The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Bakersfield, California. The team is owned by and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their home games at Mechanics Bank Arena. The AHL franchise is a relocation of the Oklahoma City Barons, which joined four other AHL franchises in 2015 as the basis to form a new Pacific Division in California.
| Bakersfield Condors | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Bakersfield, California |
| League | American Hockey League (AHL) |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Pacific |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Home arena | Mechanics Bank Arena |
| Colors | Blue, orange, silver, white |
| Owner(s) | Oilers Entertainment Group Daryl Katz |
| General manager | Keith Gretzky |
| Head coach | Colin Chaulk |
| Captain | Vacant |
| Media | The Bakersfield Californian Prime Ticket Fox Sports 970 AHL.TV (Internet) |
| Affiliates | Edmonton Oilers (NHL) Fort Wayne Komets (ECHL) |
| Franchise history | |
| 1984–1988 | Nova Scotia Oilers |
| 1988–1996 | Cape Breton Oilers |
| 1996–2003 | Hamilton Bulldogs |
| 2003–2004 | Toronto Roadrunners |
| 2004–2005 | Edmonton Road Runners |
| 2010–2015 | Oklahoma City Barons |
| 2015–present | Bakersfield Condors |
| Championships | |
| Division titles | 2 (2018–19, 2020–21) |
 Current season | |
The Condors replaced the ECHL team of the same name, which played as a charter member of the West Coast Hockey League from 1995 until 2003 and then in the ECHL from 2003 until the end of the 2014–15 season, after which they moved to Norfolk, Virginia, to play as the Norfolk Admirals. The Condors are the only AHL team in the United States affiliated with a Canadian team.
History
editOn December 18, 2014, the Oklahoma City Barons and Edmonton Oilers mutually agreed to end the Barons' operations after the end of the 2014–15 season, with the Barons management citing financial problems and the Oilers citing a desire to "move on."[1] One month later, on January 29, 2015, the AHL announced that the Oilers would relocate their franchise to Bakersfield as one of five charter members to form the basis of a new Pacific Division beginning in the 2015–16 season.[2] A name-the-team contest was held from January 30 until February 15, 2015. The Condors name was announced as the winner on February 25, 2015.[3] The Condors unveiled their new logo and colors on April 2, 2015.[4]
On December 18, 2015, the Condors participated in the AHL's first outdoor game in California, called the Golden State Hockey Rush, at Raley Field in West Sacramento against the Stockton Heat. The Heat would defeat the Condors 3–2 in front of 9,357 fans.[5] Despite not making the playoffs in their first season, the Condors still contributed to the overall increase in AHL attendance[6] with an average of 5195 per night,[7] an increase of about 1900 spectators compared to the former Barons[8] and similar to the former ECHL Condors.[9]
In the 2016–17 season, the Condors were named as hosts for their second AHL Outdoor Classic game, named the Condorstown Outdoor Classic, against the Ontario Reign held on January 7, 2017, at Bakersfield College's Memorial Stadium.[10] Despite sometimes heavy rain, the game went on as scheduled and the Condors defeated the Reign 3–2 in overtime.
During the 2018–19 season, the Condors tied the second-longest AHL winning streak at 17 games from January 12 to February 25, 2019.[11] The Condors finished in first place in Pacific Division in the regular season before they were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the San Diego Gulls.
Season-by-season results
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | PCT | GF | GA | Standing | Year | Prelims | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Finals |
| 2015–16 | 68 | 31 | 28 | 7 | 2 | 71 | .522 | 212 | 222 | 5th, Pacific | 2016 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2016–17 | 68 | 33 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 72 | .529 | 200 | 188 | 5th, Pacific | 2017 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2017–18 | 68 | 31 | 27 | 9 | 1 | 72 | .529 | 188 | 206 | 7th, Pacific | 2018 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2018–19 | 68 | 42 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 89 | .654 | 242 | 182 | 1st, Pacific | 2019 | — | W, 3–1, COL | L, 2–4, SD | — | — |
| 2019–20 | 56 | 21 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 50 | .446 | 162 | 202 | 6th, Pacific | 2020 | Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 2020–21 | 39 | 24 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 49 | .628 | 129 | 104 | 2nd, Pacific | 2021[a] | — | BYE | BYE | W, 2–1, SD | W, 2–1, HSK |
| 2021–22 | 68 | 37 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 84 | .618 | 225 | 192 | 4th, Pacific | 2022 | W, 2–0, ABB | L, 0–3, STK | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | 72 | 37 | 31 | 2 | 2 | 78 | .542 | 212 | 212 | 5th, Pacific | 2023 | L, 0–2, ABB | — | — | — | — |
| 2023–24 | 72 | 39 | 27 | 4 | 2 | 84 | .583 | 223 | 202 | 6th, Pacific | 2024 | L, 0–2, ONT | — | — | — | — |
- ^ The 2021 Calder Cup playoffs were not held; the Pacific Division held a postseason tournament for the division title. The bottom four teams had single-elimination play-in games to qualify for the semifinals (the first two rounds). The division semifinals and finals were best-of-three for the John D. Chick Trophy (the last two rounds).
Players
editCurrent roster
editUpdated November 6, 2024.[12]
Team captains
edit- Ryan Hamilton, 2015–2018
- Keegan Lowe, 2018–2020
- Brad Malone, 2020–2024
Notable alumni
editList of Bakersfield Condors alumni who played more than 100 games in Bakersfield and 100 or more games in the National Hockey League.
References
edit- ^ "OKC Barons To Cease Operations At End Of Current Season". news9.com. December 18, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
- ^ "Bakersfield will join the American Hockey League in 2015-16". Bakersfield Condors. January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
- ^ Griffith, Mike (February 25, 2015). "Condors team name remains the same". Bakersfield Californian. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
- ^ "AHL CONDORS LOGO UNVEILING APRIL 2 AT 12 P.M." Bakersfield Condors. March 27, 2015.
- ^ "Grant, Kylington and Shore Lead Heat to 3-2 Win at Raley Field". Stockton Heat. December 19, 2015. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
- ^ "AHL teams establish all-time attendance record". AHL. April 18, 2016.
- ^ "Bakersfield Condors Yearly Attendance". HockeyDB. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
- ^ "OKC Barons Yearly Attendance". HockeyDB. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
- ^ "ECHL Bakersfield Condors Yearly Attendance". HockeyDB. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
- ^ "Condors bringing outdoor hockey to Memorial Stadium". Bakersfield.com. August 23, 2016.
- ^ "Bakersfield Condors winning streak ends at 17 games; Lose 1-0 to Iowa Wild". KGET-TV. March 1, 2019.
- ^ "Bakersfield Condors Team roster". Bakersfield Condors. November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 6, 2024.