Youngstown Steelhounds
Encyclopedia
The Youngstown SteelHounds were a professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team that participated in the CHL
Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League is a mid-level professional hockey league, owned by Global Entertainment Corporation. Its current champions are the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, which defeated the Colorado Eagles four games to three in the 2011 playoffs....

 from the 2005-2006 season through the 2007-2008 season. The team was affiliated with the Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio, United States. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...

 of the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 and the Syracuse Crunch
Syracuse Crunch
The Syracuse Crunch are a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They play in Syracuse, New York, at the War Memorial at Oncenter...

 of the AHL
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

. The team played its home games at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

.
The SteelHounds are owned by Herb Washington
Herb Washington
Herbert Lee Washington is a former world-class sprinter in the early 1970s who parlayed his speed into a brief Major League Baseball stint, and later became the owner/operator of numerous McDonald's restaurants and a minor-league professional hockey franchise and held a number of high-ranking...

. The last to hold the posts of General Manager and Head Coach were Joe Gregory and Kevin Kaminski
Kevin Kaminski
Kevin S. Kaminski is a former Canadian ice hockey player.Selected in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars, Kaminski only played one game for the North Stars before he was traded to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for Gaetan Duchesne...

. After being expelled from the CHL following the 2007-2008 season, the team did not participate as a member of any league in 2008-2009. Per a Youngstown Vindicator report, discussions were recently held with the ECHL about a potential return for professional hockey in Youngstown. However, in 2009 the Mahoning Valley Phantoms
Mahoning Valley Phantoms
The Youngstown Phantoms are a Tier I Junior A ice hockey team that plays in the East Division of the United States Hockey League. The team plays home games at the 5,200-seat Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio. The team is owned by Bruce J...

, a Junior A hockey team, moved from the NAHL to the USHL, the premier junior league in the United States, and are playing their entire home slate at the Covelli Centre under a new name, the Youngstown Phantoms. This essentially killed any hope for a return of the 'Hounds.

Franchise history

The SteelHounds took their name from the U.S. steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 industry.
The franchise joined the CHL
Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League is a mid-level professional hockey league, owned by Global Entertainment Corporation. Its current champions are the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, which defeated the Colorado Eagles four games to three in the 2011 playoffs....

 in 2005 as an expansion team for the 2005-2006 season. The team played in the Northeast Division of the CHL, with the closest team to Youngstown being the Mississippi RiverKings.
The SteelHounds won their first home game at the Chevrolet Centre on November 4, 2005, when they defeated the Oklahoma City Blazers
Oklahoma City Blazers
The Oklahoma City Blazers were a professional ice hockey team that played in the Northwest Division of the Central Hockey League. The Blazers played at the Ford Center, located in downtown Oklahoma City. Their colors were burgundy, gold and white...

 4–3. They went on to finish second in the four-team Northeast Division with a 24–35 record. The SteelHounds failed to make the playoffs in their first season. The 2006-2007 season was a better one for the Steelhounds, as the team finished with 34 wins, 20 losses and 10 overtime losses. The SteelHounds made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history but lost in the first round to the Colorado Eagles
Colorado Eagles
The Colorado Eagles are a professional ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference, where they serve as the "Double-A" affiliate of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and the American Hockey League's St. John's IceCaps...

. The SteelHounds' best record in their short franchise history came in the 2007-2008 season with 39 wins, 20 losses and 5 overtime losses. The team finished second in the Northeast Division and qualified for the playoffs for the second straight year, but lost again to the Colorado Eagles
Colorado Eagles
The Colorado Eagles are a professional ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference, where they serve as the "Double-A" affiliate of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and the American Hockey League's St. John's IceCaps...

. After being kicked out of the CHL
Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League is a mid-level professional hockey league, owned by Global Entertainment Corporation. Its current champions are the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, which defeated the Colorado Eagles four games to three in the 2011 playoffs....

 following the 2007-08 season, management considered joining the ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

 or the IHL.

Youngstown out of the CHL

As of June 2, 2008, the CHL announced that the Steelhounds franchise would not be playing in the league. The CHL cited the reason for termination being non-payment of league dues. The Steelhounds and the league have had a dispute related to travel expenses since the franchise began in 2006. The Steelhounds explored joining the IHL or ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

 for the 2008-09 or 2009-10 season, as both leagues had teams located in the Great Lakes
Great Lakes region (North America)
The Great Lakes region of North America, occasionally known as the Third Coast or the Fresh Coast , includes the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as well as the Canadian province of Ontario...

 and Mid-Atlantic
Mid-Atlantic States
The Mid-Atlantic states, also called middle Atlantic states or simply the mid Atlantic, form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...

  regions, making them a better fit for the Steelhounds than the CHL (most of whose teams are in the Southern Plains
South Central United States
The South Central United States or South Central states is a region of the United States located in the south central part of the country. It evolved out of the archaic southwest, which originally was literally the western U.S. South...

 and Southwest
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...

 regions of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

). The team's ownership engaged in talks with the IHL, and in previous seasons the Steelhounds have had exhibition games against ECHL teams.

