Youngstown Steelhounds The Youngstown SteelHounds were a professional ice hockey team that participated in the 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 are 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 recently held with the ECHL about a potential return for professional hockey in Youngstown . The more likely occurrence will be for the Mahoning Valley Phantoms , a Junior A hockey team , to move up to the USHL , the premier junior league in the United States , and play its entire home slate at the Chevy Centre while the SteelHounds go dormant . The Phantoms are presently splitting their home season between the Chevy Centre and Boardman , OH ' s Ice Zone . 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 - 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 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 . 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 . 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 2nd , 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 are looking to join the IHL or ECHL for the 2008 - 09 or 2009 - 10 season . Both leagues have teams located in the Great Lakes region 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 had had 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 of the AHL . Then , Kevin ' Killer ' Kaminski resigned his position as head coach on July 1st , 2008 . Then on July 2nd , 2008 the rival Mississippi RiverKings announced him as their new head coach , signed to an unheard of 3 - year contract . Team Record . 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 "