Knoxville Knights

The Knoxville Knights were a minor professional ice hockey team based in the James White Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Knights played for seven seasons in the Eastern Hockey League from 1961 to 1968. The Knights folded at the end of the 1967–68 season. The Knights had the distinction of having the youngest player in EHL history appear in a game during their existence. On March 13, 1966 in a game against the Jacksonville Rockets, Knights head coach Doug Bentley inserted his son Doug, Jr. into the lineup after a rash of injuries hit the team a few days before. Doug, Jr, was born June 1, 1951, making him 14 years of age at the time of his Knights debut.

They were followed in Knoxville by the Knoxville Cherokees of the ECHL from 1988 to 1997, the Knoxville Speed of the UHL from 1999 to 2002, and the Knoxville Ice Bears of the ACHL, the SEHL, and the SPHL from 2002 to the present.

Knights in the NHL
Former members of the Knights include several players who played in the NHL.


 * Gene Achtymichuk
 * Glen Cressman
 * Ray Cullen
 * Claude Cyr
 * Eddie Dorohoy
 * Marv Edwards
 * Harrison Gray
 * Earl Heiskala
 * Dennis Hextall
 * Jack LeClair
 * Jack Martin
 * Jim Murray
 * Pat Quinn
 * Bill Speer
 * Guy Trottier

Les Calder Don LaBelle