Aberdeen Wings

Aberdeen Wings
City	Aberdeen, South Dakota
League	North American Hockey League
Division	Central
Founded	2010
Home arena	Odde Ice Center
Colors	Red, black, and white
Owner(s)	Greg Odde
General manager	Scott Langer
Head coach	Scott Langer
Franchise history
2010–present	Aberdeen Wings
Championships
Regular season titles	1 (2020–21)
Playoff championships	1 (2019)

The Aberdeen Wings are a Tier II junior ice hockey team based out of Aberdeen, South Dakota, that began play for 2010–11. A member of the North American Hockey League in the Central Division, the Wings play their home games in the Odde Ice Center.

History

Since the team's inaugural season in 2010–11, the Wings have held the highest attendance numbers in their NAHL division, boasting crowds over 1,700. In their first four seasons, the Aberdeen Wings have made the NAHL playoffs twice. The goal of any junior hockey team is to help develop players for the next level. In four seasons, the Wings have had 22 players Division-I college commitments, three players sign professional contracts overseas, and two players drafted in the NHL. During the 2014 NHL Draft, two Aberdeen Wings players were selected. Both taken in the 4th round, goaltender Zach Nagelvoort was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers and defenseman Steven Johnson was selected by the Los Angeles Kings. Wings forward Lennart Palausch signed a professional contract during the 2014 off-season with Heilbronner Falken of the DEL2 in Germany. In the 2013–14 season, the Aberdeen Wings had two players selected to play in the 2014 World Junior Championships for their home countries, including forward Lennart Palausch (Germany) and forward Bjorn Sigurdarson (Iceland).

The 2014–15 was the first season under head coach Francis Anzalone. A native of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, Anzalone served as the associate head coach and director of player personnel during the previous season under Wings head coach Travis Winter. During the 2014 off-season, Winter accepted the assistant coach position at his alma mater, Bemidji State University, where he led the Beavers hockey team as captain to the Frozen Four in 2009. Anzalone came from a hockey family that includes his father, Frank Anzalone who was a national championship college hockey coach, minor league head coach, and scout for the Calgary Flames. Anzalone was fired as head coach at the end of the 2015–16 season after two losing seasons and missing the playoffs.

Two days after releasing Anzalone, the Wings announced it had hired long time NAHL coach Scott Langer as head coach. Langer had coached the previous 12 seasons with the Santa Fe/Topeka RoadRunners organization before being released during the 2015–16 season. In his first season as coach of the Wings, the team advanced to the 2017 Robertson Cup tournament and lost to the Aston Rebels. The Wings then won the regular season division titles in each of the following two seasons culminating in the 2019 Robertson Cup league championship. Langer was also named the general manager in January 2019.

In the 2019–20 season, the Wings were again leading the Central Division when the season was curtailed due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The start of the 2020–21 season was then delayed by one month and was slightly shortened from the typical 60 games to 56 games for the Wings. Despite the shorter season, the Wings set the league record for number of regular season wins with 51 and 103 points. Following the season, Langer was hired as the head coach for the Fargo Force in the United States Hockey League and Steve Jennings was named as the next Wings' head coach. Langer returned as head coach in October 2022.

Season-by-season records

Season	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
2010–11	58	20	34	4	44	166	219	829	6th, Central	Did not qualify
2011–12	60	29	24	7	65	187	177	738	4th, Central	Lost Div. Semifinals, 1–3 vs. Bismarck Bobcats
2012–13	60	23	30	7	53	157	224	849	5th, Central	Did not qualify
2013–14	60	38	18	4	80	183	140	691	2nd, Central 6th of 24, NAHL	Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–3 vs. Bismarck Bobcats
2014–15	60	27	31	2	56	142	165	788	4th, Central 18th of 24, NAHL	Lost Round 1 series, 0–3 vs. Austin Bruins
2015–16	60	22	27	11	55	131	171	879	6th, Central 19th of 22, NAHL	Did not qualify
2016–17	60	29	24	7	65	184	185	1119	4th, Central 14th of 24, NAHL	Won Div. Semifinals, 3–1 vs. Minot Minotauros Won Div. Finals, 3–2 vs. Minnesota Wilderness Lost Robertson Cup Semifinals, 1–2 vs. Aston Rebels
2017–18	60	39	16	5	83	194	140	931	1st, Central 6th of 23, NAHL	Lost Div. Semifinals, 2–3 vs. Minot Minotauros
2018–19	60	47	10	3	97	255	124	1061	1st, Central 3rd of 24, NAHL	Won Div. Semifinals, 3–1 vs. Austin Bruins Won Div. Finals, 3–1 vs. Minot Minotauros Won Robertson Cup Semifinals, 2–1 vs. Amarillo Bulls Won Robertson Cup Championship game, 2–1 vs. Fairbanks Ice Dogs
2019–20	51	34	11	6	74	187	122	635	1st, Central 5th of 26, NAHL	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21	56	51	4	1	103	251	75	928	1st, Central 1st of 23, NAHL	Won Div. Semifinals, 3–2 vs. Minot Minotauros Won Div. Finals, 3–0 vs. Bismarck Bobcats Won Robertson Cup Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Minnesota Magicians Lost Robertson Cup Championship game, 2–4 vs. Shreveport Mudbugs
2021–22	60	31	24	5	67	186	184	894	3rd of 6, Central 17th of 29, NAHL	Won Div. Semifinals, 3–0 vs. Austin Bruins Lost Div. Finals, 1–3 vs. St. Cloud Norsemen
2022–23	60	30	24	6	66	176	177	969	2nd of 6, Central 14th of 29, NAHL	Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–3 vs. St. Cloud Norsemen
2023-24	60	31	24	5	67	187	183	943	3rd of 6 Central, 17 of 32 NAHL	Lost Div. Semi-Finals, 2-3 vs. Bismarck Bobcats

External links

• North American Hockey League Official Website
• Aberdeen Wings Official Website