The Plymouth Whalers are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They play out of Compuware Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, USA.

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History

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 been the Detroit Junior Red Wings and the Detroit Whalers. In 1998 they were officially called the "Plymouth Whalers" after the local municipality gave generous tax breaks to the team and venue. The franchise has been owned by Peter Karmanos since its inception.

The Whalers have been part of the Compuware Hockey program since 1990, which also includes the Compuware Ambassadors minor hockey program and the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, who were formerly the Hartford Whalers, the namesake of the Detroit Whalers. The Carolina Hurricanes tend to give preference to players from the Plymouth Whalers in the NHL Entry Draft, and coaches and executives are promoted from within the Compuware Hockey affiliation. Chad LaRose is the only player to have played at every level of Compuware hockey; Compuware AAA Ambassadors, Plymouth Whalers, Florida Everblades, Lowell Lock Monsters, and the Carolina Hurricanes.

Plymouth is one of only two teams to win 5 consecutive division titles (West division from 1999–2003, the other team being the Ottawa 67's (East division from 1996–2000). Plymouth has made the playoffs 17 consecutive seasons, since the 1991–92 season. The Whalers reached the OHL finals two consecutive seasons in 1999–2000, and 2000–01, losing to 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, 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 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 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, 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 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 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 1-8. This way, the Whalers finished the 2007 Memorial Cup in third place.

The 2007–08 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 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 08–09 Whalers' 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 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.

Championships

The Plymouth Whalers have won seven 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 1999–00 Finalists vs. Barrie Colts 2000–01 Finalists vs. Ottawa 67's 2006–07 Champions vs. Sudbury Wolves Wayne Gretzky Trophy Western Conference Playoff Champion 1999–00, 2000–01 and 2006–07

Hamilton Spectator Trophy Season Champion 1998–99 51 wins, 4 ties, 106 pts 1999–00 45 wins, 4 ties, 1 OTL, 95 pts 2001–02 39 wins, 12 ties, 2 OTL, 92 pts Bumbacco Trophy West Division Champion 1998–99 , 1999–00 , 2000–01 , 2001–02 , 2002–03 , 2005–06 , 2006–07

Coaches

• 1995–01 Peter DeBoer (6 seasons) - DeBoer was promoted from assistant coach to bec0me coach & general manager of the Whalers organization in 1995. DeBoer was twice voted the OHL Coach of the Year, winning the Matt Leyden Trophy in the 1998–99 and 1999–00 seasons. DeBoer left to coach the Kitchener Rangers.
• mid-2007-mid-2008 Greg Stefan (2 seasons) - Stefan began his coaching career in 1993 with the Detroit Junior Red Wings. He served as an assistant coach in Plymouth until 1998, and re-joined the Whalers as director of player development and assistant coach in 2003. Named head coach during the 2007–08 season when Vellucci moved to focus on the front office, Stefan left the Whalers in the middle of the 2008–09 season to take a scouting job with the Carolina Hurricanes.
• 2001-mid-2007; mid-2008–pres Mike Vellucci (8th season) - Vellucci was promoted to President of the Plymouth Whalers in 2000 and was appointed the team's general manager and head coach in 2001. In 2007, Vellucci won the Matt Leyden Trophy as Ontario Hockey League Coach of the Year - the first American ever to win the award. Vellucci stepped down in the middle of the 2007–08 season to focus on his GM position. He returned as head coach of the club in the middle of the 2008–09 season with Stefan's moving to the Hurricanes.

Rivals

• Windsor Spitfires: proximity, considering the 30 mile distance between the two teams' arenas, has made this the Whalers' largest rivalry. Over the last few years, there have been a series of heavyweight fights, involving the Whalers' Gino Pisellini, Tom Sestito, Jared Boll, Leo Jenner, Kaine Geldart, and Jozef Sladok, and the Spitfires' Richard Greenop, Harry Young, Ryan Baldwin, Brian Soso, Scott Todd, Steve Downie, and Cam Janssen.
• Saginaw Spirit: The Spirit are another major rival of the Whalers, due to both proximity and the fact that Saginaw is the other Michigan-based OHL team, making games between the two a battle for state bragging rights. Also, the Whalers traded to get the Spirit's captain on a run in the playoffs in 2003, and beat the Spirit for the division title in overtime on the last game of the season in 2006.
• London Knights: bad blood and reputation, considering the nature of the Whalers to be quick to start a fight to change momentum, and the propensity of the Knights to resort to questionable tactics when skill is thrown out for grit/goonery. Many games end up with multiple fights. The Whalers opened the door for the modern Knights' dominance by losing to them in the first round of the 2002 playoffs, despite Plymouth being ranked #1 and London being seeded #8. A line brawl involving some Knight players coming off of the bench to fight Whalers while a goaltender fight at center ice in 2005 was a memorable start, as well as the Whalers being one of only a few teams to defeat the Knights in that season. A clean, open-ice hit by Jared Boll on Robbie Drummond started another series of fights, as well as a hit-from-behind by Tom Sestito on Patrick Kane.

