The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins began in 1981 as the Fredericton Express. The Express, located in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, served as the minor league affiliate for the National Hockey Leagues’ (NHL) Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, and Vancouver Canucks.
In the 1987-88 season, the Fredericton Express played their final season in New Brunswick. They treated fans to a season to remember, making it to the Calder Cup Finals, ultimately losing to the Hershey Bears. During their existence, they won the F.G. “Teddy” Oke Trophy as the North Division regular-season champions twice.
Starting with the 1988-989 season, the team was moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and rebranded as the Halifax Citadel. They remained in Halifax until the 1992-93 season, serving as the AHL affiliate of the Quebec Nordiques.
At that time, the future Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were on the move again, moving to Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. This iteration of the franchise was shortlived, only playing from the 1993-94 season until 1996. Following the 1995-96 season, the franchise went dormant.
Then, the Pittsburgh Penguins purchased the franchise to serve as their top development affiliate. Since beginning play in the 1999-2000 season, the two Penguins franchises have seen success as the affectionately called “Baby Pens” has served as a talent, coaching, and management factory to feed the NHL Penguins.
Wilkes-Barre/Penguins Find Stability
Since finding their home in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Penguins have played their way to the Calder Cup three times. They have yet to win an AHL championship. Their first trip was in their second season in Pennsylvania, losing to the Saint John Flames in six games.
Three years later, they returned to the Calder Cup Finals but were ultimately swept by the Milwaukee Admirals.
The last trip to the Finals by the Penguins was in 2008, but once again losing in six games. This time at the hands of the Chicago Wolves.
For all but four seasons of their existence (1999-00, 2001-02, 2018-19, and 2022-23) the Penguins have made it to the Calder Cup Playoffs.
In the 2022-23 season, the Penguins finished with a record of 26-32-8-6, eighth in the Atlantic Division. They missed out on the Calder Cup playoffs by 14 points.
Their current head coach is J.D. Forrest, their current GM is Erik Heasley, and they play out of Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Notable former Penguins include Marc-Andre Fleury, Brooks Orpik, Tom Kostopoulous, Tristan Jarry, and Mark Letestu, among many others.