well, Larry DePalma, Gary Emmons, Kevin Evans, Ron Handy, Mikhail Krawez, Peter Lappin, Jeff Madill, Jeff Odgers, JF Quintin