The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey team based in Thousand Palms, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL).[1] The team was founded as an expansion franchise for the 2022–23 season. They are affiliated with the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Seattle Kraken,[2] meaning that the Kraken can send their prospects or other players to the team, as long as they are signed to an NHL contract with the team.[3] Since their creation, 54 players have played for the Firebirds in at least one regular season or postseason game—8 goaltenders and 46 skaters (forwards and defenseman).
Each AHL team may select a captain, who is "the only team member with the ability to discuss questions relating to the interpretation of the rules during the game with the referee." Captains are required to wear the letter "C" on their uniform for identification.[4] The Firebirds' current and only captain is Max McCormick, his captaincy starting in 2022.[5]
The Firebirds player with the most games played with the team is Kole Lind, with 141. McCormick leads the Firebirds in goals scored, with 60, Lind leads the Firebirds in assists, with 60, and Lind and McCormick are tied for the most points by a Firebirds, each of them with 127.[6]
Key
Abbreviations
| GP
|
Games played
|
| Nat.
|
Nationality
|
|
|
|
|
Statistics reflect time with the Firebirds only. Statistics complete as of the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs.
Goaltenders
List of Coachella Valley Firebirds goaltenders[6]
| Name
|
Nat.
|
Seasons[a]
|
Regular season
|
Playoffs
|
| GP
|
W
|
L
|
OTL
|
SO
|
GAA
|
SV%
|
GP
|
W
|
L
|
SO
|
GAA
|
SV%
|
| Callum Booth
|
|
2022–2023 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1.84 |
.950 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
—
|
| Joey Daccord
|
|
2022–2023 |
38 |
26 |
8 |
3 |
3 |
2.38 |
.918 |
26 |
15 |
11 |
3 |
2.22 |
.926
|
| Chris Driedger‡
|
|
2022–present |
53 |
33 |
11 |
7 |
5 |
2.44 |
.913 |
18 |
12 |
6 |
1 |
2.67 |
.906
|
| Christopher Gibson
|
|
2022–2023 |
20 |
10 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
2.98 |
.894 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
—
|
| Jack LaFontaine*
|
|
2022–present |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2.30 |
.919 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
—
|
| Cale Morris*
|
|
2022–present |
7 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
2.63 |
.919 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
—
|
| Shane Starrett
|
|
2022–2023 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1.00 |
.950 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
—
|
| Ales Stezka*
|
|
2022–present |
27 |
18 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
2.48 |
.914 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
—
|
Skaters
Notes
- a The "Seasons" column lists the first year of the season of the player's first game and the last year of the season of the player's last game. For example, a player who played one game in the 2022–23 season would be listed as playing with the team from 2022 to 2023, regardless of what calendar year the game occurred within.
References
- ^ "Coachella Valley Firebirds hockey team statistics and history at HockeyDB.com". HockeyDB. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ Clinton, Jared (September 30, 2019). "Seattle gets its AHL affiliate as Palm Springs announced as league's 32nd team". The Hockey News. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". American Hockey League. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
- ^ "What Do Team Captains Do in Hockey?". Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. April 20, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
- ^ Arredondo, Bailey (August 16, 2022). "Firebirds win first ever game over Calgary, assign team captains and roster spots". KESQ. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Coachella Valley Firebirds all-time player list at HockeyDB.com". HockeyDB. Retrieved July 25, 2024.