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Plymouth Whalers

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Plymouth Whalers
File:Plymouthwhalers.gif
CityPlymouth Township, Michigan
LeagueOntario Hockey League
ConferenceWestern
DivisionWest
Founded1997-1998
Home arenaCompuware Sports Arena
ColoursNavy blue, White, Green & Silver
General managerMike Vellucci
Head coachMike Vellucci
File:Vig.JPG
Whalers captain John Vigilante celebrates after scoring a goal.

The Plymouth Whalers are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They play out of the Compuware Sports Arena (seating capacity: 3,807) in Plymouth Township, Michigan, USA.

Franchise Identities:


History

The Whalers can trace their roots back to the 1990-91 Detroit Compuware Ambassadors as an expansion team in the OHL. Since then the franchise has been the Detroit Jr. Red Wings and the Detroit Whalers. The Plymouth Whalers were born in 1997.

The franchise has been owned by Peter Karmanos since its inception. The Whalers are part of the Compuware Hockey program, which also includes the Compuware Amabassadors minor hockey program, and the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes. The Carolina Hurricanes tend to give preference to players from the Plymouth Whalers in the NHL Entry Draft, and coaches and executives are promoted from within the Compuware Hockey affiliation.

The Detroit Jr. Red Wings and Detroit Whalers were both successful incarnations of the franchise in their own rights, but the Plymouth Whalers have made a name for themselves as perennial winners. The club has never had a losing season since 1997.

The Plymouth Whalers are one of only two team to win 5 consecutive division titles (West division from 1999-2003, the other team being the Ottawa 67's (East division from 1996-2000). The team also produces the highest ranked goaltenders on an annual basis. Whalers goalies had the lowest goals against average in the OHL throughout the five consecutive division titles.

Championships

The Plymouth Whalers have won six divisional titles, five of them consecutively. Plymouth has also won three Hamilton Spectator Trophies, reached the OHL Championship Finals twice.

J. Ross Robertson Cup
OHL Champion

  • 1990-00 Finalists vs. Barrie Colts
  • 2000-01 Finalists vs. Ottawa 67's


Wayne Gretzky Trophy
Western Conference Playoff Champion

  • 2000 & 2001

Hamilton Spectator Trophy
Season Champion

  • 1998-99 51 wins, 4 ties, 106 pts
  • 1999-00 45 wins, 4 ties, 1 OTL, 95 pts
  • 2001-02 39 wins, 12 ties, 2 OTL, 92 pts

Bumbacco Trophy
West Division Champion

  • 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2005-06

Coaches

  • 1995-01 Peter DeBoer (6 seasons) - DeBoer was promoted from assistant coach to beceme coach & general manager of the Whalers organization in 1995 when Paul Maurice went to the NHL. DeBoer previously played for the Compuware Spitfires (also owned by Karmanos) when they went to the Memorial Cup in 1988. He was twice voted the OHL Coach of the Year, winning the Matt Leyden Trophy in the 1998-99 & 1999-00 seasons.
  • 2001-present Mike Vellucci (5 seasons) - Vellucci became coach & general manager in addition to being team president, after Peter DeBoer departed to the Kitchener Rangers. Vellucci is a former OHL defenceman with the Belleville Bulls, played two games with the NHL Hartford Whalers in 1988.

Players

Pat Peake # 14 is the only number retired by the Whalers organization. Peake was the first MVP for the franchise in 1992-93, as well as Canadian Hockey League player of the year, and OHL Most Sportsmanlike player of the year.

Team Captains

Award Winners

First Round Draft Picks

Players who were drafted in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft

NHL Alumni

Players who have played in the NHL Bold indicates having played in the 2005-06 NHL season.

Current squad

# Player Pos. Shot Acquired NHL Rights Birthplace
Goalies
1 Justin Peters G L Trade TOR File:CarolinaHurricanes 100.png 2004 Canada Blythe, Ontario
30 Jeremy Smith G L 2005 2007 United States Brownstown, Michigan
33 Justin Garay G R 2003 Free Agent United States Monaca, Pennsylvania
Defencemen
2 Brett Bellemore D R 2005 2006 Canada Windsor, Ontario
3 Wes Cunningham D L Trade BLV Free Agent Canada Dresden, Ontario
4 Derek Merlini D L Trade ER Free Agent United States Clinton Township, Michigan
10 Ryan McGinnis D L 2003 File:LosAngelesKings 100.png 2005 United States Fenton, Michigan
22 Mike Letizia(A) D L 2002 Free Agent United States Chicago, Illinois
26 Steve Ward(A) D R Trade SAR Free Agent Canada Scarborough, Ontario
28 Zack Shepley D L 2003 Free Agent Canada Oakville, Ontario
34 Leo Jenner D L 2005 2007 CanadaMossley, Ontario
Forwards
7 Jared Boll R RW Trade KGN File:ColumbusBlueJackets 100.png 2005 United StatesOshawa, Ontario
9 John Vigilante(C) R LW 2002 File:NashvillePredators 100.png 2005 United StatesDearborn, Michigan
11 Evan Brophey L C Trade BLV File:ChicagoBlackhawks 100.png 2005 CanadaKitchener, Ontario
15 Andrew Fournier L C 2003 2006 CanadaAmhertstview, Ontario
17 Dan Collins (Injured) R RW 2003 File:FloridaPanthers 100.png 2005 United StatesCarthage, New York
18 John Armstrong R C 2004 2006 CanadaUnionville, Ontario
19 James Neal L LW 2003 File:DallasStars 100.png 2005 CanadaWhitby, Ontario
20 Chris Terry L C 2005 2007 CanadaBrampton, Ontario
21 Tommy Sestito L LW 2003 2006 United StatesRome, New York
23 Joe McCann R RW Trade SAG 2006 CanadaEssex, Ontario
24 Gino Pisellini(A) R RW 2002 File:PhiladelphiaFlyers 100.png 2004 United StatesItasca, Illinois
25 Joe Gaynor L LW 2005 2007 CanadaGoderich, Ontario
29 Ondrej Otcenas L C 2005 File:CarolinaHurricanes 100.png 2005 SlovakiaPiestany, Slovakia
39 Ryan Stephenson L LW Trade KGN Free Agent Canada Belmont, Ontario

