The Detroit Compuware Ambassadors were a Junior A ice hockey team that played in the North American Hockey League. The team was originally based in Oak Park, Michigan, playing out of the Compuware Oak Park Arena but later played at the Compuware Arena in Plymouth, Michigan.
History As far back as the mid-1970's, Compuware cofounder Peter Karmanos Jr. had supported youth hockey, labeling his organization 'Ambassadors' for his company. Karmanos began expanding his footprint into the sport in the 1984 when he purchased the Windsor Spitfires, a junior team in the Ontario Hockey League. That same year, he founded a second junior team to take the place of the Detroit Jr. Wings, who had suspended play the year before. The new club was named the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors and played in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park, Michigan. The Ambassadors swiftly became the best junior team in the North American Hockey League, winning five consecutive championships from 1986 through 1990.
With the success of the Ambassadors, Karmanos attempted to relocate the Spitfires to the Detroit area but faced resistance from the OHL. After also failing to purchase and relocate the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, he was allowed to sell the Spitfires and found an expansion franchise, which was also called the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors, in 1989. The two identically-named clubs played at separate facilities so there were no scheduling conflicts, however, the region was becoming crowded with junior teams since the Jr. Wings had also returned in 1987. The NAHL club continued as the top team in their league throughout the early 1990s and had some of the competitive pressure remove when the Jr. Wings folded and the affiliation with the Detroit Red Wings was transferred to the OHL Ambassadors in 1992. However, after Karmanos had failed to purchase the Detroit Red Wings in the mid-90s, he bought the Hartford Whalers in 1994. As a result, Detroit ended their affiliation with the Jr. Wings and forced the team to play the 1995–96 season in Oak Park.
The situation was hardly ideal for either club and Karmanos made plans to move both franchises to a new, larger arena. In just six months, the Compuware Arena was built in Plymouth, Michigan and both teams were able to begin the 1996–97 season in the new facility. That same year, USA Hockey founded its USA Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP), a nationally-focused club for the purpose of developing players under the age of 18 for professional hockey. The organization reached an agreement with Karmanos to use the Compuware Arena as their home venue, forcing the Ambassadors to share their home rink with two other clubs. The situation became somewhat awkward the following year when the USNTDP joined the NAHL, placing two league teams in same building. Predictably, with so many junior games available, attendance for Ambassador games suffered. Despite the club winning championships in '98 and '99, the team routinely drew less than 400 fans to a facility that could hold 3,500.
The poor attendance persisted for seven years with seemingly no end in sight. In 2003, Karmanos decided to pull the plug on the Ambassadors, dissolving the most successful franchise in NAHL history.
Season-by-season records Season GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs 1984–85 24 11 9 4 - 26 110 1082nd of 3, NAJHLMissing information 1985–86 43 17 20 6 - 40 194 224 3rd of 4, NAJHLWon Robertson Cup 1986–87 37 23 8 6 - 52 214 122 t-1st of 5, NAJHLWon Robertson Cup 1987–88 32 24 5 3 - 51 212 99 1st of 6, NAJHLWon Robertson Cup 1988–89 40 30 8 2 - 62 248 149 1st of 4, Eastern Div.1st of 8, NAJHLWon Robertson Cup 1989–90 44 42 0 2 - 86 343 196 1st of 4, Eastern Div.1st of 8, NAJHLWon Robertson Cup 1990–91 40 30 5 5 - 65 - - 1st of 4, Eastern Div.1st of 8, NAJHLMissing information 1991–92 40 29 8 3 2 63 229 122 1st of 4, Eastern Div.1st of 8, NAJHLWon Robertson Cup 1992–93 40 10 22 6 2 26 140 194 4th of 4, Eastern Div.7th of 8, NAHLMissing information 1993–94 46 27 12 5 2 59 193 223 2nd of 5, Eastern Div.2nd of 10, NAHLWon Robertson Cup 1994–95 44 36 6 2 0 74 243 115 1st of 9, NAHLWon Robertson Cup 1995–96 46 29 12 5 0 63 191 153 2nd of 8, NAHLWon Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Danville Wings)Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (Detroit Freeze)Lost Robertson Cup series, 1–2 (Springfield Jr. Blues) 1996–97 46 33 10 - 3 69 217 148 2nd of 8, NAHLWon Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Cleveland Jr. Barons)Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (Soo Indians)Lost Robertson Cup series, 1–2 (Springfield Jr. Blues) 1997–98 56 39 16 - 1 79 219 151 2nd of 9, NAHLWon Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (St. Louis Sting)Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (Danville Wings)Won Robertson Cup series, 2–0 (USNTDP) 1998–99 56 39 11 - 6 84 214 147 1st of 5, North Div.1st of 9, NAHLWon Div. Semifinal series, 2–0 (Cleveland Jr. Barons)Won Robertson Cup Semifinal series, 2–0 (Danville Wings)Won Robertson Cup Championship series, 3–0 (St. Louis Sting) 1999–2000 56 38 15 - 3 79 211 143 1st of 6, East Div.t-2nd of 11, NAHLWon Div. Semifinal series, 2–1 (USNTDP)Lost Robertson Cup Semifinal series, 2–0 (Danville Wings) 2000–01 56 32 21 - 3 67 193 171 2nd of 5, East Div.5th of 10, NAHLLost Div. Semifinal series, 1–2 (Cleveland Jr. Barons) 2001–02 56 42 9 - 5 89 233 138 1st of 6, East Div.1st of 11, NAHLWon Div. Semifinal series, 2–0 (Soo Indians)Won Robertson Cup Semifinal series, 2–0 (Springfield Spirit)Won Robertson Cup Championship series, 2–0 (Pittsburgh Forge) 2002–03 56 41 12 - 3 85 210 143 2nd of 5, East Div.2nd of 11, NAHLWon Div. Semifinal series, 2–0 (Soo Indians)Lost Robertson Cup Semifinal series, 1–2 (Texas Tornado)
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External links Hockey DB Elite Prospects