The Coachella Valley Firebirds are the newest AHL team on the block, and finished their inaugural season in style, with a Calder Cup Finals appearance. They are the AHL affiliate of the Seattle Kraken.
They began life in 2019 and were meant to have their inaugural season be the 2021-22 season, but were not ready to enter the AHL until the 2022-23 season, due to construction delays in Palm Springs, the home of the Firebirds. In the interim, Seattle Kraken prospects played for the Charlotte Checkers until the Firebirds were ready to join the league.
In the 2022-23 season, the Firebirds finished second in the Pacific Division with a record of 48-17-5-2. They would go on to make the Calder Cup Finals, losing in 7 games to the Hershey Bears. The Firebirds may not have won the Calder Cup, but they join a group of AHL teams to make the Calder Cup finals in their inaugural season.
Their current head coach is Dan Bylsma. They do not currently have a GM. They play out of Acrisure Arena.
Notable Firebirds include Shane Wright and Chris Driedger.