The Capital District Islanders were a team in the American Hockey League based in Troy, New York, which is located within a region popularly called the Capital District. The Islanders were the principal minor league affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders during the 1990âÂÂ91, 1991âÂÂ92 and 1992âÂÂ93 seasons.
The Capital District Islanders were born out of an effort to attract a professional hockey team into Albany's newly built Knickerbocker Arena. In May 1989, Albany County Executive Jim Coyne formed the Committee to Bring Pro Hockey to Albany, which was chaired by former Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's ice hockey head coach Mike Addesa. The committee disbanded in January 1990 when it opted to withdraw its support of a bid for an International Hockey League (IHL) franchise made by businessman Ben Fernandez and instead backed a bid made by car dealer Michael Cantanucci.
Addesa began working with CantanucciâÂÂwho was an original member of the committeeâÂÂafter Cantanucci decided to make his own bid for a franchise because Fernandez did not have an interest in having partners as investors. Cantanucci asked to withdraw his bid for an IHL team when the proposed Global Hockey League (GHL) awarded a franchise to Albany on February 1, 1990. Before that, he had also explored the possibility of obtaining an American Hockey League (AHL) franchise, and had discussions with the Detroit Red Wings about allowing another AHL team to play in the Knickerbocker Arena, as they held territorial rights within a distance of their Adirondack Red Wings franchise based in Glens Falls.
In May 1990, the Detroit Red Wings denied permission to move the AHL's Sherbrooke Canadiens to Troy. However, the Red Wings' opposition to allowing another AHL franchise to play in the Capital District changed just one month later, after the Fort Wayne Komets of the IHL relocated to become the Albany Choppers, signing a lease to begin playing in the Knickerbocker Arena for the 1990âÂÂ91 season; this move followed a decision made by the owners of the Albany GHL franchise not to join the proposed league. To obtain permission for an AHL franchise in the Capital District, Cantanucci had to make a $1 million payment to Red Wings as well as agree to pay an annual fee of $50,000 plus a percentage of revenue obtained from ticket and parking sales.
Instead of establishing an expansion franchise, Cantanucci purchased the rights of the Boston Braves, an dormant AHL franchise that had been inactive since 1974. The new team would play at the Houston Field House in Troy, on the campus of RPI. It quickly secured an affiliation with the New York Islanders, bringing with them most of the players who had been on the Calder Cup champion Springfield Indians the previous year. The Capital District Islanders' uniforms and logo were identical to those of their affiliate, except that the logo had "Capital District" written above it. The team had originally planned to replace the "NY" in the crest with a "CD" but didn't like any of the prototypes.
The team's head coach for all three seasons was Butch Goring, a former NHL veteran who won four Stanley Cups with the New York Islanders during the early 1980s and had later served as head coach of the NHL's Boston Bruins and the Western International Hockey League's Spokane Chiefs before his arrival in Troy. The announcement of Goring's appointment as head coach was made on August 17, 1990, after Jimmy RobertsâÂÂthe AHL coach of the year for the previous seasonâÂÂdeclined an offer from New York Islanders general manager Bill Torrey to move from the Springfield Indians after the change in affiliation.
The Capital District Islanders and Albany Choppers both struggled on the ice and at the box office in their first season. The Islanders drew a total of 101,592 fans to the Houston Field House over 40 home games (an average attendance of 2,540), while the Choppers drew a total of 70,100 fans to the Knickerbocker Arena over 30 home games (an average attendance of 2,337) before the team folded midseason. The Capital District Islanders lost over $500,000 in their first year and Cantanucci sold the franchise to local insurance magnate Albert Lawrence prior to the start of the 1991âÂÂ92 season.
David Hanson took over as the team's general manager before the start of the second season. He replaced Kevin Earl, who had been a football coach at RPI and a car salesman for Cantanucci, with Earl being named vice-president and focused on ticket sales and promotions. Cantanucci originally wanted Ned Harkness to take over operations of the team, but Harkness desired to remain in his position as president of the Olympic Regional Development Authority, and instead became a part owner of the team with control of its operations. He recommended Hanson to handle day-to-day operations, who was a former hockey player and had been serving under him as the general manager of the Gore Mountain Ski Area. Hanson had also appeared in the movie Slap Shot as one of the three Hanson Brothers; on April 3, 1993, he organized a reunion of the Hanson Brothers before a Capital District Islanders game that sold out the Houston Field House and also drew national attention.
The Islanders' best record was in the 1992âÂÂ93 season, when the team finished 34-34-12 for third place in its division and a playoff berth. Among the team's notable players were Greg Parks, its leading career scorer in only one and a half seasons; forwards Richard Kromm and Brent Grieve, defensemen Dennis Vaske, Jeff Finley and Dean Chynoweth and goaltender Danny Lorenz. Following the conclusion of the season, Lawrence renamed the team the Albany River Rats, changed its affiliation to the New Jersey Devils, and moved the team to Albany's Knickerbocker Arena, the same venue in which the Albany Choppers played during the 1990âÂÂ91 season. Meanwhile, the New York Islanders changed their minor league affiliate to the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the IHL for the 1993âÂÂ94 season.