Wheeling Thunderbirds

East Coast Hockey League (1992-1996)

Tombstone

Born: 1992 – The Winston-Salem Thunderbirds relocate to Wheeling
Re-Branded: 1996 (Wheeling Nailers)

First Game: October 18, 1992 (W 9-3 vs. Dayton Bombers)
Last Game: April 14, 1996 (L 4-3 vs. Tallahassee Tiger Sharks)

Riley Cup Championships: None

Arena

Wheeling Civic Center (5,406)¹

Marketing

Team Colors: Red, Black & White²

Ownership

Owner: Ed Broyhill et al.

Background

The Wheeling Thunderbirds were a low-level minor league hockey franchise in the East Coast Hockey League from 1992 to 1996. The franchise still exists today and has been known as the Wheeling Nailers since a 1996 re-branding. According to the Nailers wikipedia entry, the name change came about after the Thunderbirds ran into a trademark dispute with the Seattle Thunderbirds, a junior team in the Western Hockey League.

The origins of the club date all the way back to 1981, when the team began play in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as the Carolina Thunderbirds of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. Thunderbirds owner Ed Broyhill moved the team to Wheeling in the spring/summer of 1992.

Fourteen players who suited up for the Thunderbirds between 1992 and 1996 later made it to the NHL. Most only stayed up for a handful of games. The most notable exception is goaltender Tomas Vokoun, who posted a record of 20-10-2 as a first year pro for the Thunderbirds in the winter of 1995-96. Vokoun came up to the NHL with the expansion Nashville Predators in 1998-99 and forged a 15-year (and counting) NHL career with Nashville, Florida, Washington and Pittsburgh. Vokoun was selected to play in the 2004 and 2008 NHL All-Star games.

Headed in other direction on the NHL ladder was center Ron Wilson, an NHL regular from 1979 to 1994, primarily with the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues. Wilson finished his career with the Thunderbirds at age 39 during the 1995-96 season, appearing in 46 games for Wheeling.