The Plymouth Whalers were a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League . They played out of Compuware Arena in Plymouth, Michigan , United States, a suburb of Detroit until 2015 when they were relocated to Flint, Michigan .
43-619: The Whalers can trace their roots back to the 1990–91 Detroit Compuware Ambassadors as an expansion team in the OHL. Since then the franchise has also been called the Detroit Junior Red Wings and the Detroit Whalers . In 1997 they were officially renamed the "Plymouth Whalers" after the local municipality gave generous tax breaks to the team and venue. The franchise was owned until 2015 by Peter Karmanos , who also owned
86-879: A seating capacity of 3,807. In addition to the NHL-sized rink, there is an Olympic sized rink also in the building. Detroit Compuware Ambassadors The Detroit Compuware Ambassadors were an elite Midget Major ice hockey team playing in the Tier I Elite Hockey League . The Ambassadors previously had separate franchises that competed in the North American Hockey League and in the Ontario Hockey League for two seasons from 1990 to 1992. The Compuware Ambassadors were based in Detroit, Michigan . The Detroit Compuware Hockey organization
129-694: A major upset, taking a three-games-to-one lead in the series after a 5-3 victory over Niagara Falls March 19. But the Thunder came back to win the final three games of the series, including game seven in Niagara Falls, 7-2. After their second season was completed, the Compuware Ambassadors were renamed Detroit Junior Red Wings. Seven players from the Compuware Ambassadors OHL team went on to NHL careers. Pat Peake
172-610: A number of high prospects signed or drafted by NHL teams, including former Wayne Gretzky 99 Award winner Daniel Ryder, who was acquired, with him already having been signed with the Calgary Flames . After a very inconsistent start, the team improved to fall short of the London Knights by one point for the Hamilton Spectator Trophy . During the second half of the season and through the playoffs,
215-475: A row to start the season, Detroit won 7 of its next 9 games to enter November winning half their games. Although the Ambassadors were much improved, Rutherford decided to make a coaching change November 30 after a 7-5 loss in Niagara Falls. Coach Andy Weidenbach was let go. Detroit stood 11-16-0 at the time. Jim Rutherford moved behind the bench to coach the rest of the season. Rutherford played 13 seasons in
258-599: A short lived experiment with Cory McGillis, then-leading scorer Matt Caria from the Greyhounds, Scott Fletcher from the Ice Dogs, and the return from AHL-playing Brett Bellemore, the team saw a turn around by Christmas putting them back into the middle of the pack. At the deadline, as a result of Bellemore's return and the emergence of Matt Hackett as the new starting goaltender, Patrick Lee and Jeremy Smith were traded to Niagara for draft picks. The 2009–10 season saw
301-602: Is the only number retired by the Whalers organization. Peake (who played in the Junior Red Wings era) was a two-season captain, the first MVP for the franchise in 1992–93, as well as Canadian Hockey League player of the year, and OHL Most Sportsmanlike player of the year. He has the most career points in franchise history. Players who were drafted in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft while playing for
344-690: The Barrie Colts and Ottawa 67's . These seasons included future NHLers David Legwand , Justin Williams , Robert Esche , and Stephen Weiss . Celebrating their 10th Anniversary playing at the Compuware Arena during the 2005–06 season , all current Whalers players had been brought into the system by head coach and general manager Mike Vellucci . This created the build-up for the next year. Headed by overage captain John Vigilante ,
387-671: The J. Ross Robertson Cup , thus earning the right to represent the OHL in the 2007 Memorial Cup . In the Memorial Cup, the team suffered a rough start, losing to the Vancouver Giants 4–3 in overtime on May 18, and again to the Medicine Hat Tigers 4–1 on May 21. Their fortunes would change, however, on May 22, when they would defeat the Lewiston Maineiacs 2–1 in overtime, thus putting them in
430-572: The Medicine Hat Tigers , narrowly losing the series in the second overtime period of game seven. However, the Giants were selected to host the 2007 Memorial Cup , which secured them a berth in the tournament despite their championship series defeat. The Giants secured a spot in the tournament final with an 8–1 semifinal win over the Plymouth Whalers , setting up a rematch with the Tigers. In
473-497: The Owen Sound Platers at Cobo Arena October 4, 1990. After a 3-game win streak, the Ambassadors would drop 11 straight games. Despite the losing, there were some bright lights. First overall draft pick Pat Peake with 39 goals & 51 assists was the team's offensive leader, figuring in over 40 percent of the team's goals. Despite finishing last overall in the OHL their first season, the Ambassadors executives stuck to
