The Amarillo Wranglers are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's South Division. The team's home arena is the Amarillo Civic Center in Amarillo, Texas.
History
Lone Star Cavalry The Lone Star Cavalry were granted an expansion franchise in the America West Hockey League in March 2003. They stayed in the league when it merged with the North American Hockey League for the 2003–04 season. The Cavalry played out of the Blue Line Ice Complex in North Richland Hills, Texas and served the immediate "Mid-Cities" area of Metro Dallas-Fort Worth. The Cavalry were part of the NAHL's new South Division along with the Central Texas Blackhawks, Fairbanks Ice Dogs, Springfield (MO) Spirit, Texas Tornado, Texarkana Bandits, and Wichita Falls Rustlers.
Santa Fe RoadRunners After financial difficulties caused the Cavalry's home rink, the Blue Line Ice Complex, to close, the Cavalry were left without a home. Due to this and other factors, the Cavalry ended up being sold and relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The team was granted membership on September 20, 2004, and began play on September 25, 2004, under their new identity as the Santa Fe RoadRunners. The Santa Fe RoadRunners played out of the Genoveva Chavez Community Center in Santa Fe. In their inaugural season in New Mexico, the RoadRunners played in the South Division, against the Central Texas Marshals, Springfield (IL) Jr. Blues, Springfield Spirit, Texarkana Bandits, Texas Tornado, and the Wichita Falls Wildcats, finishing with a 33–15–8 record, good for 3rd place in the division. The following season they finished dead last in the South Division behind the Tornado, Bandits, Jr. Blues, and the Wildcats. The third and final season in Santa Fe saw the RoadRunners finishing with a 41–17–4 record for second place in a South Division that consisted of the St. Louis Bandits, Texas Tornado, Fairbanks Ice Dogs, Wichita Falls Wildcats, and the Alaska Avalanche.
Topeka RoadRunners
On February 26, 2007, the team announced their move to Topeka, Kansas, from Santa Fe, New Mexico, due to claims of poor attendance. Santa Fe ranked 17th out of 18 teams in attendance.
The move to Topeka was initiated by a grass roots effort, led by hockey fans from Topeka. In their first season in Topeka, 2007–08, they were third in league attendance while playing in Landon Arena. That season the team won the NAHL South Division and South Division Playoffs. They finished in third place at the Robertson Cup competition. The 2008–09 season saw the RoadRunners finishing fourth in league attendance and 2nd in the South Division. The team lost in the second round of the South Division playoffs. In 2009–10 The RoadRunners finished first in the South Division, and they were second in attendance. The 2010–11 season saw the RoadRunners claim the NAHL President's Cup as the league's regular season champions.
On January 7, 2016, the RoadRunners fired long-tenured head coach and general manager Scott Langer, who had been with the team since their days as the Cavalry and the head coach since their first season in Santa Fe. He was hired immediately after the season ended by the Aberdeen Wings. Former RoadRunner player and assistant coach Josh Kamrass was hired as his replacement. On November 24, 2017, assistant coach Justin DeMartino took over as an interim head coach, so that Kamrass could spend more time at home and took a front office job with the organization overseeing all the ownership's teams including their Tier III teams.
Topeka Pilots
On April 18, 2018, owners of the franchise since 2009, Barbara & Donald Stone, sold the franchise to Loretto Sports Ventures, a company owned by Lamar Hunt Jr., that also operates the Kansas City Mavericks in the ECHL. In the same press conference, Hunt announced the new head coach and general manager as Simon Watson for the 2018–19 season. The new ownership also announced the team would be rebranded and was renamed the Topeka Pilots on June 5, 2018.
Amarillo Wranglers On February 28, 2020, Lamar Hunt Jr. announced he was moving the team to the Kansas City metropolitan area for the 2020–21 season. The team was renamed after the former NHL team, the Kansas City Scouts, and were to play at least the 2020–21 season at the Kansas City Ice Center in the suburb of Shawnee, Kansas. However, the team instead went dormant for the 2020–21 season due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic with plans to return for the 2021–22 season. The Scouts also received dormancy status for the 2021–22 season on March 4, 2021, however, the team would never play a game as the Scouts.
