The Binghamton Rangers were the primary minor league affiliate of the New York Rangers and members of the American Hockey League (AHL) since 1990. Binghamton home games were played at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, still used today by the 2010-2011 Calder Cup Champion Binghamton Senators.
Binghamton is not an overly long trip from downtown Manhattan, but at about four hours by car it takes time to shuttle players between the AHL minor league franchise and the NHL parent Rangers. For that reason, and since the Binghamton arena was outdated, the Rangers started searching for a new location during 2000.
Connecticut Bound
In early 1997, Rangers ownership saw its opportunity. The Hartford Whalers (members of the NHL and now the Carolina Hurricanes) announced that it would leave the city of Hartford following the 1996-1997 season. The number of season ticket holders had decreased and talks for a new arena faded.
The Rangers bought the Binghamton franchise and moved it to Hartford for the 1997-1998 season. The concept made perfect business sense, Hartford is much closer to Manhattan than Binghamton, the team was moving into a fairly up-to-date NHL arena and the fan base was large by AHL standards. The Rangers made upgrades to the arena (Hartford Civic Center, recently renamed the XL Center) and moved in.
Rangers Name Hartford AHL Affiliate
The only issue remaining was what to name the team. The Rangers wanted a unique name, so they didn’t even try to gain access to the rights of the “Whalers” name. After a 'name the team contest', the franchise became the Hartford Wolf Pack. Whaler blue and green was gone and Ranger blue and red made its way into downtown Hartford.
With this new team name some people scratched their heads in wonderment. After all, wolves were no longer found in this part of Connecticut. But the Rangers had dipped into their creative side and explored the history both of Hartford and the state of Connecticut . During World War II, submarines were built in Connecticut. Beginning in 1989, the Seawolf class submarine was built at nearby bases.
The name “Seawolf” was already taken by the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL (East Coast Hockey League), one level below the AHL. So the Rangers dug even further and discovered the Wolfpack naval tactic, which is a group of submarines that stayed close together with a coordinated attack. With the history of submarines construction in Connecticut, the Rangers adopted the name Wolf Pack for the minor league franchise.
From Rangers to Wolf Pack to Whale
The Wolf Pack name lasted 13 full seasons. Halfway through the 2010-2011 season, the team changed its name under new marketer Howard Baldwin. In a tribute to the Hartford Whalers the team is now known as the Connecticut Whale.
Nick Virgintino - My name is Nick Virgintino, I am from Long Island, NY. Currently studying communications at Queens College, focus on marketing, ...
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