| Current: | 2024–25 Coachella Valley Firebirds season |
| Bg Color: | background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#C8102E 5px solid; border-bottom:#FF681D 5px solid; |
| Text Color: |
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| Team: | Coachella Valley Firebirds |
| Logosize: | 200px |
| City: | Palm Desert, California |
| League: | American Hockey League |
| Conference: | Western |
| Division: | Pacific |
| Founded: | 2022 |
| Arena: | Acrisure Arena |
| Colors: | Deep sea blue, red alert, orange, ice blue[1] |
| Mascot: | Fuego |
| Owner: | Oak View Group |
| Gm: | Vacant |
| Coach: | Derek Laxdal |
| Captain: | Max McCormick |
| Media: | The Desert Sun KDGL |
| Affiliates: | Seattle Kraken (NHL) Kansas City Mavericks (ECHL) |
| Division Titles: | 1 (2023–24) |
| Conf Titles: | 2 (2023, 2024) |
The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey team based in the Coachella Valley. They are members of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Firebirds began play in the 2022–23 season.[2] The team is an owned-and-operated affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Seattle Kraken. The team plays their home games at Acrisure Arena in the city of Palm Desert, California.
After the approval of the Kraken to join the NHL, the Kraken's ownership group had narrowed down its AHL affiliate options to promoting the ECHL's Idaho Steelheads in Boise, Idaho, or a new expansion team in Palm Springs, California. On June 26, 2019, it was reported the Seattle ownership group had chosen Palm Springs as the site for Seattle's AHL affiliate.[3]
The Firebirds ranked second overall in their first regular season, behind only the Calgary Wranglers.[4] During that season's Calder Cup playoffs, the Firebirds reached the Finals, before losing in overtime of game seven to the Hershey Bears.[5] They pulled a similar feat in their second season, achieving 103 points in the regular season[6] and reaching the Finals before losing to the Bears again, this time in overtime of game six.[7]
On December 4, 2018, the National Hockey League (NHL) Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve a Seattle NHL expansion team, the Seattle Kraken, to begin play in the 2021–22 season.[8] The new ownership group then began making plans for acquiring a minor league affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL). By early 2019, they had narrowed it down to promoting the ECHL's Idaho Steelheads in Boise, Idaho, or a new expansion team in the area around Palm Springs, California. On June 26, it was reported the Seattle ownership group had chosen Palm Springs as the site for Seattle's AHL affiliate, as the Boise option would require the Steelheads' arena to be revamped. The expansion franchise was approved by the AHL Board of Governors on September 30, with plans to begin play in the 2021–22 season.[9] Delays associated with the construction of an arena in the Palm Springs area caused the team's debut 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.[10]
In November 2021, the new team revealed its name, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, as well as its logos and colors, at a ceremony held on the construction site of their new arena.[11] Since the Kraken was a mythical creature, the organization chose another mythical creature for its affiliate.[11]
On June 21, 2022, Dan Bylsma, who had won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009,[12] was named the inaugural head coach of the Firebirds.[13] The Firebirds signed their first free agents, Samuel Bucek and Ian McKinnon, the next month on July 11, 2022.[14] On the day of the Firebirds' first game, October 16, Max McCormick was announced as the team's captain, with Andrew Poturalski and Gustav Olofsson being named alternate captains.[15]
The Firebirds played their first game on October 16, 2022, a 6–5 win against the Calgary Wranglers, and they also won the rematch the next day.[16] During the first stretch of the season later that month, the Firebirds played their home games in the Seattle metropolitan area, playing four games against the Abbotsford Canucks and the Wranglers at the Kraken Community Iceplex and Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, as well as the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett.[17] The Firebirds' first game at Acrisure Arena took place on December 18, a 4–3 win in front of a 10,087-people sellout crowd against the Tucson Roadrunners, with Cameron Hughes scoring the first ever home goal for the Firebirds, at the 8:49 mark in the first period.[18] [19] [20] From December 22, 2022, to January 26, 2023, the Firebirds achieved a fourteen game points streak, the current franchise record.[21] The Firebirds finished the 2022–23 season with 103 points, good for second place of the Pacific Division, behind only the Wranglers, who captured the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy. During the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs, the Firebirds captured the Western Conference title and advanced to the Calder Cup Finals, where they faced off against the Hershey Bears.[22] Goaltender Joey Daccord recorded back to back shutouts in the first two games of the series,[23] but despite this, the Firebirds would fall short of the championship, losing in overtime of game seven.[24]
On March 23, 2024, during the 2023–24 season the Firebirds clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season following a 4–3 shootout loss against the San Diego Gulls.[25] Eventually, the Firebirds won their first Pacific Division title, earning a bye in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs following a 3–1 win on April 10, 2024, over the Ontario Reign.[26] During the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, the Firebirds again captured the Western Conference title[27] and progressed to the Calder Cup Finals, where they once-again faced off against the Hershey Bears. For the second straight season, the Firebirds fell short of the championship, losing in overtime of game six.