Franchise Records

A complete list of team records can be found here.

Team Records for a single season
Statistic Total Season
Most Points 106 1998-99
Most Wins 51 1998-99
Most Goals For 330 1992-93
Least Goals For 198 2004-05
Least Goals Against 162 1998-99
2000-01
Most Goals Against 378 1990-91
Individual player records for a single season
Statistic Player Total Season
Most Goals Sean Haggerty 60 1995-96
Most Assists Kevin Brown 91 1992-93
Most Points Bob Wren 145 1992-93
Best GAA (Goalie) Robert Holsinger 2.08 1998-99
Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played


Top Scorers

The following players are the top 10 players, sorted by points, of all-time by Whalers players. These statistics only include games played with the Whalers, not career OHL numbers.

Player Years GP G A Pts PIM
Pat Peake 1990-92 162 138 181 319 162
Bob Wren 1991-94 182 115 188 303 220
Todd Harvey 1991-95 173 113 157 270 310
Kevin Brown 1992-94 113 102 167 269 161
Sean Haggerty 1993-96 187 131 132 263 136
John Vigilante 2002-06 254 93 153 246 107
Harold Druken 1996-99 187 123 120 243 60
John Mitchell 2001-05 258 80 150 230 158
Damian Surma 1998-02 241 105 120 225 286
Stephen Weiss 1999-02 172 89 134 223 149

Yearly Results

Regular Season

Legend: T = Tie (2004-05 & previous), SL = Shoot Out Loss (2005-06 & onward)

Season Games Won Lost T/SL OTL Points Goals
For		 Goals
Against		 Standing
1997-98 66 37 22 7 - 81 279 223 2nd West
1998-99 68 51 13 4 - 106 313 162 1st West
1999-00 68 45 18 4 1 95 256 172 1st West
2000-01 68 43 15 5 5 96 253 162 1st West
2001-02 68 39 15 12 2 92 249 166 1st West
2002-03 68 43 14 9 2 97 259 174 1st West
2003-04 68 32 24 9 3 76 220 204 2nd West
2004-05 68 30 29 6 3 69 198 204 2nd West
2005-06 68 35 28 1 4 75 227 224 1st West

Playoffs

  • 1997-98 - Defeated Sarnia Sting 4 games to 1 in division quarter-finals.
    Defeated Belleville Bulls 4 games to 2 in quarter-finals.
    Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 0 in semi-finals.
  • 1998-99 - Defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 0 in conference quater-finals.
    Lost to London Knights 4 games to 3 in conference semi-finals.
  • 1999-00 - Defeated Guelph Storm 4 games to 2 in conference quater-finals.
    Defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 1 in conference semi-finals.
    Defeated S.S.Marie Greyhounds 4 game to 1 in conference finals.
    Lost to Barrie Colts 4 games to 3 in finals.
  • 2000-01 - Defeated Sarnia Sting 4 games to 0 in conference quater-finals.
    Defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
    Defeated Erie Otters 4 game to 1 in conference finals.
    Lost to Ottawa 67's 4 games to 2 in finals.
  • 2001-02 - Lost to London Knights 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals.
  • 2002-03 - Defeated Owen Sound Attack 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
    Defeated London Knights 4 games to 3 in conference semi-finals.
    Lost to Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 3 in conference finals.
  • 2003-04 - Defeated Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
    Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
  • 2004-05 - Lost to Owen Sound Attack 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
  • 2005-06 - Defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 3 in conference quarter-finals.
    In progress vs. Guelph Storm in conference semi-finals.

Uniforms & Logos

Whalers third jersey

The Whalers colours are navy blue, white, green and silver. The Whalers logo was created in 1995 after the Jr. Red Wings were renamed. It features an angry hockey stick-wielding whale, blowing a puck and spout of water out its blow hole. The name Whalers is superimposed on the image surround by a circle of green and blue with waves in the background.

The Whalers home and away jerseys are either white or navy blue background, with green & silver trim. The Whalers third jersey (inset, bottom right) is a green background with the word "Whalers" spelled out in silver letters diagonally across the chest, and has the Whalers primary logo as a shoulder patch.


Arena

File:CSA interior.jpg
Interior of Compuware Sports Arena

Peter Karmanos arranged to build the Whalers a new home in Plymouth Township, Michigan as soon as the 1995-96 season ended. The Compuware Sports Arena was constructed in 6 months time, ready for the 1996-97 season. The arena is located at 14900 Beck Rd. in Plymouth, Michigan.

It is also home to the Plymouth Whalers ice hockey team and the Wayne State University ice hockey team, and the Compuware Ambassadors minor hockey program.

Capacity = 3,807 (seated), 4,500 (incl. standing)
Ice Size = 200' x 85'
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