After being kicked out of the league, and failing to quickly find a new league to play in for the upcoming 2008-2009 season, there has been a mass exodus of top officials in the SteelHounds organization. On June 23, 2008 General Manager Joe Gregory resigned his position, and announced that he was hired as an Executive Vice President for the Norfolk Admirals
Norfolk Admirals
The Norfolk Admirals are a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Admirals play in Norfolk, Virginia, at the Norfolk Scope.-History:...

 of the AHL
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

. Then, Kevin 'Killer' Kaminski resigned his position as head coach on July 1, 2008. Then on July 2, 2008 the rival Mississippi RiverKings announced him as their new head coach, signed to an unheard of 3-year contract.

Head Coaching Records

Head Coach Years Seasons Wins Losses OT Losses Points Win Pct. # Playoff Appearances Playoff Wins Playoff Losses Playoff Points Playoff Win Pct.
Jean LeForest 2005–2006 1 24 35 5 53 .414 0 0 0 0 .000
Kevin Kaminski 2006–2008 2 73 40 15 161 .629 2 3 8 6 .273

Season Standings

Season League Wins Losses OT Losses Points Win Pct. Result Head Coach
2005–2006 CHL 24 35 5 53 .414 2nd NE Division Jean LeForest
2006–2007 CHL 34 20 10 78 .609 3rd NE Division Kevin Kaminski
2007–2008 CHL 39 20 5 83 .648 2nd NE Division Kevin Kaminski

Playoff Record

Season League Wild-Card Series Semi-Final Series Conference Championship Series League Championship Series
2006–2007 CHL Colorado
Colorado Eagles
The Colorado Eagles are a professional ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference, where they serve as the "Double-A" affiliate of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and the American Hockey League's St. John's IceCaps...

 (L 2–4)
2007–2008 CHL Bye Colorado
Colorado Eagles
The Colorado Eagles are a professional ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference, where they serve as the "Double-A" affiliate of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and the American Hockey League's St. John's IceCaps...

 (L 1–4)

Current Roster

Goalies
# Flag Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth

Offense
# Flag Player Position Shoots Acquired Place of Birth

Defense
# Flag Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth

Team Captains

Season League Player
2005–2006 CHL Jeff Christian
2006–2007 CHL Jeff Christian
2007–2008 CHL Chris Richards

Franchise Scoring Leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history(*Includes post-season totals).

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current SteelHounds player











Points Goals Assists
Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Chris Richards C 200 88 204 292 1.46
Jeff Christian
Jeff Christian
Jeff Christian is a retired Canadian ice hockey Left Winger. He played 18 games in the National Hockey League for the New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Phoenix Coyotes.-Playing career:...

 
LW 131 98 135 233 1.78
Jeff Alconbrack* D 135 22 89 111 0.82
Eric Przepiorka* F 66 26 43 69 1.05
Petr Pohl
Petr Pohl
Petr Pohl is a Czech professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 5th round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft....

 
F 56 24 41 65 1.16
Joel Irving  F 69 26 37 63 0.91
Chris Shaffer
Chris Shaffer
Chris Shaffer is a singer/songwriter from Indiana who is best known as the frontman of The Why Store and for singing on their biggest single, "Lack of Water." Shaffer performed with The Why Store until it split in 2000 and was among the members who reunited in 2005 for a handful of reunion...

 
RW 122 25 32 57 0.47
Tab Lardner  F 61 20 33 53 0.87
Mark Odut* LW 117 20 29 49 0.42
Joey Sewell  RW 29 24 24 48 1.66
Brad Patterson* C 79 14 34 48 0.61

Player Pos G
Jeff Christian
Jeff Christian
Jeff Christian is a retired Canadian ice hockey Left Winger. He played 18 games in the National Hockey League for the New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Phoenix Coyotes.-Playing career:...

 
LW 98
Chris Richards C 88
Eric Przepiorka C 26
Chris Shaffer
Chris Shaffer
Chris Shaffer is a singer/songwriter from Indiana who is best known as the frontman of The Why Store and for singing on their biggest single, "Lack of Water." Shaffer performed with The Why Store until it split in 2000 and was among the members who reunited in 2005 for a handful of reunion...

 
RW 25
Jeff Alcombrack* D 22
Mark Odut* LW 20
Stephen Margeson  D 20
Shaun Landolt  LW 17
Brad Patterson* C 14
Mark Johnson  C 12
Kelly Sickavish  D 6

Player Pos A
Chris Richards C 204
Jeff Christian
Jeff Christian
Jeff Christian is a retired Canadian ice hockey Left Winger. He played 18 games in the National Hockey League for the New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Phoenix Coyotes.-Playing career:...

 
LW 135
Jeff Alcombrack* D 89
Eric Przepiorka* F 43
Petr Pohl
Petr Pohl
Petr Pohl is a Czech professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 5th round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft....

 
F 41
Joel Irving  F 37
Brad Patterson* C 34
Tab Lardner  F 33
Chris Shaffer
Chris Shaffer
Chris Shaffer is a singer/songwriter from Indiana who is best known as the frontman of The Why Store and for singing on their biggest single, "Lack of Water." Shaffer performed with The Why Store until it split in 2000 and was among the members who reunited in 2005 for a handful of reunion...

 
RW 32
Kurtis Dulle  D 29
Mark Odut* LW 29


External links

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