Wichita Thunder

The Wichita Thunder are a minor league hockey team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team played in the Central Hockey League from 1992 until 2014, and then in the ECHL since the 2014–15 season. From 1992 until December 2009, the Thunder played in the Britt Brown Arena located in the northern Wichita suburb of Park City. In January 2010 (the second half of the 2009–10 season), the team began playing its home games at the newly built Intrust Bank Arena. The Thunder are currently the ECHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks.
==Franchise history ==
===Central Hockey League===
The Thunder was one of the first six original teams of the second iteration of the Central Hockey League, along with the Oklahoma City Blazers, Tulsa Oilers, Memphis RiverKings, Dallas Freeze and the Fort Worth Fire. Wichita played its first home game at Britt Brown Arena on November 4, 1992, in front of a crowd of 5,486. In the same season, the Thunder had its first sellout in team history when the crowd of 9,686 fans watched the Thunder defeat Oklahoma City 4–3.
The Thunder was originally coached by Gary Fay, but after a 6–20 start, he was replaced by Doug Shedden. The season was quickly turned around by Shedden, and it finished its first season with a 25–32–2 record. On April 5, 1993, the Thunder goaltender Robert Desjardins was named the first CHL Rookie of the Year. In the following two seasons, the Thunder was the regular season champion (Adams Cup) and playoff champion (William Levins Memorial Cup). Ron Handy was the Playoff Most Valuable Player for both seasons and was the only player in Central Hockey League history to win the award on multiple occasions. In the 1993–94 season, Doug Shedden won the Coach of the Year award, Robert Desjardins won the Regular Season Most Valuable Player award and Paul Jackson won the Scoring Champion award.
On May 14, 1995, Shedden resigned to become coach of the Louisiana IceGators of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). Don Jackson was hired as the new head coach on July 21, 1995. He led the Thunder to a 22–39–3 record and missed the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. On July 19, 1996, Jackson resigned to become head coach of the Kansas City Blades of the International Hockey League (IHL). Jackson was replaced by Bryan Wells to become the Thunder's fourth head coach in franchise history. Wells went on to coach the Thunder for five seasons, making the playoffs in four out of the five seasons he coached. On May 2, 2001, Wells was dismissed as head coach.
After the dismissal of Wells, the Thunder announced that James Latos would be the new head coach. In Latos' first season coaching, the team went 24–34–6 and was out of the playoffs. Latos was fired the following season after a disappointing start of 8–19–7. Five days after his dismissal, the Thunder announced that Derek Laxdal would become the team's new head coach. Laxdal went on to coach the Thunder for two seasons to an 87–58–8 record while securing two separate playoff places. On August 3, 2005, Laxdal announced his resignation to become the head coach of the ECHL's Idaho Steelheads.
Mark French took over as head coach from 2005 to 2007. During his tenure, he compiled a record of 70–59–16. He was fired mid-season in December 2007 with a 4–13 record. He went on to become the assistant coach of the AHL's Hershey Bears and the following season took them to a championship as head coach. The Thunder then named former player Rob Weingartner to lead the team. Weingartner played for the Thunder from 1992 to 1996 when he was a member of two championship teams. Weingartner compiled a record of 16–29–2 during his tenure. He has since become the head coach of the Western States Hockey League's Wichita Jr. Thunder.
Brent Bilodeau was hired during the 2008 off-season and led the team for two seasons and a record of 22–48–0. He was fired early in his second season and became the assistant coach of the Western Hockey League's Tri-City Americans for two seasons. After the Thunder fired Bilodeau nine games into the 2009–10 season, Jason Duda was given the job on an interim basis while on injured reserve. Duda owns several franchise records from his Thunder career, scoring 870 points in 14 seasons. He finished the season with a 7–43–5 record and became an assistant coach under the next head coach, Kevin McClelland.
=== ECHL===
On October 7, 2014, soon before the 2014–15 CHL season was set to begin, it was announced that the Central Hockey League had ceased operations and the Thunder, along with the Allen Americans, Brampton Beast, Quad City Mallards, Missouri Mavericks, Rapid City Rush and Tulsa Oilers, were all approved for membership into the ECHL for the 2014–15 season. The team finished fifth out of seven teams in the Central Division, scoring 73 points out of 144.
On April 16, 2016, the Thunder announced that the team would not renew McClelland's contract for the 2016–17 season. He had been with the Thunder since 2010 and guided the team for six seasons becoming the longest tenured coach in Thunder history, leading the team for 408 games. During his time in Wichita, McClelland compiled a record of 194–166–48, earning a playoff spot in his first season and taking the team to the playoff finals in the following two seasons while still in the CHL. However, he failed to lead the team into the ECHL playoffs in his two seasons leading the team in the ECHL and the Thunder finished last in the overall standings in the 2015–16 season.