The last few years, the Whalers, Spitfires, and Knights have been league leaders in fighting majors. ^[1]

Players

Retired numbers

14 - Pat Peake 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.

Team captains

1990–91 Paul Mitton 1991 Mark Lawrence (traded) 1991–93 Pat Peake 1993–95 Jamie Allison 1995–96 Bryan Berard 1996–97 Mike Morrone 1997–98 Andrew Taylor 1998–00 Randy Fitzgerald

2000–02 Jared Newman 2002–03 Nate Kiser 2003–04 James Wisniewski 2004–05 Tim Sestito (home) John Mitchell (away & playoffs) 2005–06 John Vigilante 2006–07 Steve Ward 2007–08 Andrew Fournier (home & playoffs) Chris Terry (away) 2008–09 Chris Terry

Award winners

• 1997–98 - David Legwand Canadian Hockey League Rookie of the Year, Emms Family Award OHL Rookie of the Year, Red Tilson Trophy Most Outstanding Player of the Year
• 1998–99 - Robert Holsinger & Rob Zepp Dave Pinkney Trophy Lowest Team GAA
• 1998–99 - Rob Zepp Canadian Hockey League Scholastic Player of the Year, Bobby Smith Trophy OHL Scholastic Player of the Year
• 1999–00 - Rob Zepp and Bill Ruggiero Dave Pinkney Trophy Lowest Team GAA
• 2000–01 - Rob Zepp and Paul Drew Dave Pinkney Trophy Lowest Team GAA
• 2001–02 - Jason Bacashihua and Paul Drew Dave Pinkney Trophy Lowest Team GAA
• 2001–02 - Jason Bacashihua F.W. 'Dinty' Moore Trophy Best Rookie GAA
• 2002–03 - Chad LaRose Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy Overage Player of the Year
• 2002–03 - Paul Drew and Jeff Weber Dave Pinkney Trophy Lowest Team GAA
• 2003–04 - James Wisniewski Canadian Hockey League Defenceman of the Year, Max Kaminsky Trophy OHL Defenceman of the Year
• 2006–07 - Michal Neuvirth & Jeremy Smith Dave Pinkney Trophy Lowest Team GAA
• 2006–07 - Michal Neuvirth F.W. 'Dinty' Moore Trophy Best Rookie GAA
• 2008–09 - Chris Terry Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy Humanitarian of the Year
• 2009–09 - Chris Terry Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy Captain of the Year

Notable players

First round NHL Entry Draft picks

Players who were drafted in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft while playing for the Whalers franchise.

• 1991: Pat Peake, 14th Overall, Washington Capitals
• 1993: Todd Harvey, 9th Overall, Dallas Stars
• 1995: Bryan Berard, 1st Overall, Ottawa Senators
• 1998: David Legwand, 2nd Overall, Nashville Predators
• 2000: Justin Williams, 28th Overall, Philadelphia Flyers
• 2001: Stephen Weiss, 4th Overall, Florida Panthers

Second round NHL Entry Draft picks

Players who were drafted in the second round of the NHL Entry Draft while playing for the Whalers franchise.

• 1993: Jamie Allison, 44th Overall, Calgary Flames
• 1995: Nic Beaudoin, 51st Overall, Colorado Avalanche
• 1997: Harold Druken, 36th Overall, Vancouver Canucks
• 2000: Tomas Kurka, 32nd Overall, Carolina Hurricanes
• 2000: Libor Ustrnul, 42nd Overall, Atlanta Thrashers
• 2000: Kris Vernarsky, 51st Overall, Toronto Maple Leafs
• 2003: David Liffiton, 63rd Overall, Colorado Avalanche
• 2005: James Neal, 33rd Overall, Dallas Stars
• 2007: Jeremy Smith, 54th Overall, Nashville Predators

NHL alumni

List of Plymouth Whalers alumni who have played in the National Hockey League.

