The Youngstown SteelHounds was a professional ice hockey team which participated in the Central Hockey League (CHL) from the 2005–2006 season through the 2007–2008 season. The team was affiliated with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL and the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. The team played its home games at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio.
The SteelHounds franchise was owned by Herb Washington. The last to hold the posts of General Manager and Head Coach were Joe Gregory and Kevin Kaminski. 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 held with the ECHL about a potential return for professional hockey in Youngstown, however, in 2009 the Mahoning Valley Phantoms, 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.
Franchise history The SteelHounds took their name from the U.S. steel industry.
The franchise joined the CHL in 2005 as an expansion team for the 2005–06 season, playing 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 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 2006–07 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.
The SteelHounds' best record in their short franchise history came in the 2007–08 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. After being kicked out of the CHL following the 2007–08 season, management considered joining the ECHL 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 for the 2008–09 or 2009–10 season, as both leagues had teams located in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions, making them a better fit for the SteelHounds than the CHL (most of whose teams are in the Southern Plains and Southwest regions of the United States). 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 was 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 of the AHL. Then, Kevin Kaminski resigned his position as head coach on July 1, 2008, after which, on July 2, 2008, the rival Mississippi RiverKings announced him as their new head coach, signed to an unheard of three-year contract.
Team record 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 (L 2–4) 2007–2008 CHL Bye Colorado (L 1–4)
Players
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
Points Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G Chris Richards C 200 88 204 292 1.46 Jeff Christian 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 F 56 24 41 65 1.16 Joel Irving F 69 26 37 63 0.91 Chris Shaffer 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
Goals Player Pos G Jeff Christian LW 98 Chris Richards C 88 Eric Przepiorka C 26 Chris Shaffer 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
Assists Player Pos A Chris Richards C 204 Jeff Christian LW 135 Jeff Alcombrack D 89 Eric Przepiorka F 43 Petr Pohl F 41 Joel Irving F 37 Brad Patterson C 34 Tab Lardner F 33 Chris Shaffer RW 32 Kurtis Dulle D 29 Mark Odut LW 29
References
External links SteelHounds' official website Central Hockey League's official website Pointstreak: CHL Scoring Website