2022–23 Coachella Valley Firebirds season

The 2022–23 Coachella Valley Firebirds season was the franchise's inaugural season in the American Hockey League (AHL), starting on October 16, 2022, and ending on June 21, 2023, after they were eliminated in game seven of the Calder Cup finals. They played their home games at Acrisure Arena.

On March 15, 2023, the Firebirds clinched a playoff berth for the first time in franchise history after a 4–1 win against the Iowa Wild. The Firebirds went to the Calder Cup final, losing in game seven to the Hershey Bears.

Background
Starting in 2018, the National Hockey League (NHL) had begun making plans for acquiring a minor league affiliate in the AHL for the NHL's new expansion team, the Seattle Kraken. On June 26, 2019, it was reported that Palm Springs would be the site of Seattle's new AHL affiliate. The expansion franchise was approved by the AHL Board of Governors on September 30, 2019. Delays associated with building a new arena caused play to be pushed back to the 2022–23 season. In the meantime, Seattle affiliated with the Charlotte Checkers for the 2021–22 season, sharing the team with the Florida Panthers.

Off-season


Over the off-season, the Firebirds signed many contracts with their to-be inaugural season players. Notable signings include Matt Tennyson, Jimmy Schuldt, and Eddie Wittchow.

On June 21, 2022, Dan Bylsma was named at the Firebirds' inaugural head coach, after serving as an affiliate coach the previous season with the Checkers. On the day of the Firebirds' first game, October 16, it announced that the team's inaugural captain would be Max McCormick, with alternate captains being Andrew Poturalski and Gustav Olofsson.

October


The Firebirds started their season with a two-game road trip against the Calgary Wranglers on October 16 and 17, winning both games. The Firebirds then started a series of "home" games in Seattle and Everett, WA, playing games against the Abbotsford Canucks and the Calgary Wranglers at the Kraken Community Iceplex, Climate Pledge Arena, and Angel of the Winds Arena on October 21, 23, 28, and 29. In the October 29 game, goaltender Callum Booth stopped 38 out of 41 shots, achieving his first and only win with the Firebirds. Jesper Froden was named the AHL Player of the Month for the month of October, with eleven points in six games with the Firebirds.

November
Coachella Valley would embark on a 16-game road trip throughout November 4 to December 16. The road trip started on October 4, with a 3–2 loss to the Abbotsford Canucks, with a 3–1 win to the Canucks the next day. In said win, forward Kole Lind attained the first hat-trick in franchise history, and goaltender Shane Starrett would make his only appearance of the season stopping 19 of 20 shots. The following game, a 4–1 win on November 11 against the Tucson Roadrunners, would see the Firebirds shoot a franchise record 38 shots-on-goal (SOG). The next day, Andrew Poturalski would score the game-winning goal in the franchise's first overtime win, a 4–3 win against Tucson.

The Firebirds would then face their first two franchise overtime losses, both to the Colorado Eagles, on November 18 and 19. The Firebirds would then lose the 5–3 to the Wranglers on November 22. Shane Wright, playing in his first Firebirds game after being loaned from the Kraken, scored his first professional goal. Coachella Valley would avenge the loss with a five-game win streak. The first win would come on November 24, with a 4–3 score, with the game-winning-goal being scored off the stick of Cameron Hughes off a pass from Brogan Rafferty with only 6.3 seconds left in the game. Two days later, on November 26, the Firebirds would achieve a 4–1 victory over the San Diego Gulls.

December
The Firebirds would start December by continuing their win streak. On December 2, goaltender Joey Daccord would record a 1–0 shutout against the Henderson Silver Knights, the lone goal being scored by Austin Poganski with 5:17 remaining in the third period. The next day, Andrew Poturalski would secure the first shootout win in franchise history, 3–2 win against the Silver Knights. On December 9, Kole Lind's second hat-trick of the season would help the Firebirds to an 8–3 win over the San Jose Barracuda. The Firebirds' winning streak would end in December 10, with a 5–4 overtime loss to the Bakersfield Condors. The would lose again on December 13, with a 7–2 loss to the Tucson Roadrunners, with the Roadrunners scoring 5 power-play goals. The next day, the Firebirds would avenge their loss with a 4–3 comeback win against Tucson, with Carsen Twarynski, Alexander True, and Ryker Evans scoring goals in the third period. The Firebirds would finish their road trip on December 16, with an 8–1 win over the San Diego Gulls, with Jesper Froden achieving a hat-trick.

The Firebirds would play their first ever game at Acrisure Arena in front of a sellout crowd of 10,087 people on December 18, notching a 4–3 win over the Roadrunners. Cameron Hughes would score the first ever goal at Acrisure Arena, at the 8:49 mark of the first period. The Firebirds would get their first loss at Acrisure Arena on December 20, with a 3–2 loss to Tucson. The Firebirds would then embark on a franchise record 14-game point streak from December 22 to January 26. They would start with a 3–2 shootout win at Henderson, in captain Max McCormick's 500th professional game. It would be McCormick himself who scored the shootout-winning goal. On December 23, the Firebirds' teddy bear toss night. Joey Daccord would again achieve a 1–0 shutout over the Silver Knights. With 6:23 left in the game, Luke Henman would score the game’s only goal, sending 7,278 stuffed animals onto the ice. On December 28, the Firebirds would get a 7–6 comeback win over the Ontario Reign, with Andrew Poturalski scoring the game-winning goal with 1:09 left in regulation time. On December 30, goaltender Christopher Gibson would make 24 saves to record a 4–0 shutout against San Jose.

January
The Firebirds would come into the new year with a 4–2 win against the Colorado Eagles on January 4, 2023. On January 7, Joey Daccord would get his third shutout of the season in a 4–0 win against the San Jose Barracuda, stopping 39 shots. The only defect in the Firebirds' point streak would come in a 3–2 shootout loss to the Ontario Reign on January 8, with the Reign putting up 50 shots-on-goal. On January 10, the Firebirds would display a 3–2 shootout win against the Barracuda, with Daccord stopping all seven of the Barracuda's shootout attempts. Kole Lind would score the game-winning-goal.

On January 11, the AHL announced the rosters for the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic. Representing Coachella Valley were Ryker Evans and Andrew Poturalski.

The Firebirds would continue their winning streak with Max McCormick scoring the overtime winner against the Bakersfield Condors on January 13. In a 5–2 win to the Tucson Roadrunners on January 16 would see Jesper Froden record his second straight multi-goal game. McCormick would get a hat-trick including another overtime winner in a 5–4 overtime win to the Reign on January 21. Lind, Froden, and Cameron Hughes would score in the third period of a 4–2 comeback victory over the San Diego Gulls the next day. On January 26, Tye Kartye would score the overtime winner in a 3–2 win over the Iowa Wild. The Firebirds' winning streak would come to an end on January 28, in a 5–2 loss to the Wild. The Firebirds couldn't find their offensive touch, as players like McCormick and John Hayden were recalled by Seattle, and Poturalski was sidelined with an injury.

Standings
indicates team has clinched division and a playoff spot

indicates team has clinched a playoff spot

indicates team has been eliminated from playoff contention

Conference standings
Divisions: PA – Pacific, CE – Central

Regular season
The regular season schedule was released on July 21, 2022.

Player statistics
Updated as of April 28, 2024

Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV = Saves; SA = Shots against; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; G = Goals; A = Assists; PIM = Penalty minutes

† Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Firebirds only.

Transactions
The Firebirds have been involved in the following transactions during the 2022–23 season.