Jamie Allison Yuri Babenko Jason Bacashihua Bryan Berard Jared Boll Jesse Boulerice Fred Brathwaite Kevin Brown Eric Cairns Gregory Campbell Harold Druken Robert Esche

Todd Harvey Sean Haggerty Cole Jarrett Tomas Kurka Chad LaRose Mark Lawrence David Legwand David Liffiton Paul Mara Eric Manlow Mike Minard John Mitchell

James Neal Michal Neuvirth Pat Peake Justin Peters Keith Redmond Mike Rucinski Tim Sestito Tom Sestito Karl Stewart Damian Surma

Chris Thorburn Nikos Tselios Kris Vernarsky Jason Ward Stephen Weiss Derek Wilkinson Justin Williams Chad Wiseman James Wisniewski Bob Wren

Current roster

Goaltenders
#		align=left	Player	Catches	NHL rights	Place of birth
29		Scott Wedgewood	L	2010	Brampton, Ontario
31		Matt Hackett	L	MIN 2009	London, Ontario

Defensemen
#		align=left	Player	Shoots	NHL rights	Place of birth
2		Brett Bellemore - OA	R	CAR 2007	Windsor, Ontario
4		Leo Jenner	L	2009	Mossley, Ontario
5		Scott Fletcher - OA	R	Free Agent	Haslett, Michigan
6		Josh Bemis	L	2009	Clarkston, Michigan
8		Christian Steingraber	L	2009	Oregon, Ohio
17		Beau Schmitz	R	2009	Howell, Michigan
18		Austin Levi	L	2010	Farmington Hills, Michigan
25		Jan Látal	R	2009	Stredokluky, Czech Republic
27		Jordon O'Neill	L	2008	London, Ontario
32		Michal Jordan ?	L	CAR 2008	Zlín, Czech Republic

Forwards
#		align=left	Player	Position	Shoots	NHL rights	Place of birth
7		Kaine Geldart - A	RW	R	2009	Kingston, Ontario
9		Tyler Seguin ?	C	R	2010	Brampton, Ontario
10		Ryan Hayes	RW	R	2009	Syracuse, New York
12		Tyler G. Brown	C	L	2009	Wasaga Beach, Ontario
13		Myles McCauley	RW	R	2009	Sterling Heights, Michigan
15		Matt Caria - OA	C	L	Free Agent	Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
19		Vern Cooper	C	L	2009	Sudbury, Ontario
20		Chris Terry - C ?	C	L	CAR 2007	Brampton, Ontario
21		RJ Mahalak	LW	L	2010	Monroe, Michigan
22		AJ Jenks - A	LW	L	FLA 2008	Wolverine Lake, Michigan
23		Jamie Devane	LW	L	TOR 2009	Mississauga, Ontario
24		Joe Gaynor - A	LW	L	2009	Goderich, Ontario
26		Tyler J. Brown	LW	L	2009	Westland, Michigan

• OA - Overager (1988 birthday)
• ? - Michal Jordan represented the Czech Republic (5th place) at the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (6GP, 0-1-1)
• ? - Tyler Seguin won gold representing Ontario at the 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge (2nd overall in scoring, 6GP, 3-8-11)
• ? - Chris Terry was selected to represent the Whalers in the 2009 OHL All-Star Classic

Franchise records

A complete list of team records can be found .

Team records for a single season
Statistic	Total	Season
Most points	106	1998–99
Most wins	51	1998–99
Most goals for	330	1992–93
Least goals for	198	2004–05
Least goals against	162	1998–99 2000–01
Most goals against	378	1990–91

Individual player records for a single season
Statistic	Player	Total	Season
Most goals	Chad LaRose	61	2002–03
Most assists	Kevin Brown	91	1992–93
Most points	Bob Wren	145	1992–93
Most points, rookie	David Legwand	105	1997–98
Most points, defenseman	Bill McCauley	102	1994–95
Most PIM	David Benn	305	1991–92
Best GAA (goalie)	Robert Holsinger	2.08	1998–99
Most wins (goalie)	Rob Zepp	36	1999–00
Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played

Top scorers

Top scorers in the history of the franchise.

Player	Years	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Pat Peake	1990–92	162	138	181	319	162
Bob Wren	1991–94	182	115	188	303	220
Chris Terry	2005–	247	112	168	280	346
Todd Harvey	1991–95	173	113	157	270	310
Kevin Brown	1992–94	113	102	167	269	161
Sean Haggerty	1993–96	187	131	132	263	136
John Vigilante	2002–06	254	93	153	246	107
Harold Druken	1996–99	187	123	120	243	60
John Mitchell	2001–05	258	80	150	230	158
Damian Surma	1998–02	241	105	120	225	286

