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Mike York, who would go on to establish himself as a top-flight NHLer with the Rangers, Edmonton and the Islanders, began his pro career with the Wolf Pack. York joined the Pack for three regular season and six playoff games at the end of the 1998-99 season, after finishing his college career at Michigan State.
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Kay Whitmore, who spent five years with the Hartford Whaler organization, logged 18 games of action with the Wolf Pack in 1998-99.
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In action from the 1999 Calder Cup playoffs, soon-to-be Wolf Pack Terry Virtue of the Providence Bruins defends against the Wolf Pack's Derek Armstrong.
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P.J. Stock at his agitating best, grabbing an opponent's (in this case, the Philadelphia Phantoms' Jim Montgomery) stick and harassing him with his stick, while simultaneously taking a peek to see if the referee is looking...
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P.J. Stock giggling at his own mischievousness.
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In a 1998-99 contest, the Wolf Pack's Brent Thompson and Providence's Aaron Downey, two of the more willing pugilists in the AHL of that era, "stand back and throw 'em".
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Ridgefield, CT product Chris Winnes played a total of 97 games for the Wolf Pack during the years of 1997-98 and '98-'99.
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Swedish-born winger Johan Witehall joined the Wolf Pack for the 1998-99 season and played a prominent role on the Calder Cup-winning squad of 1999-2000.
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The Wolf Pack's bench boss for their first two seasons was long-time NHL assistant coach E.J. McGuire, who compiled a cumulative record of 81-55-17-7 record (.581) with the Pack. The players in this shot are (L-R): Brad Smyth, Daniel Goneau and Sylvain Blouin.
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In a battle of future NHL tough guys, the Wolf Pack's Dale Purinton mucks it up with Hamilton's Georges Laraque in a 1998-99 tilt at the Hartford Civic Center.
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Stefan Cherneski was the New York Rangers' first-round draft pick in 1997. While playing with the Wolf Pack, he suffered what would turn out to be a career-ending knee injury only 11 games into his pro career November 13, 1998.
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Alongside then-AHL Senior Vice-President of Sales and Marketing Mike Humes, Ken Gernander models his Planet USA captain's jersey for the 1999 AHL All-Star Classic.
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34-year-old Bob Errey, who played in nearly 900 NHL games, finished his 16-year pro playing career with the Wolf Pack in 1998-99. He holds the distinction of having scored on the first penalty shot in Wolf Pack history, November 4, 1998 against Providence's Jim Carey.
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Brad Smyth reappeared in the Wolf Pack lineup in late January of 1999 wearing #18, after coming over from Milwaukee of the IHL in a loan exchange for Kay Whitmore.
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J.F. Labbe joined the Wolf Pack at the start of the 1998-99 season, appeared in 59 games that year, and then helped lead the Pack to the Calder Cup in 1999-2000.
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Chris Kenady was acquired by the Ranger organization in February, 1999. He would go on to see 135 games of action in a Wolf Pack uniform and post the only six-point game in the first nine seasons of the franchise's history. That was a four-goal, two-assist effort in a deciding Game Five of a first-round playoff series against Springfield in the Calder Cup year of 2000.
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Boyd Kane came out of the Western Hockey League to turn pro with the Wolf Pack in 1998-99. He played in 198 Pack games over the span of four seasons.
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All 1998-1999 Photos by Diane Sobolewski
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