Flint Firebirds


The Flint Firebirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in Flint, Michigan. The team plays home games at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center, and operates as a member of Ontario Hockey League. The team began play for the 2015–16 season. In June 2019, the Firebirds announced the Leamington Flyers as an affiliate.

History

The Firebirds trace their roots back to the 1990–91 season, when the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors were added as an expansion team in the OHL. Since then, the franchise has been the Detroit Junior Red Wings, the Detroit Whalers and the Plymouth Whalers. On January 14, 2015, it was announced that longtime Whalers owner Peter Karmanos had sold the team to IMS USA, Inc., with the intention to move the franchise to Flint and the Perani Arena. The purchase and relocation was approved by the OHL on February 2, 2015.
Although there was sentiment towards resurrecting the Flint Generals nickname that had been used by two past teams in the city, the OHL quickly nixed that idea because of the Oshawa Generals using that name. Likewise, a popular suggestion was the Flint Tropics, after the fictional American Basketball Association team of that name in the 2008 movie Semi-Pro. However, after various others voiced their displeasure at their team possibly being named after a comedy movie's protagonist team, and the chance of the novelty wearing off after a while, the name did not make the list of finalist choices.
The nine finalist nicknames were Firebirds, Force, Fury, Nationals, Pride, Spark Plugs, Sparks, United, and Vikings.

Coaching staff controversies

The Firebirds garnered international attention in November 2015 when, following an overtime victory over the Oshawa Generals, owner Rolf Nilsen fired the team's entire coaching staff for failing to adequately increase the playing time of his son, Håkon Nilsen, a Firebirds' defenseman described by one NHL player agent as "a borderline OHL player". Prior to the game against Oshawa, the entire team with the exception of Hakon Nilsen met with head coach John Gruden and his staff and were informed that the owner had insisted that his son receive more playing time, and indeed Nilsen ultimately played 17 minutes, including power-play time, in the subsequent game. However, head coach John Gruden has denied that this was the reason for his dismissal. In response to the firings, the entire team, including Håkon Nilsen, stormed into the team's front office, threw their jerseys on the floor, and quit the team in a show of solidarity with the coaching staff.
The player revolt proved to be successful, as less than 24 hours later the coaching staff was not only rehired, but given three year contract extensions. Following a meeting with OHL commissioner David Branch, Firebirds' owner Rolf Nilsen stated publicly that he had made an "irresponsible mistake" and apologized to the players.
On February 17, 2016, Rolf Nilsen again fired head coach John Gruden and assistant coach Dave Karpa. The next day, OHL Commissioner David Branch suspended Nilsen, as well as his appointees on the management and coaching staff, from hockey operations until further notice. The league also ordered counseling be provided to players, at Nilsen's cost. Nilsen and his staff were then ordered to cooperate with a league investigation and comply with its findings. On April 6, 2016, the OHL suspended Nilsen for five years and fined him $250,000. The league also declared the franchise would forfeit their 2016 first-round draft pick. If Nilsen does get involved in hockey operations while suspended, the OHL could order Nilsen to sell 100% ownership interest in the Firebirds. The OHL placed the Firebirds under league stewardship and appointed Joe Birch as director of operations.

Recent history

In May 2016, the OHL named George Burnett, former head coach and general manager of the Belleville Bulls, as the new general manager. The OHL then appointed Ryan Oulahen as head coach and Eric Wellwood as an assistant. On October 12, 2018, Ryan Oulahen stepped down as head coach. On October 18, former associate coach Eric Wellwood was named head coach.
On February 21, 2020, the Firebirds won their 15th consecutive game, setting a new franchise record. It was their 37th win of the season, another club record.

I-75 Cup

Since coming to Flint, the Firebirds have won the I-75 Divide Cup against rivals Saginaw Spirit 2 years in a row. They first took it home during their inaugural season on March 1, 2016 with a 6-5 overtime win. They took it home in front of a home crowd at Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center. Then, again in 2017, the Firebirds won it again with a 4-1 win on February 26, 2017 at the Dow Event Center.

Firebirds' facilities

When the Plymouth Whalers moved to Flint in the summer of 2015, the owner of the Flint Firebirds Rolf Nilsen invested more than $4 million into the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center. As part of the renovations, Nilsen had a $1 million dressing room, video theatre, player's lounge, weight room and equipment and medical facilities constructed for the Firebirds players, as well as a pro-style room for the visiting teams. Additionally, new LED lighting and a seven camera HD production video board was installed in the main arena. A state-of-the-art suite was built on the third floor of the north west side of the bowl for NHL scouts and out-of-town media. Through the upgrades, the Firebirds also became the first United States based team to meet the necessary requirements to have all 34 of their home games televised live on the OHL Action Pak throughout Ontario, which is the league-wide TV package available on various cable television providers such as EastLink TV, Cogeco, Rogers TV and Shaw TV.

Radio and TV

Games can be heard live on WQUS, with Dominic Hennig on play-by-play, while their weekly coach's show can be heard live on WWBN on Tuesdays at 6:00–7:00 PM ET during the regular season, hosted by Dominic Hennig and Maggie Meadows.
Games can be viewed on local Comcast television systems in Michigan, several systems in Canada, and online on OHL Live.

Players

Team captains

The team has produced 17 NHL signed or drafted players since its inception in 2015.
#Player nameNHL teamNHL seasonNHL Draft roundNHL Draft pick
1Vladislav KolyachonokFlorida Panthers20192nd round52nd overall
2Ethan KeppenVancouver Canucks20194th round122nd overall
3Ty DellandreaDallas Stars20181st round13th overall
4Dennis BusbyArizona Coyotes20185th round145th overall
5Kyle KeyserBoston Bruins2018Free agentn/a
6Fedor GordeevToronto Maple Leafs20175th round141st overall
7Kole SherwoodColumbus Blue Jackets2017Free agentn/a
8Jalen SmereckArizona Coyotes2017Free agentn/a
9Will BittenMontreal Canadiens20163rd round70th overall
10Nick CaamanoDallas Stars20165th round146th overall
11Nicolas MattinenToronto Maple Leafs20166th round179th overall
12Vili SaarijärviDetroit Red Wings20153rd round73rd overall
13Alex NedeljkovicCarolina Hurricanes20142nd round37th overall
14Connor ChathamNew Jersey Devils20143rd round71st overall
15Alex PetersDallas Stars20143rd round75th overall
16Josh WesleyCarolina Hurricanes20144th round96th overall
17Brent MoranDallas Stars20144th round115th overall

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SOL = Shootout loss
SeasonGamesWonLostOTLSOLPointsPct %Goals
For		Goals
Against		Standing
2015–166820424246.3381842795th West
2016–176832283572.5292292423rd West
2017–186820433245.3311943165th West
2018–196816466038.2792123505th West
2019–206340211182.6512742432nd West

Playoffs