Lethbridge Hurricanes


The Lethbridge Hurricanes are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team currently members of the Eastern Conference of the Western Hockey League. The team is based in Lethbridge, Alberta, and play their home games at the ENMAX Centre.

History

When the Lethbridge Broncos returned to their original home in Swift Current following the 1985–86 season, hockey fans in Lethbridge did not have to wait long for a new team; after just one year out of the WHL, Lethbridge returned to the WHL in 1987–88 when the Calgary Wranglers moved south to become the Hurricanes.
The team's crowning achievement came in 1996–97, when the Hurricanes captured their first, and to date only, WHL Championship. The Hurricanes then finished as Memorial Cup runners-up when they lost the title game to the Hull Olympiques. That same year, they also won their division title and the regular season title. In the 2007–08 season, the Hurricanes won the Eastern Conference Championship.
The team changed its logo for the 2013–14 season per requests from the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals, who claim the former Hurricanes’ logo was too similar to theirs. Despite the optimism going into the season under new Head Coach Drake Berehowsky, who replaced the fired Rich Preston, the 2013–14 season would be a record-setting one, but in the wrong categories; the team stumbled out of the gate and dealt with turmoil amongst the players and coaching staff. Some notable occurrences saw veteran forwards Sam McKechnie and Jaimen Yakuboski sent home until both players were dealt to the Seattle Thunderbirds in October. A week later, third year defenseman Ryan Pilon requested a trade and left the team. Pilon got his wish and was dealt to the Brandon Wheat Kings in a multiplayer deal shortly afterwards. In addition to two more players requesting trades, the team endured a public relations nightmare when Assistant Coach Brad Lukowich walked out on the team following a 3–2 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. Lukowich was terminated "with cause" days later. The team hit new lows by scoring a franchise-low 171 goals, allowing 358 goals and earned notoriety by losing two games by a combined score of 22–0; the first humiliation was a 10–0 loss to the Vancouver Giants on January 24, 2014, followed by a 12–0 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings on February 17. The team capped off the season on a 15-game losing streak, finishing the year at 12–55–2–3 with 29 points, the League's lowest point total, placing them in last place in the entire WHL. The 12 wins and 29 points also set records for fewest wins and fewest points in the 26-year history of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and the 46-year history of the franchise that began as the Winnipeg Jets.
In recent years, the community-owned franchise has faced serious financial problems, which came to light during the 2013–14 season. The team lost upwards of $1.25 million in a two-year period and has gone as far as having to scale back on their marketing campaigns and player accommodations on road trips. In March 2014, the team revealed it had to take out a line of credit in order to meet financial goals. The financial situation of the team has led to internet rumours of the team possibly being sold to True North Sports and Entertainment and relocated to Winnipeg, while former Hurricanes forward and Lethbridge native Kris Versteeg has publicly stated his desire to purchase the team and keep it in the city. As the losses continued to pile up and the fan interest waning, the team fired Head Coach Drake Berehowsky on December 9 and General Manager Brad Robson on December 10, and hired former Prince Albert Raiders Head Coach Peter Anholt to both positions that day.
Anholt stepped down as coach, but stayed on as general manager, and hired 33 year old Brent Kisio away from the Calgary Hitmen as the team's new head coach.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
SeasonGPWLTOTLGFGA PointsFinishPlayoffs
1987–887220484-257357447th EastOut of Playoffs
1988–897227396-356380605th EastLost East division semi-final
1989–907251174-4652701061st EastLost WHL final
1990–917245216-373281961st EastLost WHL final
1991–927239312-350284804th EastLost in first round
1992–937233363-317328695th EastLost in first round
1993–947235325-306317753rd EastLost East division semi-final
1994–957222482-263341468th EastOut of playoffs
1995–967233363-259270692nd CentralLost in first round
1996–977247223-342248971st CentralWon Championship; Lost Memorial Cup final
1997–9872322911-261237752nd CentralLost in first round
1998–997231329-224215713rd CentralLost in first round
1999–0072253845220250594th CentralOut of playoffs
2000–0172293544200229664th CentralLost in first round
2001–0272333360266247724th CentralLost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2002–0372284022236303605th CentralOut of playoffs
2003–04722728107196203715th CentralOut of playoffs
2004–05723920121222162912nd CentralLost Eastern Conference quarter-final
SeasonGPWLOTLSOLGFGA PointsFinishPlayoffs
2005–0672273636195250633rd CentralLost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2006–0772333423254265715th CentralOut of playoffs
2007–0872452124245175962nd CentralLost final
2008–0972353232227228754th CentralLost Eastern Conference semi-final
2009–1072204453178275485th CentralOut of playoffs
2010–1172233658205295595th CentralOut of playoffs
2011–1272294201225292596th CentralOut of playoffs
2012–1372283437212253666th CentralOut of playoffs
2013–1472125523171358296th CentralOut of playoffs
2014–1572204453202304486th CentralOut of playoffs
2015–1672462411304218941st CentralLost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2016–1772442143280253952nd CentralLost Eastern Conference final
2017–1872333360244260722nd CentralLost Eastern Conference final
2018–1968401855268234902nd CentralLost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2019–2063371925249193813rd CentralCancelled

WHL Championship history

Updated June 16, 2020.

Team records

NHL alumni