Toledo Goaldiggers
Kansas City Blades History Overview
Toledo Goaldiggers | Prior to the Blades arrival in Kansas City they were the former franchise of Toledo, Ohio (Toledo Goaldiggers, 1974-1986). In a city poll Jazz was the most popular entry for a new team name, but the owners (Russ and Diane Parker) chose another; the Blades. "First of all, we wanted a name with strong hockey connotations. This clearly identifies us as a hockey club." Olathe resident Kyle Horn was the winner of the "Name the Team" contest, with his entry of Kansas City Blades. |
The same year the Blades began play in the International Hockey League, two other franchises started play in the league. Those were the San Diego Gulls and Albany Choppers. The Choppers didn't finish their first season. The Gulls now play in the ECHL.
One main-stay in the eleven-year existence of the Blades franchise was Vice-President and General Manager Doug Soetaert. Soetaert served as head coach and director of hockey operations in the team's first season. The next season he was named General Manager. He was GM for ten years and held the position of Vice-President for five. In 1991-92, the league chose him as Executive of the Year. In 1999, he was runner-up for the GM of the Year. In his eleven years at the helm, the team qualified for the playoffs in seven seasons, with a 38-32 record in post season play, winning 8 of 14 playoff series. The Blades all-time regular season record was 437-378-85.
The affiliation with San Jose proved to be fruitful, as it allowed the Blades to be a power-house in the IHL. Under the leadership of new Head Coach Kevin Constantine the Blades blew through the regular season with a franchise best 56-22-4 record, garnering 116 points. This was the best record in pro hockey and an incredible turn around from year one.
The Blades went through the playoffs with a 12-3 record and won the Turner Cup by sweeping the Muskegon Lumberjacks. That season also marked the largest regular season turn around. The Blades showed a 62 point improvement over the 1990-91 season.
In the 1992-93 season, the Blades had the league's winningest goaltender. Wade Flaherty won 34 games. The Blades weren't able to repeat as Turner Cup Champions, but they did go far through the playoffs.
The Blades were given another shot at the Cup, although no one thought the 1994-95 edition could do it. Under the leadership of Head Coach Jim Wiley (formerly Constantine's assistant) the Blades limped to a 35-40-6 record, garnering 76 points. The team managed to make the playoffs despite having missed them the year before with a 40-31-10, 90 point effort. The league had expanded and the number of teams in the playoffs had expanded. The Blades were fortunate enough to benefit from a rule that would allow them to play in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs, because they finished with a higher point total than the last place Eastern team. Fans weren't expecting a championship, but they knew these guys could pull off something as they finished the regular season on a good note.
In the 1995 playoffs, the Blades pulled off 3 of the top ten upsets in IHL history to become Eastern Conference Champions. The biggest upset in league history belonged to the Blades after beating the Peoria Riverman in 5 games in the 1995 Turner Cup playoffs. The Blades went on to the finals to lose to the Denver Grizzlies 4 games to none.
In March of 1996, the Blades were purchased by Dan and Pam DeVos of Grand Rapids, MI. Mr. DeVos is co-owner of the Grand Rapids Griffins (IHL) with David Van Andel.
In 1996, the Sharks cut ties with the Blades. They moved their affiliation to a new American Hockey League team in Lexington, KY; the Kentucky Thoroughblades. The Blades set up shop as an independent team from 1996-2000. In that time the team received many prospects from other NHL teams on-loan. Some of those include goaltender Patrick Lalime, former Washington Capitals forward Michal Pivonka and Calgary Flames defenseman Andrew Ference.
In July 1997, KC saw long-time Blades captain Gary Emmons retire. Soon after Emmons retirement, the Blades named him Director of Player Personnel. On August 21, 1998, Emmons was named Assistant Coach, a position he held for two seasons. He is the only Blades player to have his number retired. On February 21, 1998, the Blades raised his number 15 to the rafters of Kemper Arena in a touching ceremony that featured video footage of his career and special messages from old pals, including former Blades and Sharks head coach Kevin Constantine (then Penguins head coach).
During the 1999-2000 season, the Tenth Anniversary of the team was celebrated by naming a Tenth-Anniversary Team. Forwards Pat Ferschweiler, Wood, and Emmons, Defensemen Mike Colman and Claudio Scremin, Goaltender Wade Flaherty, and Coach Kevin Constantine were named to this team, as voted on by the fans.
The celebrating was marred, though. Mr. DeVos threatened to move the team to Oklahoma City. After a show of solidarity by fans at a city council meeting and Oklahoma City's distaste for the IHL and the Blades (OKC wanted to keep their Central Hockey League franchise), DeVos signed a two-year lease agreement for Kemper Arena and the team stayed.
For the 2000-2001 season, the Blades signed a two-year affiliation agreement deal with the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL. Many of the Blades players saw time with the NHL parent club. Players such as Steve Kariya, Mike Brown, Bryan Allen, Pat Kavanagh, Bryan Helmer, Brent Sopel, Greg Hawgood, Josh Holden, Jarkko Ruutu, Artem Chubarov and Harold Druken played for both the Blades and the Canucks in the 2000-2001 season.
On June 4, 2001, after several weeks of speculation, the IHL folded. The last chance for the Blades was the Sharks relocating their newly purchased AHL franchise in KC. This time, the Blades couldn't be saved. The Blades hold the record as the longest running franchise in Kansas City's hockey history.
In 1991, the Blades started a five-year affiliation with the NHL's San Jose Sharks. In this relationship the Blades served as the farm club. Many top prospects played for the Blades. Names such as Arturs Irbe, Wade Flaherty, Sandis Ozolinsh, Viktor Kozlov, Jeff Odgers, Michal Sykora, Shean Donovan, and Andrei Nazarov were just a few of the future NHLers the Sharks sent the Blades way.
The 1998 season would be heralded as the season that would "change the face of Kansas City hockey". It did. On July 9th, the Blades introduced a new logo that reminded many of the NHL's New York Rangers logo. That season also saw the return of Kansas City favorite Dody Wood. A return that many said would "change the face of opponents," as Wood was known as a tough-guy enforcer for the Blades.
Last updated June 26, 2005 