Top active scorers

Player	Years	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Chris Terry	2005–	247	112	168	280	346
AJ Jenks	2006–	191	53	70	123	232
Vern Cooper	2006–	185	41	47	88	138
Kaine Geldart	2006–	172	29	51	80	273
Ryan Hayes	2008–	79	35	30	65	70
Tyler Seguin	2008–	55	18	41	59	22
Michal Jordan	2007–	91	16	43	59	62
Joe Gaynor	2005–	206	25	29	54	183
Matt Caria	2008–	31	17	29	46	26
Brett Bellemore	2005–	175	7	37	44	164

Yearly results

Regular season

Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss

Season	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	OTL	SL	Points	Pct %	Goals For	Goals Against	Standing
1997–98	66	37	22	7	-
81	0.614	279	223	2nd Western
1998–99	68	51	13	4	-
106	0.779	313	162	1st West
1999–00	68	45	18	4	1
95	0.691	256	172	1st West
2000–01	68	43	15	5	5
96	0.669	253	162	1st West
2001–02	68	39	15	12	2
92	0.662	249	166	1st West
2002–03	68	43	14	9	2
97	0.699	259	174	1st West
2003–04	68	32	24	9	3
76	0.537	220	204	2nd West
2004–05	68	30	29	6	3
69	0.507	198	204	2nd West
2005–06	68	35	28
1	4	75	0.551	227	224	1st West
2006–07	68	49	14
2	3	103	0.757	299	173	1st West
2007–08	68	34	28
2	4	74	0.544	228	223	5th West
2008–09	68	37	26
5	0	73	0.589	224	218	2nd West

Playoffs

• 1997–98 - Defeated Sarnia Sting 4 games to 1 in division quarter-finals.
  Defeated Belleville Bulls 4 games to 2 in quarter-finals.
  Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 0 in semi-finals.
• 1998–99 - Defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
  Lost to London Knights 4 games to 3 in conference semi-finals.
• 1999–00 - Defeated Guelph Storm 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals.
  Defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 1 in conference semi-finals.
  Defeated Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 4 game to 1 in conference finals.
  Lost to Barrie Colts 4 games to 3 in finals.
• 2000–01 - Defeated Sarnia Sting 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
  Defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
  Defeated Erie Otters 4 game to 1 in conference finals.
  Lost to Ottawa 67's 4 games to 2 in finals.
• 2001–02 - Lost to London Knights 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals.
• 2002–03 - Defeated Owen Sound Attack 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
  Defeated London Knights 4 games to 3 in conference semi-finals.
  Lost to Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 3 in conference finals.
• 2003–04 - Defeated Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
  Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
• 2004–05 - Lost to Owen Sound Attack 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
• 2005–06 - Defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 3 in conference quarter-finals.
  Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 2 in conference semi-finals
• 2006–07 - Defeated Guelph Storm 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
  Defeated Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 1 in conference semi-finals.
  Defeated London Knights 4 games to 1 in conference finals.
  Defeated Sudbury Wolves 4 games to 2 in finals. OHL CHAMPIONS
  Finished tied for third place in Memorial Cup round-robin.
  Defeated Lewiston Maineiacs in tiebreaker round.
  Lost to Vancouver Giants in semi-finals.
• 2007–08 - Lost to Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
• 2008–09 - Defeated Sarnia Sting 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
  Lost to Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 2 in conference semi-finals.

Uniforms and logos

The Whalers colors, logo, and uniform letters and numerals font were derived from the NHL's Hartford Whalers who were also owned by Peter Karmanos. The logo features an angry hockey stick-wielding whale, blowing a puck and spout of water out its blow hole. The name Whalers is superimposed on the image surround by a circle of green and blue with waves in the background.

The Whalers home and away jerseys are either white or navy blue background, with green & silver trim. The Whalers third jersey (inset, bottom right), derived from the original 1979–92 green away jersey of the NHL Whalers, is a green background with the word "Whalers" spelled out in silver letters diagonally across the chest, and has the Whalers primary logo as a shoulder patch.

Anthony Harrison was the original creater for the Plymouth Whalers logo. A three-dimensional model of the logo was displayed in the Harford Whalers Team Store in 1996, this after the model was used in a presentation to the NHL in a third jersey effort. When the pitch failed, the logo was passed to the Plymouth Whalers.

Arena

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 6 months time, ready for the 1996–97 season. The arena is located at 14900 Beck Rd. in Plymouth with a seating capacity of 3,807.

In addition to the NHL-sized rink, there is an Olympic sized rink also in the building. Compuware Arena is home to not only the Whalers, but also the Compuware Ambassadors, a series of major midget teams and lower, according to age.

• Official web site
• Official web site
• The OHL Arena & Travel Guide

References

1. http://www.dropyourgloves.com/Fights/LeagueFights.aspx?League=9