Denver Invaders

{{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox ice hockey team | logo = DenverInvders.JPG | text_color = #000000 | bg_color = background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0d01a9 5px solid; border-bottom:#ef1313 5px solid; | team = Denver Invaders | city = Denver, Colorado | league = Western Hockey League | operated = 1963–64 | arena = Denver Coliseum | colors = Red and blue | affiliates = Toronto Maple Leafs | owner = Maple Leaf Gardens Limited  | name1 = Spokane Spokes | dates1 = 1958–1959 | name2 = Spokane Comets | dates2 = 1959–1963 | name3 = Denver Invaders | dates3 = 1963–1964 | name4 = Victoria Maple Leafs | dates4 = 1964–1967 | name5 = Phoenix Roadrunners (WHL) | dates5 = 1967–1974 | name6 = Phoenix Roadrunners (WHA) | dates6 = 1974–1977 }} The '''Denver Invaders''' were a minor professional ice hockey team that played in Denver, Colorado in the Western Hockey League (WHL) during the 1963–1964 season. In June 1963, the Spokane Comets WHL franchise was purchased by a group led by the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League which relocated them to Denver to act as their farm team.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pilous Offered Job As Boss at Denver, Leafs New Farm Club|date=1963-06-06|newspaper=The Globe and Mail}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Leafs buy coast club|date=1963-06-05|newspaper=Toronto Daily Star}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19630605&id=-LVWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=F-kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6929,1504554|title=Spokane's Western Hockey Franchise Moves to Denver; Toronto Maple Leafs Purchase Mel Smith's Comet Stock|last=Missildine|first=Harry|date=1963-06-05|newspaper=The Spokesman-Review}}</ref><ref name=PCWHL>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UpldzQdhpr8C&pg=PA130|title=Ice Warriors: The Pacific Coast/Western Hockey League 1948-1974|last=Stott|first=Jon C|year=2008|publisher=Heritage House Publishing|isbn=978-1-927051-04-7 }}</ref> Though the league did not acknowledge that the Maple Leafs had an ownership stake in the team,<ref name=PCWHL/><ref>{{cite news|title=WHL Approves Leafs' Farm In Denver|date=1963-06-21|newspaper=The Globe and Mail}}</ref> they held a majority position with the Denver partners only owning roughly 36%.<ref name=pulledout>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19640626&id=xv1VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=--IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4977,5599035|title=Invaders pulled out of Denver by Smythe|date=1964-06-26|newspaper=The Register-Guard}}</ref><ref name=retreaters/><ref name=loses>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19640626&id=ojlWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HukDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1590,3324630|title=Denver loses club|date=1964-06-26|newspaper=The Spokesman-Review}}</ref>

They played their regular season games at the Denver Coliseum, and their playoff games at the arena at the University of Denver. The head coach was Rudy Pilous, who had been fired the year before from the head coaching job with the NHL Chicago Black Hawks.

In the 1963–64 season the Invaders won the regular season championship with the best record in the Western Hockey League, and as such was awarded the WHL Governor's Trophy. The Invaders would lose to the Los Angeles Blades in the playoffs.<ref name=pulledout/>

Following reported losses of $150,000 in their first season,<ref>{{cite news|title=Leafs' Denver loses estimated at $150,000|date=1964-06-30|first=Milt|last=Dunnell|newspaper=Toronto Daily Star}}</ref> Stafford Smythe, owner of the Maple Leafs, announced that the team would be relocated after the city failed to reach a 2,000 season ticket target before the June 19 deadline the league had imposed.<ref name=PCWHL/><ref name=pulledout/><ref name=retreaters>{{cite news|title=Denver's Invaders Become Retreaters|date=1964-06-26|newspaper=The Globe and Mail}}</ref><ref name=loses/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/1029529/|title=Invader Hockey club to quit Denver|date=1964-06-26|newspaper=Redlands Daily Facts}}</ref> The team became the Victoria Maple Leafs for the following season.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sports Briefs: Palmer Will Appear In Canadian Open|date=1964-07-18|pages=21|newspaper=The Globe and Mail}}</ref>

== Sources == {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://officialgamepuck.com/TownIndex/United%20States/Colorado/Denver%20Invaders.htm Pictures of Denver Invaders Pucks]

Category:Denver Invaders Category:Defunct ice hockey teams in Colorado Category:Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Category:Toronto Maple Leafs minor league affiliates Category:Western Hockey League (1952–1974) teams Category:1963 establishments in Colorado Category:1964 disestablishments in Colorado Category:Ice hockey clubs established in 1963 Category:Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1964