Malcolm Cameron was announced as the new head coach on May 20, 2016. One of his stated intentions in his opening press conference was to establish the Thunder's first NHL affiliation for the upcoming season. On July 4, 2016, the Ottawa Senators' assistant general manager, Randy Lee, said that his team was in negotiations for an affiliation with the Thunder for the 2016–17 season. The affiliation with the Senators and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, was finally confirmed on July 14. After one season, the Thunder changed affiliations to the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) and Bakersfield Condors (AHL). After three seasons, and one playoff appearance, Cameron was not offered an extension.
On May 15, 2019, the Thunder announced that the former Tulsa Oilers' head coach Bruce Ramsay would be Cameron's replacement.
== Season-by-season records==
Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season 	Playoffs	Playoffs 	Playoffs 	Playoffs 	Playoffs
Season 	GP 	W 	L 	T 	OTL 	SOL 	Pts 	GF 	GA 	PIM 	Standing 	Year 	1st round 	2nd round 	3rd round 	Finals
1992–93 	60 	25 	33 	— 	0 	2 	52 	242 	320 	1876 	6th of 6, CHL 	1993 	— 	— 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
1993–94 	64 	40 	18 	6 	— 	— 	86 	309 	275 	2522 	1st of 6, CHL 	1994 	— 	— 	W, 4–3, DAL 	W, 4–0, TUL
1994–95 	66 	44 	18 	4 	— 	— 	92 	320 	268 	2513 	1st of 7, CHL 	1995 	— 	— 	W, 4–1, OKC 	W, 4–2, SA
1995–96 	64 	22 	39 	— 	— 	3 	47 	270 	380 	2304 	6th of 6, CHL 	1996 	— 	— 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
1996–97 	66 	25 	31 	— 	— 	10 	60 	279 	324 	2660 	4th of 5, Western Div. 	1997 	— 	OKC 	L, 1–4, FTW 	—
1997–98 	70 	35 	31 	— 	— 	4 	74 	302 	303 	2321 	2nd of 5, Western Div. 	1998 	— 	W, 3–2, TUL 	W, 4–3, OKC 	L, 0–4, COL
1998–99 	70 	34 	26 	— 	— 	10 	78 	257 	262 	2158 	3rd of 6, Western Div. 	1999 	— 	L, 1–3, SA 	— 	—
1999–00 	70 	37 	26 	— 	— 	7 	81 	245 	231 	2049 	2nd of 6, Western Div. 	2000 	— 	L, 2–3, OKC 	— 	—
2000–01 	70 	30 	32 	— 	— 	8 	68 	251 	251 	2418 	5th of 6, Western Div. 	2001 	— 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
2001–02 	64 	24 	34 	— 	— 	6 	54 	203 	262 	1913 	3rd of 4, Northwest Div.	2002 	— 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
2002–03 	64 	21 	36 	— 	5 	2 	49 	216 	261 	1837 	4th of 4, Northwest Div.	2003 	— 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
2003–04 	64 	35 	24 	— 	1 	4 	75 	194 	197 	1558 	2nd of 5, Northwest Div.	2004 	— 	W, 3–1, COL 	L, 1–4, BS 	—
2004–05 	60 	40 	17 	— 	2 	1 	83 	210 	158 	1784 	2nd of 4, Northwest Div.	2005 	— 	W, 4–3, BS 	L, 2–4, COL 	—
2005–06 	64 	38 	18 	— 	4 	4 	84 	233 	200 	1841 	2nd of 4, Northwest Div.	2006 	— 	L, 1–4, BS 	— 	—
2006–07 	64 	28 	28 	— 	0 	8 	64 	191 	213 	1841 	3rd of 4, Northwest Div.	2007 	L, 2–4, BS 	— 	— 	—
2007–08 	64 	20 	42 	— 	1 	1 	42 	156 	247 	1905 	5th of 5, Northwest Div.	2008 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
2008–09 	64 	20 	41 	— 	2 	1 	43 	168 	230 	1419 	4th of 4, Northwest Div.	2009 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
2009–10 	64 	9 	50 	— 	1 	4 	23 	128 	257 	1354 	7th of 7, Northern Conf.	2010 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
2010–11 	66 	34 	26 	— 	2 	4 	74 	249 	231 	1189 	5th of 9, Turner Conf. 	2011 	L, 2–3, MO 	— 	— 	—
2011–12 	66 	44 	19 	— 	1 	2 	91 	231 	181 	1077 	1st of 7, Berry Conf. 	2012 	— 	W, 4–1, RGV 	W, 4–2, TEX 	L, 1–4, FW
2012–13 	66 	39 	19 	— 	2 	6 	86 	240 	182 	1106 	2nd of 10, CHL 	2013 	— 	W, 4–0, ARZ 	W, 4–0, FTW 	L, 3–4, ALN
2013–14 	66 	27 	30 	— 	4 	5 	63 	201 	223 	973 	9th of 10, CHL 	2014 	— 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
