On May 23, 2022, the Calgary Flames announced the relocation of the Stockton Heat to Calgary.[1] This followed a recent trend of Canadian NHL teams moving their AHL affiliates closer to home, principally to allow for players to be called up on a shorter notice. On August 2, 2022, the team announced its name, bringing back the "Wranglers" moniker used by the WHLteam of the same name from 1977 to 1987.[2]Mitch Love, the head coach of the Heat, would remain with the team during their relocation to Calgary. Ahead of the 2022–23 AHL season's start, on October 14, 2022, former Flames draft pick Brett Sutter was named as the team's first captain, with Nick DeSimone and Matthew Phillips being named as alternate captains.[3]
The Wranglers played their first game on October 16, 2022, a 6–5 loss against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.[4][5] Despite a slow start to the season,[6] the Wranglers enjoyed significant success in their inaugural year, capturing the regular season championship with 51 wins, and being awarded the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy.[7] Their overall 51–17–4 record was the ninth-best record in AHL history.[7]
The Wranglers' dominant regular season performance would result in several members of the team winning substantial awards during the inaugural season: star goaltender Dustin Wolf would win every trophy available for his position, including being named as the league's MVP.[8] Wolf, along with forward Matthew Phillips, would be named to the First All-Star Team, with defenseman Jeremie Poirier being named to the All-Rookie team.[9] Head coach Mitch Love would be named as the AHL's coach of the year, winning the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award.[10]
As a result of capturing the Pacific Division title, the Wranglers would earn a bye past the first round of the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs. During their second-round match-up against the Abbotsford Canucks, the Wranglers would win the best-of-five series three games to one.[11] Ultimately, the Wranglers would fail to live up to their regular season success during the playoffs, losing during overtime in the fifth and final game of the third round to the Coachella Valley Firebirds.[12]
2023–2024: Sophomore season
Following the 2022–23 season, head coach Mitch Love would earn a job as an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals.[13] Resultingly, former Vancouver Canucks assistant coach Trent Cull was hired as the Wranglers head coach for the 2023–24 season.[14] During the first half of the season the Wranglers would enjoy continued success, finishing 2023 at the top of the Pacific Division, resulting in head coach Cull being tapped as a coach for the season's All-Star Classic.[15] However, as the season wore on, many of the team's top talent was depleted, either by trades or call-ups to the Flames, and the team fell behind in a tight playoff race, not clinching their spot in the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs until March 31, 2024, nearly 3 weeks later than the previous season.[16]
Ahead of the playoffs, key players Dustin Wolf, Ilya Solovyov, Adam Klapka, and Matt Coronato would be returned to the Wranglers roster after the conclusion of the Flames 2023–24 season.[17] During the playoffs, the 7-seed Wranglers would sweep the 2-seed Tucson Roadrunners in the best-of-three first-round, moving on to face the division champions in the Coachella Valley Firebirds for a second consecutive postseason.[18][19] During the second round, the Wranglers would win game one, before losing three in a row to end their season in the best-of-five series.[20][21] Game two of the series would end controversially when the Firebirds scored the game-winning overtime goal during a sequence that appeared to be offside, with too many men, and potential goaltender and player interference, though due to league rules, the goal could not be reviewed.[20][22][23][24]
2024–Present: Flames rebuild
Towards the end of the 2023–24 season, the Flames entered into a rebuild, trading many of their core players for prospects and draft picks.[25] This shift in strategy meant several Wranglers players would now be expected to make the full time jump to the Flames for the 2024–25 NHL season.[26] In preparation for this, the Wranglers and Flames both signed several players likely to play in the minor-leagues ahead of the 2024–25 AHL season, including goaltender Devin Cooley.[26][27]
On July 15, 2024, Wranglers captain Brett Sutter announced he would be retiring from playing, and would instead be joining the team as an assistant coach.[28]
