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| Coachella Valley Firebirds | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Thousand Palms, California |
| League | American Hockey League |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Pacific |
| Founded | 2022 |
| Home arena | Acrisure Arena |
| Colors | Deep sea blue, red alert, orange, ice blue[1] |
| Mascot | Fuego |
| Owner(s) | Oak View Group |
| General manager | Vacant |
| Head coach | Derek Laxdal |
| Captain | Max McCormick |
| Media | The Desert Sun KDGL |
| Affiliates | Seattle Kraken (NHL) Kansas City Mavericks (ECHL) |
| Website | cvfirebirds.com |
| Championships | |
| Division titles | 1 (2023–24) |
| Conference titles | 2 (2023, 2024) |
| Current uniform | |
 | |
 Current season | |
The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey team based in the Coachella Valley. They are members of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Firebirds began play in the 2022–23 season as an expansion franchise.[2] The team is an owned-and-operated affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Seattle Kraken. The team plays their home games at Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, California.
After the approval of the Kraken to join the NHL, the Kraken's ownership group had narrowed down its AHL affiliate options to promoting the ECHL's Idaho Steelheads in Boise, Idaho, or a new expansion team in Palm Springs, California. On June 26, 2019, it was reported the Seattle ownership group had chosen Palm Springs as the site for Seattle's AHL affiliate.[3]
The Firebirds ranked second overall in their first regular season, behind only the Calgary Wranglers.[4] During that season's Calder Cup playoffs, the Firebirds reached the Finals and lost in overtime of game seven to the Hershey Bears.[5] They finished as runners-up again in their second season, achieving 103 points in the regular season[6] and reaching the Finals before losing to the Bears again, this time in overtime of game six.[7]
- ^ "Firebirds to take flight in Coachella Valley". American Hockey League. November 5, 2021. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
- ^ "Coachella Valley Firebirds hockey team statistics and history at HockeyDB.com". HockeyDB. Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ Baker, Geoff (June 26, 2019). "NHL Seattle chooses Palm Springs as site for new AHL farm team". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ "2022–23 American Hockey League Standings". HockeyDB. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ Rotolo, Gina (June 25, 2023). "Bears best 'Birds' in Calder Cup Game 7". Coachella Valley Firebirds. Archived from the original on August 30, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ "2023–24 American Hockey League Standings". HockeyDB. Archived from the original on December 10, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ Powers, Shad. "Another heartbreaker: Firebirds' season ends with 'painful' Game 6 OT loss at Hershey". The Desert Sun. Archived from the original on August 30, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
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