2014–15 	72 	32 	31 	— 	2 	7 	73 	213 	240 	1508 	5th of 6, Central Div. 	2015 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
2015–16 	72 	18 	41 	— 	7 	6 	49 	150 	240 	1152 	4th of 4, Central Div. 	2016 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
2016–17 	72 	21 	44 	— 	6 	1 	49 	189 	278 	1291 	7th of 7, Central Div. 	2017 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
2017–18 	72 	34 	30 	— 	6 	2 	76 	222 	235 	1091 	4th of 7, Mountain Div. 	2018 	L, 2–4, COL 	— 	— 	—
2018–19 	72 	29 	31 	— 	9 	3 	70 	224 	251 	1286 	5th of 7, Mountain Div. 	2019 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
2019–20 	62 	24 	30 	— 	8 	0 	56 	181 	233 	794 	6th of 7, Mountain Div. 	2020 	Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 	71 	41 	22 	— 	6 	2 	90 	218 	190 	985 	2nd of 7, Western Conf. 	2021 	— 	L, 2–3, FW 	— 	—
2021–22 	72 	27 	36 	— 	9 	0 	63 	202 	258 	1062 	7th of 7, Mountain Div. 	2022 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
2022–23 	72 	33 	32 	— 	6 	1 	73 	227 	238 	1229 	5th of 7, Mountain Div. 	2023 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
2023–24 	72 	27 	35 	— 	9 	1 	64 	220 	271 	881 	7th of 7, Mountain Div. 	2024 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify 	did not qualify
==Players==
===Current roster===
Updated May 1, 2024.
===Retired numbers===
* 9 - Ron Handy
*11 - Jason Duda 
*15 - Rob Weingartner
*35 - Robert Desjardins
*38 - Travis Clayton
===Notable NHL alumni ===
List of Wichita Thunder alumni who played more than 25 games in Wichita and 25 or more games in the National Hockey League:
*Vincent Desharnais
*Pierre-Cedric Labrie
*Theo Peckham
*Stuart Skinner
*Ryan White
==Leaders==
===Head coaches===
Name 	Year(s) 	Record
Gary Fay 	1992 	6–20
Doug Shedden 	1992–1995 	103–49–12
Don Jackson 	1995–1996 	22–50–29
Bryan Wells 	1996–2001 	161–146–39
James Latos 	2001–2003 	32–53–13
Sean O'Reilly 	Interim 	1–0–0
Derek Laxdal 	2003–2005 	87–58–8
Mark French 	2005–2007 	70–56–16
Rob Weingartner 	2007–2008 	16–29–2
Brent Bilodeau 	2008–2009 	22–52
Jason Duda 	Interim 	7–40–4
Kevin McClelland	2010–2016 	194–166–48
Malcolm Cameron 	2016–2019 	84–105–27
Bruce Ramsay 	2019–present	
===General managers===
Name 	Tenure
Bill Shuck 	1992–2002
David Holt 	2003–2005
Chris Presson	2005–2008
Joel Lomurno 	2008–present
==Awards and trophies==
The following lists the league awards which have been won by the Thunder team and its players.
===ECHL===
Most Valuable Player
* Anthony Beauregard: 2020–21
Coach of the Year
*Bruce Ramsay: 2020–21
General Manager of the Year
*Bruce Ramsay: 2020–21
Community Service Award
* Jeremy Beaudry: 2017–18
===CHL===
William Levins Memorial Cup
* 1993–94, 1994–95
Adams Cup
* 1993–94, 1994–95
Coach of the Year
* Doug Shedden: 1993–94
* Kevin McClelland: 2011–12
Joe Burton Award
* Jason Duda: 2004–05
Ken McKenzie Trophy
* Paul Jackson: 1993–94
Playoff Most Valuable Player
*Ron Handy: 1993–94, 1994–95
Most Outstanding Defenseman
* Paul Esdale: 2004–05
* Andrew Martens: 2010–11
* Kevin Young: 2012–13
Rick Kozuback Award
* Jason Duda: 2009–10
Rookie of the Year
* Robert Desjardins: 1992–93
* Cory Dosdall: 1996–97
* David Beauregard: 1997–98
All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (North)
* Joe Blaznek: 2005–06
==References==
==External links==
* 
 
Category:Ice hockey clubs established in 1992
Category:Ice hockey teams in Kansas
Category:ECHL teams
Category:Central Hockey League teams
Category:Ottawa Senators minor league affiliates
Category:Edmonton Oilers minor league affiliates
Category:San Jose Sharks minor league affiliates