Baton Rouge Kingfish They played their home games at the Riverside Centroplex ( since renamed Baton Rouge River Center ) and maintained a parent club affiliation with the St . Louis Blues of the National Hockey League . Former coaches included Pierre McGuire , Dave Schultz , the NHL ' s all - time record holder for penalty minutes in a single season ( 472 ) , and Cam Brown , who served as a player - coach . Brown was also probably the most popular Kingfish player . He was as widely loved for his good looks and outspoken affinity for the city of Baton Rouge as he was for his hard - nosed physical and routinely courageous play as a power forward . He played every single season for the Kingfish and was either the captain or the player coach in every season but the first . Cam Brown currently holds the ECHL career records for both games played and penalty minutes . His # 44 was one of two to be retired by the Kingfish along with # 55 of defenseman Scott Humeniuk who suffered a stroke while a member of the team . Louisiana Hockey Rivalries . Although league divisions were restructured several times , the Kingfish played most often in the Southwest Division , which usually included the ( Biloxi ) Mississippi Sea Wolves , Mobile Mysticks , Birmingham Bulls , Pensacola Ice Pilots , New Orleans Brass , Jackson Bandits , ( Little Rock ) Arkansas RiverBlades , and the ( Lafayette ) Louisiana IceGators who were one of the most successful franchises in the history of the ECHL , both in wins and ticket sales . The proximity of the IceGators , ( about 50 miles west of Baton Rouge ) contributed to them immediately becoming a fierce rival of both the Kingfish players and fans , a rivalry dubbed by bumper stickers as " the cold war " . The rivalry was exacerbated by the departure of early Kingfish players like Blair Manning and Don Parsons ( who was incidentally the original captain for the Kingfish ) who went on to have successful careers with the IceGators . Beginning with the Kingfish inaugural season in 1996 - 1997 , the Kingfish and IceGators challenged each other annually for the Atchafalaya Governor ' s Cup , which was named for the river that divided the two cities and was awarded to the team with the best head - to - head record . The Kingfish won the cup in their first season despite finishing behind the IceGators in the division . The name of the cup was later changed to the Hibernia Cup when New Orleans subsequently joined the league , effectively making it a 3 - way challenge for state bragging rights . New Orleans ' arrival in the league did very little if anything to alter the chemistry between the existing rivals though they remained competitive in the division . Despite some modest success in head - to - head games against the IceGators , the Kingfish franchise ultimately spent most of its existence in their shadow , and were never able to match the on - ice success or popularity of the Lafayette club . The best finish for the Kingfish was in 1998 - 1999 as they went 3 - 3 in the Kelly Cup Playoffs , reaching the conference quarterfinals . Lafayette still remains the most active city in Louisiana for amateur hockey . Kingfish in the NHL . Former Kingfish that went on to play in the NHL include forwards Reed Low , Alexandre Burrows , and Raitis Ivanans , defensemen Shane Hnidy and David Van Drunen , and goaltenders Johan Hedberg , and Travis Scott . Kingfish players that had previously played in the NHL include forward Cam Brown and goaltenders Christian Soucy , Jordan Willis , and Mike Lenarduzzi .