On May 21, 2021, the NAHL announced Hunt had instead sold the team to Amarillo Ice Sports, LLC, a locally owned and operated group including Chris Wright, Roger Wright, and Amarillo hockey alumni Eric Andersen, and Austin Sutter. The new team was named after the original Amarillo Wranglers. The Wranglers re-entered the league for the 2021–22 season, replacing the recently relocated Amarillo Bulls in the Amarillo Civic Center, with Harry Mahood as general manager and head coach. The Wranglers then hired Karlis Zirnis as director of player personnel.
Season-by-season records Season GP W L OTL Pts GF GA PIM Finish PlayoffsLone Star Calvary 2003–04 56 28 22 6 62 158 171 1,504 5th of 7, Southt-13th of 21 NAHLDid not qualifySanta Fe RoadRunners 2004–05 56 33 18 5 71 201 163 1,602 3rd of 7, Southt-6th of 19 NAHLLost Div. Semifinal series, 1–3 (Texarkana Bandits) 2005–06 58 24 28 6 54 182 205 1,418 5th of 5, South13th of 20 NAHLDid not qualify 2006–07 62 41 17 4 86 221 154 1,240 2nd of 6, South4th of 17 NAHLLost Div. Semifinal series, 2–3 (Texas Tornado)Topeka RoadRunners 2007–08 58 39 11 8 86 242 137 1,509 1st of 6, South2nd of 18 NAHLWon Div. Semifinal series, 3–0 (Texas Tornado)Won Div. Semifinal series, 3–2 (Fairbanks Ice Dogs)Won Round Robin, 4–2 (Alexandria Blizzard), 2–5 (St. Louis Bandits), 3–2 (Mahoning Valley Phantoms)Lost Robertson Cup Semifinal, 2–5 (Mahoning Valley Phantoms) 2008–09 58 42 11 5 89 204 138 1,545 2nd of 4, South2nd of 19 NAHLWon Div. Semifinal series, 3–2 (Wichita Falls Wildcats)Lost Div. Final series, 1–3 (St. Louis Bandits) 2009–10 58 44 9 5 93 254 147 1,500 1st of 5, Southt-1st of 19 NAHLWon Div. Semifinal series, 3–1 (Springfield Jr. Blues)Lost Div. Final series, 2–3 (St. Louis Bandits) 2010–11 58 43 12 3 89 237 146 1,706 1st of 6, South1st of 26 NAHLWon Div. Semifinal series, 3–2 (Wichita Falls Wildcats)Lost Div. Final series, 2–3 (Amarillo Bulls) 2011–12 60 38 18 4 80 197 152 1,247 t-2nd of 7, Southt-4th of 28 NAHLWon Div. Semifinal series, 3–0 (Texas Tornado)Lost Div. Final series, 1–3 (Amarillo Bulls) 2012–13 60 39 14 7 85 190 146 1343 2nd of 6, South4th of 24 NAHLLost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Texas Tornado) 2013–14 60 39 15 6 84 180 122 1090 2nd of 7, South3rd of 24 NAHLWon Div. Semifinal series, 3–0 (Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees)Won Div. Final series, 3–2 (Amarillo Bulls)Lost Robertson Cup Semifinal series, 1–2 (Austin Bruins) 2014–15 60 39 15 6 84 199 140 837 2nd of 8, Southt-4th of 24 NAHLWon Div. Semifinal series, 3–1 (Wichita Falls Wildcats)Lost Div. Final series, 1–3 (Lone Star Brahmas) 2015–16 60 34 24 2 70 190 154 1044 3rd of 6, South10th of 22 NAHLWon Div. Semifinal series, 3–1 (Lone Star Brahmas)Lost Div. Final series, 0–3 (Wichita Falls Wildcats) 2016–17 60 21 34 5 47 176 228 1322 7th of 7, South22nd of 24 NAHLDid not qualify 2017–18 60 17 39 4 38 128 233 1217 6th of 6, South23rd of 23 NAHLDid not qualifyTopeka Pilots 2018–19 60 23 29 8 54 158 210 933 5th of 6, South19th of 24 NAHLDid not qualify 2019–20 52 33 14 5 71 151 129 981 3rd of 7, South8th of 23 NAHLPostseason cancelledKansas City Scouts 2020–21 Did not playAmarillo Wranglers 2021–22 60 27 29 4 58 149 182 1233 6th of 8, South22nd of 29 NAHLDid not qualify 2022–23 60 34 23 3 71 183 154 1112 4th of 8, South9th of 29 NAHLLost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Oklahoma Warriors) 2023–24 60 32 20 8 72 178 184 1416 5th of 8, South14th of 29 NAHLLost Div. Play-in series, 0–2 New Mexico Ice Wolves 2024–25 59 24 29 6 54 157 196 959 8th of 9, South26th of 35 NAHLDid not qualify