See main article: Acrisure Arena. On June 26, 2019, it was reported that the ownership of the upcoming Seattle Kraken had chosen Palm Springs as the site for Seattle's AHL affiliate and that the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and Oak View Group (OVG) had teamed up to build an arena on Band-owned land as a home for their proposed expansion team. The 10,000-seat arena was estimated to cost $250 million. OVG chief executive officer (CEO) Tim Leiweke relied upon a feasibility study on the future of sports events and tourism in the Coachella Valley, independently authored by Coachella Sports & Entertainment Stadium Authority and the non-profit SoCal Coyotes Sports Leadership Organization, as proof of the viability for a multi-purpose venue in Palm Springs.[28] The proposed arena was to be constructed on part of the Spa Resort Casino's parking lots and be owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians with the OVG as the arena operator.[29] It would also have had an adjoining facility to serve as a year-round community gathering space as well as the training center for the AHL team.[30] Groundbreaking and construction on the arena was expected to begin in February 2020, with completion by fall 2021, but was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting ban on large gatherings including concerts and sporting events.[31] [32] By September 2020, OVG's negotiations with the tribe had come to a halt and the agreement was ended due to COVID-19 financial impacts on the tribe.[33]
On September 16, 2020, OVG and the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation announced they had chosen a new location for the arena in the middle of the Coachella Valley near the city of Palm Desert, but it would not open until at least 2022.[34] The arena site is on Foundation land between Interstate 10 and the Foundation's Classic Club golf course, which OVG leases.[35] Groundbreaking on the project took place on June 2, 2021.[36]
During the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs, the Firebirds established an American Hockey League record for total playoff attendance with 138,053 fans attending 16 postseason games.[37]
On January 6, 2024, the AHL announced that the Firebirds and Acrisure Arena would host the 2025 AHL All-Star Game.[38]
The Firebirds announced their inaugural season uniforms on January 24, 2022, at the Palm Springs Air Museum. They were delivered by the Seattle Kraken, the jerseys themselves in treasure chests. The Firebirds have two main uniforms, one a dark-blue color, and the other white. Both uniforms feature the Firebirds logo in the center, as well as red, orange, and light-blue stripes around the sleeves, with red and light-blue stripes in the bottom.[39] The blue eye color of the Firebird logo is a tie-in to the blue used by the Kraken.[11] The Kraken logo adorns one shoulder.[11]
On November 8, 2023, the team revealed their "Red Alert" third jersey in red with orange, black and light blue trim. The regular logo is replaced with the team's secondary logo. The secondary logo is a mountain range with a palm tree in front. The palm tree has nine fronds, one for each city in the Coachella Valley. During the 2022–23 season, the team wore the jersey on most Sunday home games.[40]
The Firebirds' mascot is an orange, feathered bird named Fuego (Spanish for fire).[41] Fuego was announced on August 4, 2022, before the start of the season. Fuego wears a Firebirds jersey, featuring the number 22 on the back. His first game appearance was on October 16.[42]
All Firebirds games are broadcast on KDGL (106.9 FM). The network broadcast all 72 games of the Firebirds' inaugural season.[43]
Firebirds games are split amongst KESQ-TV, FOX 11, and CW.[44]
See main article: List of Coachella Valley Firebirds seasons.
| Regular season[45] [46] | Playoffs[47] [48] | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | OTL | SOL | Points | PCT | Goals for | Goals against | Standing | Year | Prelims | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Finals | |
| 72 | 48 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 103 | .715 | 257 | 194 | 2nd, Pacific | L, 3–4, HER | |||||||
| 72 | 46 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 103 | .715 | 252 | 182 | 1st, Pacific | BYE | L, 2–4, HER | ||||||
See main article: List of Coachella Valley Firebirds players.
The team is owned by Oak View Group, the organization that also owns Climate Pledge Arena.[49] Tim Leiweke serves as their CEO.[50] Steve Fraser led as president of the Firebirds and Acrisure Arena from 2021-2023. His work established the team in the region, broke numerous AHL records for revenue and attendance and secured the 2025 AHL Allstar game.[51]