Colorado Eagles at Budweiser Events Center
One of the newest franchises in the American Hockey League's Pacific Division has a long tradition of success on and off the ice. The Colorado Eagles are the AHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche, who are located about 50 miles south in Denver. The Eagles' home venue is the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado, which first opened in 2003 and seats 5,289 for ice hockey. They are coached by Greg Cronin, who has had previous success coaching the Maine Black Bears and Northeastern Huskies in college hockey, as well as the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
Colorado Eagles History
Former Montreal Canadiens player Ralph Backstrom founded the Colorado Eagles in 2003 as an expansion team in the Central Hockey League. The Eagles found immediate success in the CHL, winning the Northwest Division title in each of their first six seasons in addition to the Ray Miron Presidents Cup twice in their first four seasons, in 2005 and 2007. The Eagles moved to the ECHL in 2011, three years before seven more teams joined the ECHL upon the CHL's demise. Colorado maintained their success, never missing the playoffs in their existence, and winning the Kelly Cup as the ECHL's champions in 2017 and 2018.
With the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL in 2017, the AHL desired a 31st franchise to match the number of clubs in the senior circuit, and chose the Colorado Eagles to join the league after the 2017-18 season. Colorado went out on top, winning the Mountain Division crown before defeating the Florida Everblades for their second consecutive Kelly Cup. The Eagles' transition from the ECHL to the AHL did not go without a hitch, as the team did not return the Kelly Cup they won in 2018 to their former league. The controversy continued into the 2019 off-season, with the ECHL making a replica trophy to give to the 2019 champion Newfoundland Growlers, before the Eagles returned the original to the league in October of 2019.
