American Hockey League (1993-1996)
Tombstone
Born: April 15, 1993 – The New Haven Senators relocate to Charlottetown, PEI1CANADIAN PRESS. “Senators switch AHL franchise to appreciative Charlottetown”. The Citizen (Ottawa, ON). April 16, 1993
Folded: April 30, 19962Sernoffsky, Dan. “P.E.I. Senators cease operations’ AHL’s Atlantic Division in trouble”. The Daily News (Lebanon, PA). May 1, 1996
First Game: October 9, 1993 (L 3-2 vs. Fredericton Canadiens)
Last Game: April 29, 1996 (L 5-3 Fredericton Canadiens
Calder Cup Championships: None
Arena
Charlottetown Civic Centre (3,340)31994-95 American Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book
Marketing
Team Colors: Red, Gold & Black41994-95 American Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book
Ownership & Affiliation
Owner: Ottawa Senators (Rod Bryden)
NHL Affiliation: Ottawa Senators
Background
Even by minor league standards, the Prince Edward Island Senators were a small market entry during their brief run in the top flight American Hockey League during the mid-1990’s. P.E.I’s capital city of Charlottetown had a population of just 32,531 in the 1996 census and its Civic Arena, expanded to seat 3,340 fans upon the Sens arrival in 1993, was the smallest in the AHL.
The NHL’s Ottawa Senators, who began play just a year earlier in 1992, owned the P.E.I. franchise outright.
In Competition
P.E.I.’s first season in the AHL was … not great. The Sens finished with the worst record (23-49-8) and second lowest attendance (2,296 per game) in the 16-team AHL.
The next two years were better. In 1994-95 the Sens went from worst-to-first and won the AHL’s Atlantic Division with a 41-31-8 mark. 1995-1996 saw a 2nd place regular season finish at 38-36-6. At the end of each season the Fredericton Canadiens eliminated Prince Edward Island in the Calder Cup playoffs.
P.E.I.’s top prospect during the Senators era was Slovakian center Pavol Demitra, selected by Ottawa in the 9th round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Demitra split time for between Ottawa and P.E.I. for all three seasons of the P.E.I. Senators’ existence, but always spent the majority of the year on the farm. Demitra was the P.E.I. Sens’ all-time leader in goals scored (72) and assists (124).
Demitra developed into a three-time NHL All-Star with the St. Louis Blues during the late 1990’s.
The flip side of the AHL was former NHL mainstays on the back nine of their careers. Another notable name to skate for P.E.I. was Andrew McBain. The former #8 overall pick (1983) of the Winnipeg Jets notched back-to-back 30-goal seasons for the Jets in the late 1980’s. McBain split time between Ottawa and P.E.I. during the team’s first season in Charlottetown in 1993-94.
Demise
On April 29th, 1996 the Fredericton Canadiens defeated PEI in the a winner-take-all Game 5 in the opening round of the 1996 Calder Cup playoffs. The following morning the Ottawa Senators abruptly folded the PEI franchise. The move caught nearly everyone off guard, from players arriving to the Civic Centre for the final team meeting of the season to AHL President David Andrews, whom Ottawa officials neglected to inform of their decision ahead of the announcement.5Sernoffsky, Dan. “P.E.I. Senators cease operations; AHL’s Atlantic Division in trouble”. The Daily News (Lebanon, PA). May 1, 1996[/mfn]
Professional hockey never returned to Charlottetown after the departure of the Senators in 1996. Today the city is host to the Charlottetown Islanders, a long-running club in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Prince Edward Island Senators Shop
PEI Senators Video
Sens vs. Saint John Flames. Calder Cup quarterfinals, Game 2. April 15, 1995. PEI Cable 10 partial broadcast.
In Memoriam
Center Pavol Demitra (PEI ’93-’96), the PEI Sens all-time leading scorer who went on to become the Slovak National Team captain and an NHL All-Star with the St. Louis Blues, died in the Lokomotiv Yaroslav air disaster on September 7, 2011. The entire roster of the Russian Kontinental Hockey League club perished in the plane crash. SportsNet.ca obituary.
Links
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