Phoenix Roadrunners (WHL)

Lore & Background

The franchise originated when a group from Phoenix purchased the Victoria Maple Leafs in June 1967 from Maple Leaf Gardens Limited for $500,000 and relocated the team from Victoria, British Columbia, where they had played for the three previous seasons. The team became the Roadrunners and competed in the WHL from 1967 to 1974. They won the Lester Patrick Cup, the league championship trophy, twice: in 1972–73 and 1973–74. In 1974, when the minor professional WHL ceased operations, the Roadrunners joined the World Hockey Association with their roster mostly intact.

Reader's Guide

The Phoenix Roadrunners represent a notable chapter in the history of professional ice hockey in the southwestern United States. As a WHL franchise, they were the first major professional hockey team in Phoenix, playing at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Their two Lester Patrick Cup championships in the early 1970s demonstrated competitive success at the minor professional level. The team's transition to the World Hockey Association in 1974, with its roster largely preserved, marked a step up to a major league, though the WHL itself folded that year. The Roadrunners featured several players who contributed significantly over multiple seasons, including defenseman Jim Murray, who played 364 games, and forward Larry Lund, who scored 261 points in just 203 games. Defenseman Alex "Sandy" Hucul won the Hal Laycoe Cup as best defenseman in 1968 and 1972 and later coached the WHA team. The franchise's legacy is tied to the growth of hockey in the desert and the eventual arrival of the NHL's Arizona Coyotes.

Did You Know?

• The franchise was purchased from Maple Leaf Gardens Limited for $500,000 in June 1967.
• The team won the Lester Patrick Cup in 1972–73 and 1973–74.
• The team played at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, nicknamed 'The Madhouse on McDowell.'