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#1732782988036516-696: The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds . Failing which, Karmanos chose the route of an expansion team. The Detroit Compuware Ambassadors were granted as an expansion franchise in the Ontario Hockey League on December 11, 1989. Detroit became the first American-based team in the league. Andy Weidenbach was named the team's first coach. Following Karmanos to Detroit from the Windsor Compuware Spitfires would be team president Jim Rutherford and general manager Tony McDonald. Detroit lost its first seven games before posting its first victory, 7-3 over
559-881: The Western Hockey League (WHL). Founded in 2001, the Giants won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions in 2006 and the Memorial Cup as Canadian junior champions in 2007 . The team was based in the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver , the former arena of the National Hockey League 's Vancouver Canucks , until moving to the Langley Events Centre in 2016. British Columbia-based businessman Ron Toigo
602-406: The 2010, the team failed to win another playoff series until they returned to the championship final in 2019. During that stretch, Bonner stepped down as manager after 15 seasons, replaced first by Glen Hanlon and then, in 2018, by Barclay Parneta, who hired Michael Dyck as head coach. In the 2019 final, the Giants faced the regular season champion Prince Albert Raiders ; the Giants fell behind in
645-644: The Ambassadors' one season at Cobo, maintenance crews would shuttle zambonis between Cobo Arena and Joe Louis Arena by driving them along the riverfront down Atwater Street. For the 1991–92 season, the Ambassadors played home games at Joe Louis Arena , the same home arena as the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL . Vancouver Giants The Vancouver Giants are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team playing based in Langley, British Columbia , and playing in
688-509: The NHL as a goalie, spending most of his time with the Detroit Red Wings . Detroit finished with a record of 23-42-1. Pat Peake led the team in scoring again with 41 goals and 52 assists. Detroit made the last playoff spot in the Emms division finishing 7th place. Detroit bussed to Niagara Falls to start their first-ever playoff series against the second place Thunder. The Ambassadors nearly pulled off
731-589: The NHL's Carolina Hurricanes (formerly the Hartford Whalers , from which the OHL team's name was taken). Plymouth is one of only two teams to win 5 consecutive division titles (West division from 1999 to 2003), the other team being the Ottawa 67's (East division from 1996 to 2000). Plymouth has made the playoffs 23 consecutive seasons, since the 1991–92 season. The Whalers reached the OHL finals two consecutive seasons in 1999–2000 , and 2000–01 , losing to
774-767: The Plymouth Whalers played their final game in franchise history losing 5–1 to the Erie Otters. The Plymouth Whalers have won eight divisional titles, five of them consecutively. Plymouth has also won three Hamilton Spectator trophies and reached the OHL Championship Finals three times, winning during the 2006–07 season . J. Ross Robertson Cup OHL Champion Wayne Gretzky Trophy Western Conference Playoff Champion Hamilton Spectator Trophy Season Champion Bumbacco Trophy West Division Champion 14 - Pat Peake
817-632: The Whalers dealt the goaltender that led them to their 2007 OHL Championship, Michal Neuvirth, early to make room for Jeremy Smith to start. Neuvirth was among 12 players that left/were traded from that team, leaving the team looking to a number of young players for leadership. Chris Terry led the team in scoring and was helped by overage captain Andrew Fournier and up-and-comer AJ Jenks. In mid-December 2007, President and GM Mike Vellucci left his head coaching position for Greg Stefan. A late season injury to overage defenseman Wes Cunningham hampered
860-628: The Whalers featured a 23-game winning streak at home, lasting three and a half months, falling at Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals to London. The Whalers, although seeded #2, easily won the Wayne Gretzky Trophy as Western Conference playoff champion, sweeping #7 Guelph, and winning in 5 against both #3 Kitchener and #1 London. In the final, the Whalers defeated the Sudbury Wolves in six games to win
903-407: The Whalers franchise. List of Plymouth Whalers alumni who have played in the National Hockey League . Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss In 2009 all Canadian Hockey League teams came out with new Reebok EDGE Jerseys The Plymouth Whaler logo featured an angry hockey stick-wielding whale, blowing a puck and spout of water out its blow hole. The name Whalers was superimposed on