Players
Current roster #Nat.NamePosShoots/CatchesDOBHeightWeightHometown74Alexander AleslovFL2004-03-135'11"185Arboga, Sweden10Jake BoulangerFR2005-10-186'1"180Barre, Vermont, USA44Trace DayFL2005-01-196'4"210Mesa, Arizona, USA25Luke GoldbergFL2005-08-246'2"190Algonquin, Illinois, USA22Cru HanasFL2005-04-236'3"185Highland Village, Texas, USA39Carl JacobsonFL2004-06-255'10"180Stockholm, Sweden15Braydin LundFR2006-01-115'10"160Thief River Falls, Minnesota, USA19Corson MaguireFR2005-04-285'10"185Toronto, Ontario, Canada21Jacob MillerFL2005-04-196'4"210Ossining, New York, USA27Andrew MortonFR2004-05-146'1"185Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada11Morley PhillipsFR2004-03-146'4"210Raleigh, North Carolina, USA77Daniel RassegaFL2006-03-145'11"180Phoenix, Arizona, USA16Noah RibeiroFL2005-01-126'0"198Nashville, Tennessee, USA3Nikita UshakovFL2005-03-016'5"205Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada12Noah WoodFR2004-12-236'2"190Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA4Ashton BreyerDL2004-05-266'4"195Mound, Minnesota, USA9Salvatore CerratoDR2004-06-105'10"180St. Louis, Missouri, USA14Hayden HedquistDL2006-05-226'4"195Heron Lake, Minnesota, USA6Heikki PeipinenDL2006-04-105'11"190Oulu, Finland5Will SinclairDR2004-05-186'1"185Erie, Pennsylvania, USA17Emils SkeltinsDR2005-02-086'4"190Iecava, Latvia7Connor WatsonDL2007-10-266'1"185Weymouth, Massachusetts, USA2Will WellburnDR2004-05-266'9"240Rye, New York, USA93Padraic WhitedDL2005-07-196'0"195Helena, Montana, USA1Charles-Antoine GirardGL2006-02-076'4"180Deux-Montagnes, Quebec, Canada35Charlie ZolinGL2004-07-196'2"185Greenwich, Connecticut, USA
Team captains Eric Trax: 2003–04 Lone Star Cavalry Andrew Johnson: 2004–05 Santa Fe RoadRunners Brandon Vossberg: 2005–06 Santa Fe RoadRunners John Stoddard: 2006–07 Santa Fe RoadRunners and 2007–08 Topeka RoadRunners Matt Hartmann: 2008–09 Topeka RoadRunners Kurtis Anton: 2009–10 Topeka RoadRunners Michael Hill / Jordan Davis: 2010–11 Topeka RoadRunners Chris Bond: 2011–12 Topeka RoadRunners Drew Kariofiles: 2012–13 Topeka RoadRunners Jared Tafoya: 2013–14 Topeka RoadRunners Mike Gornall: 2014–15 Topeka RoadRunners Cam Strong / Dominic Lutz: 2015–16 Topeka RoadRunners Marshall Bowery: 2016–17 Topeka RoadRunners Nick Granowicz / Jake Rosenbaum / Nigel Nelson: 2017–18 Topeka RoadRunners Brenden Rons: 2018–19 Topeka Pilots Austin McCarthy: 2019-20 Topeka Pilots
Honored members Retired numbers: The Topeka RoadRunners retired two numbers: the 11 of forward and team captain John Stoddard, and the 21 of Peter Halash.
On January 6, 2014, Topeka Roadrunner Peter Halash died in a car wreck. The Roadrunners team had a jersey retirement ceremony before a game against the Springfield Jr. Blues on March 23, 2014.
Alumni The RoadRunners have had a number of alumni move on to NCAA Division I, NCAA Division III, ACHA Division I and II, higher levels of junior ice hockey, and professional ice hockey, including:
Eriah Hayes (2007–08, Topeka RoadRunners) – Played 19 games for the San Jose Sharks of the NHL Cole Schneider (2009–10, Topeka RoadRunners) – Played for the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL and for the Binghamton Senators, Rochester Americans, and Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL. Jakub Dobeš (2018–20) – Goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL.
References
External links Official Site NAHL website