Kalamazoo Wings

The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Western Conference, Central Division, they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Event Center. They are the affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League, and the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

Kalamazoo is home to the "Green Ice Game". Played since 1982 on St. Patrick's Day, it is one of the most celebrated games in minor league hockey. The team has sought to duplicate the game's success with the Pink Ice Game (Valentine's Day), the Orange Ice Game (Halloween), the Lavender Ice game (Hockey Fights Cancer) and the Rainbow Ice game.

History
The team began in the 1999–2000 season as the United Hockey League's Madison Kodiaks in Madison, Wisconsin. After one season in Madison, the franchise moved to Kalamazoo, where it renamed itself the Wings in honor of the original Wings that had played in the International Hockey League from 1974 through 2000. The new Wings obtained the right to use the old Wings' name and logo, as well as using the original team's history as its own.

The K-Wings played in the UHL from October 2000 until June 1, 2009, when they withdrew because of concerns that the league, which had renamed itself the International Hockey League in 2007, might go bankrupt. Eight days later, the K-Wings joined the ECHL. From September 13, 2012 until the end of the 2014–15 season, the Wings had an affiliation with the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves. They were also affiliated with the National Hockey League's Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks as well as their AHL affiliates the Springfield Falcons and Utica Comets, respectively.

Prior to the 2015–16 season, the ECHL required teams to only have one official NHL/AHL affiliate, leading to the K-Wings only keeping their Columbus affiliation and the Blue Jackets' new AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters. They ended their affiliation with the Blue Jackets after one season and affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Syracuse Crunch for the 2016–17 season. They changed again for the 2017–18 season to the Canucks and Comets, their previous affiliates for several seasons.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wings voluntarily suspended operations for the 2020–21 ECHL season. When the team returned for the 2021–22 season, they switched their affiliation back to the Columbus Blue Jackets. On June 23, 2022, the Wings signed an affiliation extension with the Blue Jackets (and therefore the Cleveland Monsters also) for the 2022–23 season

On July 10, 2023, Kalamazoo announced they had returned to the Vancouver Canucks organization in an affiliation agreement for the 2023–24 season. They also entered an agreement with the Canucks AHL affiliate in Abbotsford.

Current roster
Updated May 1, 2024.

Retired numbers

 * #1 Georges Gagnon
 * #13 Tyler Willis
 * #22 Mike Wanchuk
 * #26 Kevin Schamehorn
 * #27 Neil Meadmore

Single season

 * Goals: 46 🇨🇦 Nick Bootland (2007–08)
 * Assists: 70 🇨🇦 Daniel Carriere (2005–06)
 * Points: 94 🇨🇦 Kory Karlander (2007–08)
 * Penalty minutes: 344 🇨🇦 Tyler Willis (2003–04)
 * GAA: 2.02 🇨🇦 Ryan Nie (2006–07)
 * SV%: .929 🇨🇦 Ryan Nie (2006–07)

Career

 * Career games played: 614 🇨🇦 Justin Taylor (2010–22)
 * Career goals: 237 🇨🇦 Justin Taylor (2010–22)
 * Career assists: 263 🇨🇦 Kory Karlander (2004–13)
 * Career points: 457 🇨🇦 Justin Taylor (2010–22)
 * Career penalty minutes: 1,463 🇨🇦 Tyler Willis (2003–10)
 * Career goaltending games played: 422 🇨🇦 Joel Martin (2004-18)
 * Career goaltending wins: 152 🇨🇦 Joel Martin (2004–18)
 * Career shutouts: 18 🇨🇦 Joel Martin (2004–18)