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#1732782988036946-508: The Whalers led by league MVP Tyler Seguin along with other top scorers such as Myles McCauley . On December 29, 2013, the Whalers and the London Knights broke the newly set Canadian Hockey League attendance record. The Knights and Whalers, playing in the second OHL game of the evening outdoors at Comerica Park in Detroit , Michigan (also the second outdoor game ever played in the OHL), played in front of 26,384 spectators. The Whalers won
989-473: The final, the Giants avenged their WHL title defeat with a 3–1 victory over the Tigers to secure the team's first Memorial Cup championship. Lucic was named tournament MVP. In 2023, the 2007 Giants team was inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame. The Giants would set franchise records with 57 wins 119 points in 2008–09 and make consecutive runs to the Conference finals in 2009 and 2010. However, after
1032-530: The flow of the team, leading to an early playoff exit at the hands of the eventual OHL champions, the Kitchener Rangers. Early in the 2008–09 season , Stefan was recalled to the Hurricanes, where Mike Vellucci came back to fill the head coaching role. Injuries and inconsistency plagued the team, as they fell to dead last in the league. After the coaching change, as well as key trades, including
1075-488: The game 2–1 in a shootout. On January 14, 2015, owner Peter Karmanos announced that the Whalers would be relocated to Flint, Michigan after a sale of the team to the owner of Flint's Perani Arena and Event Center for the 2015–16 season . The OHL approved the sale, and the relocated franchise is named the Flint Firebirds . On March 15, the Whalers missed the playoffs for the only time. Six days later on March 21,
1118-417: The image surround by a circle of green and blue with waves in the background. The Whalers' white jersey had the whaler logo in the center with 3 even stripes on the sleeves and bottom of the jersey. The stripes are evenly spaced with two navy outer lines and one green inner line. The Whalers' blue jersey had the Whalers logo in the center with a white space and green space going down the sleeves. A third jersey
1161-577: The lockout was a definite factor in "putting us on the map". The Giants capitalized by putting together a string of successful seasons that saw the team capture five consecutive B.C. Division titles between 2005 and 2010. The run of success began with the hiring of former NHL coach Don Hay as head coach, replacing Dean Evason . Then, in 2005, general manager Scott Bonner acquired a number of key players including Kenndal McArdle , Wacey Rabbit , and goaltender Dustin Slade , who, along with Brule, would lead
1204-513: The most exciting OHL games in recent history. With the Whalers' 2–0 lead going into the third period, the Spirit fought back and managed the tying goal just before time expired. However, Brophey scored in overtime to clinch the Whalers' 9th division title. During the 2006–07 season , rookie goaltenders Jeremy Smith and Michal Neuvirth , combined for the lowest goals against average in the OHL, with only 173 goals against in total. The Whalers had
1247-450: The organization to join the professional ranks, the Giants hired Manny Viveiros as their new head coach. Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties OTL = Overtime losses Pts, SOL = Shootout losses Pts, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Canadian Hockey League champion Western Hockey League playoff champion First place in regular season List of National Hockey League (NHL) alumni: List of players on
1290-583: The same plan that help bring success to the Spitfires. The Ambassadors earned the reputation as a physical team. Six different players would amass over 100 penalty minutes, including captain Paul Mitton (152 minutes). Detroit used its first overall draft pick in 1991 to select Todd Harvey . The Ambassadors also selected Ryan Sittler (2nd round) and Anson Carter (14th) in the same draft, but both elected to play collegiate hockey. After dropping five in
1333-626: The series three games to one before forcing a decisive game seven in Prince Albert. In game seven, the Raiders won 3–2 in overtime, marking the second game seven overtime defeat in the finals in Giants history. In 2022, the Giants made history by selecting Chloe Primerano in the thirteenth round of the WHL prospects draft, making Primerano the first-ever female skater selected in a Canadian Hockey League draft. In 2023, when Michael Dyck left
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1376-486: The silhouette of the Ambassador Bridge against the backdrop of downtown Detroit, surrounded by the words compuware in a circle, and the Ambassadors in front. For the 1990–91 season, the Ambassadors played home games at Cobo Arena . During the summer of 1991, Olympia Arenas Inc. decided maintaining ice surfaces at both Cobo Arena and Joe Louis Arena was too costly, so the plug was pulled on Cobo Arena. During
