Calgary Hitmen The Calgary Hitmen are a junior ice hockey team based in Calgary , Alberta , Canada playing in the Western Hockey League ( WHL ) . They play their home games at the Pengrowth Saddledome . The Hitmen name is derived from Calgary - born wrestler , and original part owner , Bret " the Hitman " Hart . The Hitmen ' s original jerseys were a distinctive mix of pink , black and grey , also taken from Hart ' s ring attire . The Hitmen are the third WHL team to represent Calgary , preceded by the Centennials and Wranglers . In 1999 , the Hitmen became the first Calgary team to win the President ' s Cup as league champions , and the first to represent Calgary in the Memorial Cup since the Calgary Canadians won the national junior title in 1926 . History . Calgary had been without a WHL team since 1987 , when the Calgary Wranglers moved south to become the Lethbridge Hurricanes , as the juniors could not compete against the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League . Eighteen investors , however , convinced the WHL to grant the city of Calgary an expansion franchise for the 1995 - 96 WHL season . In addition to Hart , the ownership group included NHL stars Theo Fleury and Joe Sakic . Though initially nervous of competing with the Hitmen for hockey fan ' s dollars , the Flames chose to purchase the Hitmen in 1997 , and have since built the team into one of the premier junior hockey teams in Canada . Controversial beginnings . The Hitmen immediately generated controversy when the team logo was unveiled . While the " Jason Voorhees " style logo was instantly popular with many fans , some in the local media , as well as the league office found the look too violent , and the Hitmen were forced to use an alternate " starburst " logo in their inaugural season . The WHL relented after one year , allowing the original logo to return in 1996 . The Hitmen were caught up in a second controversy in their second season as general manager and head coach Graham James was forced to resign partway through the 1996 - 97 season after being charged with sexually assaulting two of his players while coaching the Swift Current Broncos . James was convicted in January 1997 . The team on the ice did not fare much better than it did off of it . The Hitmen won only 33 games in their first two seasons , finishing safely out of playoff contention both years . WHL championship . After two challenging seasons , the Hitmen quickly rose to prominence . In 1997 - 98 , the Hitmen won 40 games and the Central Division . Entering the playoffs for the first time , the Hitmen cruised past the Saskatoon Blades , then upset the Swift Current Broncos before falling in the Eastern Conference final to the Brandon Wheat Kings . Head coach Dean Clark , brought in to replace James , won the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy as WHL coach of the year for his efforts . He was also named the CHL coach of the year . Calgary improved to 51 wins in 1998 - 99 , narrowly edging the Kamloops Blazers for the regular season title . Led by Brad Moran , Pavel Brendl and goaltender Alexandre Fomitchev , the Hitmen lost just five games in the playoffs , capturing their first President ' s Cup at home before a WHL playoff record crowd of 17 , 139 . In the 1999 Memorial Cup , the Hitmen finished atop the round robin standings earning a berth straight into the final . Calgary faced the host Ottawa 67s of the Ontario Hockey League in the championship game in an exciting back - and - forth affair . The Hitmen fell just short however , losing 7 - 6 in overtime . In 1999 - 00 , the Hitmen set franchise records for wins ( 58 ) and points ( 120 ) while capturing their second straight regular season title . After sweeping their first two playoff series , the Hitmen were stunned by the eventual WHL champion Kootenay Ice . Recent years . In the past several seasons , the Hitmen have settled in as a middle of the road team on the ice . Despite this , the team has become a perennial attendance leader , finishing atop the WHL standings each of the past four years . In 2004 - 05 , the Flames heavily marketed the Hitmen in the wake of the 2004 - 05 NHL lockout . As a result , the Hitmen averaged 10 , 062 fans , the first junior team to average 10 , 000 , and the highest average of any junior or professional team in North America . Their season total of 362 , 227 set WHL and CHL records . While the team has not been extremely successful in recent years , the Hitmen have developed several players who have gone onto success in the NHL and at major international tournaments . Ryan Getzlaf and Andrew Ladd were both members of the dominating Canadian team that won the 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships . Justin Pogge emerged as the unlikely hero for team Canada as they defended their gold medal at the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships . Pogge