| The Florida Seals
was a minor league ice hockey franchise, a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). Originally based in Orlando, Florida, they later moved to Kissimmee, Florida, a suburb thirty miles south of Orlando in Osceola County. The Seals were one of eight minor league hockey teams purchased or founded by David Waronker starting in 2003.
|
FLORIDA SEALS TICKETS
|
Formation
The team was formed as the Orlando Seals, and played its first season beginning in October 2002 with the
Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL). That first year's team included former
NHL players
Zac Boyer (
Dallas),
David Goverde (
Los Angeles),
Chris LiPuma (
Tampa Bay) and
Terry Ryan (
Montreal) and was coached by former
Tampa Bay Lightning player
Stan Drulia. The Seals were running away with the league during the regular season and made a pivotal move at the trade deadline getting both Ryan and high scoring forward
Mike Sanderson. These moves at the trading deadline gave the Seals the final pieces to the puzzle to win the ACHL regular season. The Seals original staff was made up of owner
Jeff Brubaker until he ran out of money 1 month into the season and David Waronker came in and saved the team from folding. and four former
Orlando Solar Bears employees - Sammy Wallace, Joe Fellini, Matt Reese and John Dyer. Other staff members brought in over time were Steve McCall, Erica Hodges and Tom Bradley. With the backing of several Solar Bears season ticket holders, the Seals got off to a solid start attendance-wise and later on the ice thanks to a solid core of hockey fans in Orlando and a roster full of veteran players. Wallace and Fellini returned to Orlando to work for the Seals after one season in
Tupelo, MS working for the T-Rex hockey team while Reese and Dyer remained in the Central Florida area during the one year hiatus. The Seals were the winners of that league's first and only President's Cup in 2003 as well as the Commissioner's Cup as regular season champions after an amazing 43-14 record. League Commissioner Jim Riggs awarded the trophy to the Seals owner David Waronker and Orlando Mayor
Buddy Dyer during an on-ice ceremony at one of the regular season's games. The Seals swept both Macon and
Knoxville in the playoffs to win the championship. Sadly, the team won the championship on the road in Knoxville and did not get to enjoy the win on the ice in Orlando as their predecessors, the Orlando Solar Bears did.
The team's celebration event, held at
Wall Street Plaza in downtown Orlando, drew hundreds of fans to celebrate the city's second hockey championship. When the ACHL folded, they and two other teams, the
Jacksonville Barracudas and the
Macon Trax, merged into the new
World Hockey Association 2 (WHA2), founded by Waronker and longtime Canadian hockey man and former WHA staffer Peter Young. Joe Fellini, who finished the first season as GM moved up to the league office to work with Young as the Director of Game Operations and Brian Fling, a former
Disney's Wide World of Sports employee, took over as GM of the Seals. The second season staff was rounded out with Ryan Morris, Dan Pinkasavage and John Henry. The second season also brought a coaching change as Stan Drulia left Orlando to take over the coaching duties of the
Augusta Lynx. Former
Pittsburgh Penguin Jim Paek was brought in to lead the Seals in year two. Fling was later replaced by the recently retired LiPuma as GM.
Post-2004 Victory
After the 2003-2004 season, (SPHL). The team went through several coaching and staff changes after the first season. Former NHL'er
Jim Paek coached the team for one season after Drulia left to coach the
Augusta Lynx of the ECHL. Former
Macon Trax head coach
Tommy Stewart (ice hockey) took the helm of the Seals in
2005 after the Trax ceased operations.
The
Orlando Seals were scheduled to play in the 2004-2005 SPHL season, but on
August 22,
2004, the City of Orlando revoked its lease at the
TD Waterhouse Centre due to a clause about attendance, causing them to miss the season. On
October 19, 2004, the ownership group announced a new three-year lease with the
Silver Spurs Arena in
Kissimmee. The team resumed play in the 2005-2006 season, hosting their first home game against the
Jacksonville Barracudas on
October 29,
2005. The Seals finished the 2005-06 season with a 32-17 record with seven overtime losses, placing third in the league, but lost the President's Cup to the
Knoxville Ice Bears in four games out of five.
Suspension of Operation
- On January 1, 2007, the team returned from a road trip to find that their furnished housing was no longer available.
- On January 3, 2007, the phone number for the team office had been disconnected.
- On January 4, 2007, the Silver Spurs Arena issued the following :
FLORIDA SEALS LOCKED OUT OF SILVER SPURS ARENA
Osceola Heritage Park/SMG announced today that the Florida Seals will not be permitted to host any more of their hockey games at the Silver Spurs Arena due to their failure to meet their contractual obligations. The first game to be canceled is tomorrow, Friday, January 5.
Patrons looking for refunds, please go to point of purchase.
- On January 5, 2007, the SPHL Board of Governors voted to suspend the Florida Seals from league operations. The players were then subject to a dispersal draft among the seven remaining SPHL franchises. The SPHL issued the following statement:
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The Southern Professional Hockey League received notice early on the evening of January 4, 2007 that the Florida Seals would not be allowed to host any future hockey games in the Silver Spurs Arena.
An emergency Board of Governors Meeting was called for 9:00AM Friday morning to discuss options and determine the best course of action for the League. After hearing reports from the Director of Hockey Operations, the Chairman of the Board, and Seals Head Coach Tommy Stewart, it was obvious that the season was not salvageable for the Seals.
The Board then unanimously decided to terminate its affiliation with Orlando Professional Hockey, Inc. (dba Florida Seals) and move forward in making any and all changes necessary to the league schedule. It is expected that the full replacement schedule will be approved at the Winter Meetings on January 15, 2007.
"This situation is very unfortunate for all involved, but the circumstances are beyond our control," SPHL Chairman of the Board, Keith Jeffries, said. "We as a Board are unified and confident in the overall stability of the remaining teams and the League as a whole. We know we will move through this and come out stronger on the other side. While we are disappointed in this latest development with the Seals we now have complete control of the league and where we go from here is completely up to us."
The Board reconvened at 3:00PM today and held a one-round dispersal draft with each team picking one player. All players not selected in the dispersal draft are free agents. The draft was held in reverse order of the standings based on winning percentage. Here are the selections in order they were taken:
- Pee Dee Cyclones – Justin Keller
- Jacksonville Barracudas – Lawne Snyder
- Fayetteville FireAntz – Rob Sich
- Richmond Renegades – Matt Balser
- Columbus Cottonmouths – Chad Haacke
- Knoxville Ice Bears – Craig Geerlinks
- Huntsville Havoc – Craig Miller
Present-day Florida Seals
Several members of the Seals organization have continued their careers in pro sports with
Sammy Wallace on the
Florida Panthers staff and Peter Young in Canada with the
Calgary Vipers baseball team. Joe Fellini is now with the
Boston Blazers of the National Lacrosse League while Brian Fling returned to Disney and has Ryan Morris working with him at Wide World of Sports and Tom Bradley earned a Stanley Cup ring with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Seals first two coaches are still in the game with Drulia in Port Huron of the IHL and Paek in Grand Rapids of the AHL.
Championships
| Year
| League
| Trophy
|
| 2002-2003
| ACHL
| President's Cup
|
The mascot of the Florida Seals is
Sealvester
. He wore a jersey emblazoned with the number "05".