Chicago Steel

The Chicago Steel are members of the United States Hockey League, joining the league in 2000. The Steel have played their home games at Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, Illinois, since 2015; previously, the team played at Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville, Illinois, from 2000 to 2015.

History

The Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks, founded in 1996, moved to Bensenville, Illinois, and became the Chicago Steel in 2000. In May 2015, the majority ownership of the Steel was purchased by Larry Robbins while then current owners Bruce Liimatainen and Mike Greenberg remained involved as minority owners. The announcement for the change of ownership was accompanied by a change of leadership as Ryan Bennett and Dan Muse were hired as the new general manager and head coach, respectively.

On May 22, 2017, the Steel defeated the Sioux City Musketeers 2–1 in overtime of game five, finishing a 3-games-to-2 series win to claim the franchise's first Clark Cup. Head coach Dan Muse would then be hired by the National Hockey League's Nashville Predators as an assistant coach and Mark Abalan would take over as head coach of the Steel. On January 2, 2018, Abalan was let go and Ryan Cruthers was named interim head coach and assistant general manager of the Steel. During the 2018 Clark Cup playoffs, the interim tag was removed and Cruthers was named the permanent head coach, however, Cruthers would leave the team in May 2018 when the Steel hired Ryan Hardy as general manager. Greg Moore was then hired as the head coach for the 2018–19 season after previously serving as an assistant with Team USA. In 2019, Moore left to become head coach of the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League and Brock Sheahan was promoted to head coach. The Steel then won the regular season championship, the Anderson Cup, in the pandemic-shortened 2019–20 season. The Steel won a second-straight Anderson Cup in the shortened 2020–21 season and subsequently won their second Clark Cup as playoff champions.

On August 1, 2023 Larry Robbins sold the team to the Wirtz Corporation, who also own the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks franchise.

Notable alumni

• Jake Chelios, played for the Detroit Red Wings, son of Chris Chelios
• Matt Clackson, former American Hockey League (AHL) player and son of Kim Clackson
• Dennis Gilbert, played for the Chicago Blackhawks
• Tom Gilbert, played for the Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, and Los Angeles Kings
• Drew LeBlanc, played two games for the Chicago Blackhawks
• Andrew Miller, played for the Edmonton Oilers
• John Moore, played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, and Boston Bruins as well as an 2011 AHL All-Star
• Travis Morin, played for the Dallas Stars
• Jamie Oleksiak, plays for the Seattle Kraken
• Danny Richmond, played for the Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks
• Philip Samuelsson, played for Pittsburgh Penguins and Arizona Coyotes, son of Ulf Samuelsson
• Jaccob Slavin, plays for the Carolina Hurricanes
• Lee Sweatt, played for the Vancouver Canucks
• Owen Power, 1st overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, plays for the Buffalo Sabres
• Adam Fantilli, 3rd overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, signed to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Third ever freshmen to win the Hobey Baker Award
• Alex Cavallini, current member of the PWHPA, first woman ever to be drafted in the United States Hockey League
• Daniel Vladař, plays for the Calgary Flames
• Macklin Celebrini, Boston University forward, drafted First overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft

Team spirit

The team mascot is a dog named Rusty. Occasionally also seen at Steel home games is a puppy named Rascal.

Roster

As of December 24, 2022.

References

External links

• Chicago Steel Hockey Team Official site