Ontario Reign

The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Ontario, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings, the team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena.

For the former ECHL team that played from 2008 to 2015, see Ontario Reign (ECHL).
Ontario Reign
CityOntario, California
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceWestern
DivisionPacific
Founded2001
Home arenaToyota Arena
ColorsBlack, silver
   
Owner(s)Anschutz Entertainment Group
General managerRichard Seeley[1]
Head coachMarco Sturm
CaptainT. J. Tynan
MediaInland Valley Daily Bulletin
AHL.TV (Internet)
AffiliatesLos Angeles Kings (NHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL)
Franchise history
2001–2015Manchester Monarchs
2015–presentOntario Reign
Championships
Division titles1 (2015–16)
Calder Cups1 (2014–15) In Manchester
Current season

The franchise is a relocation of the former Manchester Monarchs AHL franchise when several other franchises created a Pacific Division in 2015. The team is owned by the Anschutz Entertainment Group. The Reign replaced the ECHL team of the same name, which played from 2008 until 2015, after which they moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, to play as the Manchester Monarchs.

History

On January 29, 2015, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they would be moving their AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs, to Ontario as one of five charter members of the AHL's new Pacific Division. The team retained the Reign nickname from its ECHL predecessor (which moved to Manchester and take on the Monarchs moniker, in essentially a "franchise swap").[2] The Reign's AHL logo, based on the Kings' 1980s-90s "Chevy" logo, was unveiled on Wednesday, February 11. The franchise retained head coach Mike Stothers during the move from Manchester.

In its inaugural season in California, the Reign won the first Pacific Division regular season title with a 44–19–4–1 record. Goaltender Peter Budaj was named to the 2015–16 AHL First All-Star Team and was selected as the league top goaltender with the Baz Bastien Memorial Award.[3] Sean Backman lead the team in scoring with 21 goals and 34 assists while playing all 68 games for the Reign. The Reign would also win the division in the playoffs, defeating the San Jose Barracuda three-games-to-one and the San Diego Gulls four-games-to-one. In the conference finals, the Reign were swept by the eventual Calder Cup champion Lake Erie Monsters in four games.

During the next season in 2016–17, due to goaltender injuries and call-ups for their parent club, the Los Angeles Kings, the Reign ended up using a Canadian father-son duo Dusty and Jonah Imoo during a game in October 2016. Dusty Imoo (age 46) was a goaltending consultant with the Kings. Jonah (age 22) made his AHL debut on a tryout contract. Both the Imoos had grown up in Surrey, British Columbia.[4] By the end of the season, the Reign qualified for the playoffs in third place in the Pacific Division, losing in the first round to San Diego.

The 2019–20 season was curtailed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. During the offseason, Stothers' contract was not renewed and was replaced by John Wroblewski as the new head coach.[5] Approaching the delayed 2020–21 season, the Reign announced they would temporarily relocate and play out of the Kings' practice rink, Toyota Sports Center, in El Segundo due to pandemic-related restrictions.[6] The Sports Center hosted all the Reign's home games closed to spectators.[7]

Season-by-season records
Regular season Playoffs
SeasonGPWLOTLSOLPtsPCTGFGAStandingYearPrelims1st round2nd round3rd roundFinals
2015–166844194193.6841921381st, Pacific2016—W, 3–1, SJW, 4–1, SDL, 0–4, LE—
2016–1768362110183.6101991903rd, Pacific2017—L, 2–3, SD———
2017–186836254379.5812001943rd, Pacific2018—L, 1–3, TEX———
2018–196825336460.4412132747th, Pacific2019Did not qualify
2019–205729225164.5611661985th, Pacific2020Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–214017194038.4751361496th, Pacific2021[lower-alpha 1]—OTL, 4–5, COL———
2021–226841185491.6692592192nd, Pacific2022W, 2–0, SDL, 0–3, COL———
2022–237234325174.5142062116th, Pacific2023L, 2–0, COL————
  1. The 2021 Calder Cup playoffs were not held; the Pacific Division held a postseason tournament for the division title. The bottom four teams had single-elimination play-in games to qualify for the semifinals (the first two rounds). The division semifinals and finals were best-of-three for the John D. Chick Trophy (the last two rounds).

Players

Current roster

Updated October 14, 2023.[8]

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
8 Slovakia Martin Chromiak RW R 21 2022 Ilava, Slovakia Kings
92 Canada Brandt Clarke D R 20 2022 Nepean, Ontario Kings
44 Canada Kevin Connauton (A) D L 33 2023 Edmonton, Alberta Kings
37 United States Jacob Doty RW/C R 30 2019 Denver, Colorado Reign
46 Canada Ryan Francis RW R 21 2023 Halifax, Nova Scotia Reign
25 Finland Samuel Helenius C L 20 2022 Järvenpää, Finland Kings
27 Canada Joe Hicketts D L 27 2023 Kamloops, British Columbia Kings
22 Canada Hayden Hodgson RW R 27 2023 Windsor, Ontario Kings
54 Canada Charles Hudon LW L 29 2023 Alma, Quebec Reign
49 United States Isaac Johnson RW R 24 2023 Andover, Minnesota Reign
9 United States Cole Krygier D L 23 2023 Orlando, Florida Kings
10 United States Tyler Madden C R 23 2021 Albany, New York Kings
13 Russia Mikhail Maltsev C L 25 2023 St. Petersburg, Russia Kings
43 Sweden Jacob Moverare D L 25 2021 Östersund, Sweden Kings
6 Finland Kim Nousiainen D L 22 2022 Kuopio, Finland Kings
19 Russia Nikita Pavlychev C L 26 2021 Yaroslavl, Russia Reign
73 Canada Francesco Pinelli C L 20 2023 Hamilton, Ontario Kings
1 Sweden Erik Portillo G L 23 2023 Göteborg, Sweden Kings
31 Czech Republic David Rittich G L 31 2023 Jihlava, Czechoslovakia Kings
12 United States Steven Santini D R 28 2023 Mahopac, New York Kings
14 Canada Akil Thomas (A) C R 23 2021 Toronto, Ontario Kings
15 United States Alex Turcotte C L 22 2021 Island Lake, Illinois Kings
17 United States T. J. Tynan (C) C R 31 2021 Orland Park, Illinois Kings
34 Canada Taylor Ward F R 25 2022 Kelowna, British Columbia Kings
38 United States Wyatte Wylie D R 23 2023 Everett, Washington Reign

Team captains

References
  1. "Monarchs looking for new coach after Seeley named general manager of LA Kings' AHL affiliate". New Hampshire Union Leader. June 5, 2018.
  2. "Reign Become the AHL Affiliate of LA Kings". Ontario Reign. January 30, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  3. "Reign's Budaj named AHL's top goaltender". American Hockey League. April 11, 2016. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  4. Greenizan, Nick (October 25, 2016). "Hockey history for Surrey father-son goalie tandem in AHL game in California". Peace Arch News.
  5. "Kings part ways with minor-league coach Mike Stothers". Los Angeles Times. May 20, 2020.
  6. "28 teams to participate in 2020-21 season". American Hockey League. January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  7. "Closed to spectators, Reign to play home games at TSC". Toyota Sports Center. January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  8. "Ontario Reign roster". Ontario Reign. 2023-10-14. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
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