would also be named the WHL and CHL goaltender of the year in 2005 - 06 . Ladd also became the first Hitmen alumnus to win the Stanley Cup , which he did with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 . Getzlaf won the cup the following season with the Anaheim Ducks , leading the team in scoring with seven goals and ten assists in twenty - one games . Season - by - season record . " Note : GP = Games played , W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , OTL = Overtime losses , SOL = Shootout losses , Pts = Points , GF = Goals for , GA = Goals against " NHL Alumni . Ryan Getzlaf played four seasons with the Hitmen between 2001 and 2005 . | alt = Upper body of a hockey player staring intently into the distance . He is in a white jersey with black , red and gold trim , with the word " DUCKS " scrawled across the chest . ] ] Thirty - eight players have been selected from the Hitmen roster at the National Hockey League ' s entry drafts . Of those , nine players were selected in the first round . The highest drafted players in club history were Pavel Brendl ( 1999 ) and Andrew Ladd ( 2004 ) . Both players were selected fourth overall . Forty - one former Hitmen players have gone on to play in the National Hockey League . The first was Ryan Bast , who played two games with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1998 – 99 . Andrew Ladd has gone on to win two Stanley Cup championships since graduating : with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010 . His former Hitmen teammate , Ryan Getzlaf won the Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 . Head coaches . Dean Clark has thus far been the most successful coach for the Calgary Hitmen . He led the team between 1996 and 2001 , and in that time won more WHL games than any other coach . He was named coach of the year in both the WHL and CHL in 1998 . Clark led the Hitmen to three division titles , two regular season titles , one league championship , and coached the Hitmen to their first Memorial Cup final . Kelly Kisio is the team ' s former head coach from the 2004 – 05 season to the end of the 2007 – 08 season , a role he shared with Dean Evason in his first year at the helm of the Hitmen . Kisio stepped down as coach in 2008 , naming former assistant Dave Lowry , as head coach for the 2008 – 09 season . Lowry was promoted to an assistant with the Calgary Flames after leading the Hitmen to a 122 - point season in his rookie year . He was replaced by Mike Williamson , who led the team to a WHL championship in 2010 but left the team in 2014 . The current head coach is Mark French . Club records . Team records held by the Hitmen and players : Season . " Individual " " Team " Awards and honours . The Calgary Hitmen have captured numerous awards during the franchise ' s tenure . Hitmen players have been named the WHL ' s most outstanding player four times . Defenceman Karl Alzner won the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy in 2007 – 08 , also named the defenceman of the year , and Brett Sonne won the trophy in 2008 – 09 . Goaltender Martin Jones captured numerous awards in Calgary ' s championship season of 2009 – 10 , including being named the top goaltender of the Memorial Cup , and Brandon Kozun led the entire Canadian Hockey League in scoring . As a whole , the Hitmen have won the Central Division six times , and four times have been the regular season champions . Brad Moran , the franchise ' s all - time leading scorer , had his number 20 retired in 2005 , the only player to be so honoured . Following the lead of the Calgary Flames , the team introduced a new program in 2015 to honour former players . Called " Forever a Hitmen " , the team named Ryan Getzlaf the first inductee . Ed Chynoweth Cup " Western Hockey League champions " Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy " Regular season champions " Central Division titles Four Broncos Memorial Trophy " Player of the year " Bob Clarke Trophy " Top scorer " Daryl K . ( Doc ) Seaman Trophy " Scholastic player of the year " Brad Hornung Trophy " Most sportsmanlike player " Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy " Defenceman of the year " CHL Defenceman of the Year Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy " Rookie of the year " CHL Top Draft Prospect Award Del Wilson Trophy " Goaltender of the year " CHL Goaltender of the Year Hap Emms Memorial Trophy " Top goaltender at the Memorial Cup " Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy " Coach of the year " Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award " CHL coach of the year " Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy " Executive of the year " Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy " Humanitarian of the year " WHL Playoff MVP WHL Plus - Minus Award " Top plus - minus " St . Clair Group Trophy " Top marketing / public relations department "