Chicago Steel

History

The Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks, founded in 1996, moved to Bensenville, Illinois, and became the Chicago Steel in 2000. In May 2015, the majority ownership of the Steel was purchased by Larry Robbins while then current owners Bruce Liimatainen and Mike Greenberg remained involved as minority owners. The announcement for the change of ownership was accompanied by a change of leadership as Ryan Bennett and Dan Muse were hired as the new general manager and head coach, respectively.

In May 2017, the Steel defeated the Sioux City Musketeers 2–1 in overtime of game five, finishing a 3-games-to-2 series win to claim the franchise's first Clark Cup. Head coach Dan Muse was hired by the National Hockey League's Nashville Predators as an assistant coach, and Mark Abalan took over as head coach. In January 2018, Abalan was replaced by Ryan Cruthers as interim head coach and assistant general manager. During the 2018 Clark Cup playoffs, the interim tag was removed and Cruthers was named the permanent head coach.

Cruthers left the team in May 2018, when the Steel hired Ryan Hardy as general manager. Greg Moore was hired as the head coach for the 2018–19 season. In 2019, Moore left to become head coach of the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League and Brock Sheahan was promoted to head coach.

The Steel won the regular season championship, the Anderson Cup, in the pandemic-shortened 2019–20 season. The Steel won a second Anderson Cup in the shortened 2020–21 season, and subsequently won their second Clark Cup as playoff champions.

In August 2023, Larry Robbins sold the team to the Wirtz Corporation, who also own the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks franchise. Beginning in the 2026–27 season, the Steel will play home games at Fifth Third Arena, the practice facility for the Chicago Blackhawks in the Near West Side, Chicago.

Notable alumni

• Alex Cavallini
• Macklin Celebrini
• Jake Chelios
• Matt Clackson
• Adam Fantilli
• Dennis Gilbert
• Tom Gilbert
• Marc Johnstone
• Drew LeBlanc
• Andrew Miller
• John Moore
• Travis Morin
• Jamie Oleksiak
• Danny Richmond
• Wyatt Russell
• Philip Samuelsson
• Jaccob Slavin
• Lee Sweatt
• Owen Power
• Daniel Vladař

References

References

1. (July 7, 2021). "Mike Garman Named Steel General Manager; Noëlle Needham Elevated to Associate General Manager".
2. "Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks Statistics and History". hockeyDB.com.
3. (May 21, 2015). "CHICAGO STEEL OF THE UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE ANNOUNCES OWNERSHIP CHANGE AND NEW LEADERSHIP". Junior Hockey News.
4. (July 21, 2017). "Dan Muse Named Assistant Coach of Nashville Predators". United States Hockey League.
5. (2 January 2018). "Steel Announce Player Development Partnership with Belfry Hockey".
6. (April 25, 2018). "Ryan Cruthers Named Head Coach of USHL's Chicago Steel".
7. (May 30, 2018). "Steel Name Ryan Hardy General Manager".
8. (June 6, 2018). "Greg Moore Named Head Coach of Chicago Steel".
9. Steel, Chicago. (2019-12-01). "GREG MOORE NAMED HEAD COACH OF TORONTO MARLIES (AHL)".
10. (April 1, 2020). "Steel Named 2019-2020 Anderson Cup Champions".
11. (April 18, 2021). "Chicago Steel Named Anderson Cup Champions for Second-Straight Season".
12. (2023-07-31). "USHL Chicago Steel announce ownership sale to Wirtz Corporation - TSN.ca".
13. (June 3, 2025). "Chicago Steel moving out of Geneva's Fox Valley Ice Arena". [[Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois).
14. Mcardle, Tommy. (2023-12-07). "See Kurt Russell and Son Wyatt Russell Share a Scene Together in "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters "(Exclusive)". [[Yahoo! Sports]].