1419-625: The team moved to the Langley Events Centre. After a dismal inaugural season, typical for an expansion team, that saw the Giants win only 13 games, the team rapidly improved. In 2002, the Giants selected Gilbert Brule first overall in the WHL Bantam Draft —Brule would go on to become the team's first major star player, beginning with winning the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL's rookie of
1462-480: The team to its first championship. In 2006, the Giants captured their first league championship, defeating the Moose Jaw Warriors in the league final in four games, with Brule earning most valuable player honours. The win advanced the Giants to their first Memorial Cup tournament, in which they were eliminated in the semifinal by the host Moncton Wildcats . Despite the loss, Brule recorded 12 points in
1505-715: The team's rookies in 2003 and 2004 came to fruition in James Neal , Dan Collins, and Tommy Sestito . Vellucci acquired the Belleville Bulls ' leading scorer Evan Brophey and the Toronto St. Michael's Majors goaltender Justin Peters, who had an extensive resume. On the last game of the season, the Whalers played the Saginaw Spirit , with the division title on the line, in what has been proven to be one of
1548-466: The tiebreaker game on May 24, in which they would defeat Lewiston again, 5–1, eliminating the Maineiacs from the Memorial Cup and advancing to the semifinal. However, on May 25, the Whalers would lose again to the Vancouver Giants in the semifinal round, this time in dramatic fashion by a score of 8–1. This way, the Whalers finished the 2007 Memorial Cup in third place. During the 2007–08 season ,
1591-480: The tournament, the highest total in the tournament since 1997 and enough to secure the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the leading scorer. With the breakthrough of second-year forward Milan Lucic helping to make up for the off-season loss of Brule, the Giants returned to the WHL championship series in 2007 in a playoff run that also featured the debut of future star Evander Kane . In the final, they faced
1634-535: The year in 2004. That season, the team won its first playoff round, defeating the Kamloops Blazers before losing to the Everett Silvertips in the second round. Along with the Giants' improving play, the 2004–05 NHL lockout led to a boost in attendance for the club—nearly 9,000 fans attended the team's season-opener, and the team averaged 8,400 spectators that season; Toigo later stated that
1677-412: Was founded in the mid 1970s by Compuware owner/president Peter Karmanos and his partner Thomas Thewes . The organization grew to include all age levels of hockey including Junior 'A'. The Junior 'A 'team competed in the North American Hockey League . Some of its alumni include Eric Lindros , Pat LaFontaine , Mike Modano , Al Iafrate , David Legwand , Derian Hatcher and Doug Weight . The program
1720-446: Was granted a WHL expansion franchise for the city of Vancouver ahead of the 2001–02 season . In the following years, the club's ownership group would grow to include Sultan Thiara, former Vancouver Canucks head coach Pat Quinn , the estate of Hockey Hall of Fame member Gordie Howe , and singer Michael Bublé . The team was first based out of Pacific Coliseum, the former Canucks arena in downtown Vancouver; in 2016, after 15 seasons,
1763-556: Was green with "WHALERS" written diagonally down the front. The Plymouth Whalers had a mascot named Shooter. His first game appearance was on December 11, 2003 against the Peterborough Petes . Peter Karmanos arranged to build the Whalers a new home in Plymouth Township, Michigan as soon as the 1995–96 season ended. The Compuware Arena was constructed in six months' time, ready for the 1996–97 season, with
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1806-553: Was so successful that its owners endeavored to expand the Compuware Ambassador program to play at a higher level. Karmanos had previous experience in the OHL, owning the Windsor Spitfires team during the 1980s that won the J. Ross Robertson Cup in 1988. Karmanos sold the Spitfires in 1989 after a failed attempt to relocate the team across the river. Karmanos also failed in his bid to buy out and relocate
1849-583: Was the first draft pick in the history of the Compuware Ambassadors franchise, and his #14 was retired by the Whalers organization. Peake was chosen 14th overall in the 1st round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals . Regular season Playoffs The Compuware Ambassadors colours were brown, orange & white. The home jerseys had a white background with brown & orange trim. The road jerseys were an orange background with white & brown trim. The logo displays
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