The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Western Conference, Central Division, they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Event Center. They are the affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League, and the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

Kalamazoo is home to the "Green Ice Game". Played since 1982 on St. Patrick's Day, it is one of the most celebrated games in minor league hockey. The team has sought to duplicate the game's success with the Pink Ice Game (Valentine's Day), the Orange Ice Game (Halloween), the Lavender Ice game (Hockey Fights Cancer) and the Rainbow Ice game.

History

The team began in the 1999–2000 season as the United Hockey League's Madison Kodiaks in Madison, Wisconsin. After one season in Madison, the franchise moved to Kalamazoo, where it renamed itself the Wings in honor of the original Wings that had played in the International Hockey League from 1974 through 2000. The new K-Wings obtained the rights to use the original team's name, colors, logos, and history as their own.

The K-Wings played in the UHL from October 2000 until June 1, 2009, when they withdrew because of concerns that the league, which had renamed itself the International Hockey League in 2007, might go bankrupt. Eight days later, the K-Wings joined the ECHL. From September 13, 2012, until the end of the 2014–15 season, the Wings had an affiliation with the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves. They were also affiliated with the National Hockey League's Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks as well as their AHL affiliates the Springfield Falcons and Utica Comets, respectively.

Prior to the 2015–16 season, the ECHL required teams to only have one official NHL/AHL affiliate, leading to the K-Wings only keeping their Columbus affiliation and the Blue Jackets' new AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters. They ended their affiliation with the Blue Jackets after one season and affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Syracuse Crunch for the 2016–17 season. They changed again for the 2017–18 season to the Canucks and Comets, their previous affiliates for several seasons.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wings voluntarily suspended operations for the 2020–21 ECHL season. When the team returned for the 2021–22 season, they switched their affiliation back to the Columbus Blue Jackets. On June 23, 2022, the Wings signed an affiliation extension with the Blue Jackets (and therefore the Cleveland Monsters also) for the 2022–23 season

On July 10, 2023, Kalamazoo announced they had returned to the Vancouver Canucks organization in an affiliation agreement for the 2023–24 season. They also entered an agreement with the Canucks AHL affiliate in Abbotsford. On July 30, 2024, they extended their affiliation for two years with both Vancouver and Abbotsford, through the end of the 2025–26 season.

Season-by-season results

Season GP W L T/OTL Pts GF GA Pct Regular Season Finish PlayoffsUnited Hockey League2000–01 74 37 31 6 80 220 220 .541 3rd Southwest, 9th of 15 Lost Play-in game vs. Muskegon Fury2001–02 74 27 37 8 66 213 277 .446 6th Western, 11th of 14 did not qualify2002–03 76 29 39 8 66 210 282 .434 5th Western, 10th of 10 did not qualify2003–04 76 45 22 9 99 281 207 .651 4th Western, 4th of 12 Lost Quarterfinal series vs. Fort Wayne Komets, 2–32004–05 80 50 24 6 100 257 204 .663 2nd Central, 3rd of 14 Lost Semifinal series vs. Fort Wayne Komets, 3–42005–06 76 52 17 7 111 332 183 .730 1st Central, 1st of 14 Won Colonial Cup Final series vs. Danbury Trashers, 4–12006–07 76 47 23 6 100 251 191 .658 2nd Eastern, 4th of 10 Lost Colonial Cup Final series vs. Rockford IceHogs, 3–4International Hockey League2007–08 76 31 34 11 73 242 252 .480 5th of 6 IHL did not qualify2008–09 76 44 29 3 91 274 253 .599 4th of 6 IHL Lost Semifinal series vs. Fort Wayne Komets, 3–4ECHL2009–10 72 42 20 10 94 273 243 .653 1st North, 3rd of 20 Lost Quarterfinal series vs. Reading Royals, 2–32010–11 72 40 24 8 88 255 225 .611 1st North, 4th of 19 Lost Kelly Cup Final series vs. Alaska Aces, 1–42011–12 72 38 26 8 84 264 237 .583 1st North, 8th of 20 Lost Eastern Conference Final series vs. Florida Everblades, 1–42012–13 72 34 30 8 76 205 215 .528 3rd North, 14th of 23 did not qualify2013–14 72 42 22 8 92 224 197 .639 1st North, 4th of 21 Lost Quarterfinal series vs. Greenville Road Warriors, 2–42014–15 72 36 30 6 78 226 233 .542 3rd North, 16th of 28 Lost Division Semifinal series vs. Fort Wayne Komets, 1–42015–16 72 38 28 6 82 233 230 .569 3rd North, 13th of 28 Lost Conference Quarterfinal series vs. South Carolina Stingrays, 1–42016–17 72 38 30 4 80 222 237 .556 4th Central, 15th of 27 Lost Division Semifinal series vs. Toledo Walleye, 3–42017–18 72 34 31 7 75 251 251 .521 5th Central, 16th of 27 did not qualify2018–19 72 36 31 5 77 229 254 .535 4th Central, 15th of 27 Lost Division Semifinal series vs. Cincinnati Cyclones, 2–42019–20 61 23 30 8 54 194 241 .443 5th Central, 22nd of 26 Season cancelled2020–21 Opted out of participating due to the COVID-19 pandemic2021–22 72 36 35 1 73 224 255 .507 5th Central, 19th of 27 did not qualify2022–23 72 29 37 6 64 178 226 .444 5th Central, 23rd of 28 did not qualify2023–24 72 38 30 4 80 214 203 .556 4th Central, 13th of 27 Lost Division Semifinal vs. Toledo Walleye, 0–42024–25 72 31 33 8 70 201 229 .486 5th Central, 14th of 29 did not qualify2025–26 72 36 30 6 78 228 246 .542 5th Central, 15th of 30 did not qualify

Players

Team captains

First franchise

IHL (First incarnation)

Unknown, 1974–95 Brad Berry, 1995–99 Unknown, 1999–00

Second franchise Note: This list does not include captains from the Madison Kodiaks.

UHL Unknown, 2000–03 Marty Flichel, 2003–04 Tyler Willis, 2004–05 Nick Bootland, 2005–07

IHL (Second incarnation) Nick Bootland, 2007–08 Glenn Detulleo, 2008–09

ECHL Sam Ftorek, 2009–10 Wes O'Neill, 2010–12 Elgin Reid, 2012–13 Jean Bourbeau, 2014–15 Tyler Shattock, 2015–17 Ben Wilson, 2017–20 Justin Taylor, 2021–22 Chaz Reddekopp, 2023–24 Collin Saccoman, 2024–present

Retired numbers #1 Georges Gagnon #13 Tyler Willis #22 Mike Wanchuk #26 Kevin Schamehorn #27 Neil Meadmore

Team records

Single season Goals: 46 Nick Bootland (2007–08) Assists: 70 Daniel Carriere (2005–06) Points: 94 Kory Karlander (2007–08) Penalty minutes: 344 Tyler Willis (2003–04) GAA: 2.02 Ryan Nie (2006–07) SV%: .929 Ryan Nie (2006–07)

Career Career games played: 614 Justin Taylor (2010–22) Career goals: 237 Justin Taylor (2010–22) Career assists: 263 Kory Karlander (2004–13) Career points: 457 Justin Taylor (2010–22) Career penalty minutes: 1,463 Tyler Willis (2003–10) Career goaltending games played: 422 Joel Martin (2004-18) Career goaltending wins: 152 Joel Martin (2004–18) Career shutouts: 18 Joel Martin (2004–18)

References

External links