| Coachella Valley Firebirds | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Palm Desert, California |
| League | American Hockey League |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Pacific |
| Founded | 2022 |
| Home arena | Acrisure Arena |
| Colors | Deep sea blue, red alert, orange, ice blue[1] |
| Mascot | Fuego |
| Owner(s) | Oak View Group |
| General manager | Vacant |
| Head coach | Derek Laxdal |
| Captain | Max McCormick |
| Media | The Desert Sun KDGL |
| Affiliates | Seattle Kraken (NHL) Kansas City Mavericks (ECHL) |
| Website | cvfirebirds.com |
| Championships | |
| Division titles | 1 (2023–24) |
| Conference titles | 2 (2023, 2024) |
| Current uniform | |
 | |
 Current season | |
The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey team based in the Coachella Valley. They are members of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Firebirds began play in the 2022–23 season.[2] The team is an owned-and-operated affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Seattle Kraken. The team plays their home games at Acrisure Arena in the city of Palm Desert, California.
After the approval of the Kraken to join the NHL, the Kraken's ownership group had narrowed down its AHL affiliate options to promoting the ECHL's Idaho Steelheads in Boise, Idaho, or a new expansion team in Palm Springs, California. On June 26, 2019, it was reported the Seattle ownership group had chosen Palm Springs as the site for Seattle's AHL affiliate.[3]
The Firebirds ranked second overall in their first regular season, behind only the Calgary Wranglers.[4] During that season's Calder Cup playoffs, the Firebirds reached the Finals, before losing in overtime of game seven to the Hershey Bears.[5] They pulled a similar feat in their second season, achieving 103 points in the regular season[6] and reaching the Finals before losing to the Bears again, this time in overtime of game six.[7]
- ^ "Firebirds to take flight in Coachella Valley". American Hockey League. November 5, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
- ^ "Coachella Valley Firebirds hockey team statistics and history at HockeyDB.com". HockeyDB. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ Baker, Geoff (June 26, 2019). "NHL Seattle chooses Palm Springs as site for new AHL farm team". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ "2022–23 American Hockey League Standings". HockeyDB. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ Rotolo, Gina (June 25, 2023). "Bears best 'Birds' in Calder Cup Game 7". Coachella Valley Firebirds. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ "2023–24 American Hockey League Standings". HockeyDB. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ Powers, Shad. "Another heartbreaker: Firebirds' season ends with 'painful' Game 6 OT loss at Hershey". The Desert Sun. Retrieved August 30, 2024.