What Hockey Team Is in Prince Edward Island? (Pro, University, Juniors)

In 1993, Prince Edward Island got its first professional hockey team: the Prince Edward Island Senators.

The team joined the American Hockey League (AHL) as the affiliated minor league team for the Ottawa Senators who recently joined the NHL a year before in 1992.

In 1996, however, the PEI Senators were disbanded, after the AHL determined that Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, was too small to support an American Hockey League team.

In 2002, the team was eventually re-established as the Binghamton Senators based out of New York.

In this article, I’ll show you what professional hockey teams are in Prince Edward Island and what university and junior hockey teams compete in the province.

Pssssst! Are you curious about hockey teams in other Canadian provinces? You can learn more by checking out our other posts: What Hockey Team Is in Quebec and What Hockey Team Is in Nova Scotia.

Let’s dive in.

Here’s What Hockey Teams Are In Prince Edward Island:

Prince Edward Island’s top hockey team is the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers (in the U Sports League). The top junior hockey team (in the QMJHL) is the Charlottetown Islanders.

Does Prince Edward Island Have a Hockey Team?

So, what is Prince Edward Island’s hockey team?

Prince Edward Island has dozens of high-level hockey teams but no current professional teams.

The top hockey team in the province is a D1 hockey team:

The Prince Edward Island Panthers is a D1 hockey team that competes within the Atlantic University Sport conference within the U Sports League in Canada.

The top junior hockey team that competes within the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) is the Charlottetown Islanders.

Are There Any NHL Teams in Prince Edward Island?

So, will you find an NHL hockey team in Prince Edward Island?

Unfortunately, not. But, Prince Edward Island was once home to a professional team that competed in the AHL: the Prince Edward Island Senators (1993-1996).

NHL Players from Prince Edward Island

While Prince Edward Island doesn’t have its own NHL team, the province is home to many current and retired hockey players from the National Hockey League (NHL).

NHL Players Born in Prince Edward Island:

Brad Richards
Al MacAdam
Gerard Gallant
Bob MacMillan
John Chabot
Steve Ott
Noah Dobson
Adam McQuaid
Zack MacEwen
Ross Johnston
Darryl Boyce
Mark Flood
Josh Currie
Brandon Gormley

What Hockey Teams Are in Prince Edward Island?

So, what hockey teams are in Prince Edward Island? Prince Edward Island has had several professional hockey teams over the years but currently doesn’t have a professional team. Instead, the top hockey teams in the province are University D1 teams and junior hockey teams as listed below:

NHL

Prince Edward Island doesn’t have an NHL team. While they have had one professional hockey team over the years, they haven’t had one compete in the NHL.

Hockey fans from Prince Edward Island typically cheer for the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, or Toronto Maple Leafs.

AHL

The AHL is a high-level professional sports league just one step below the NHL. While Prince Edward Island has had one team in the American Hockey League (AHL) team in the past, it doesn’t currently have a professional hockey team that competes within the league.

The Prince Edward Island Senators is the top professional hockey team PEI has ever had.

They played out of Charlottetown, PEI, between 1993 and 1996 as a minor league farm team for the Ottawa Senators.

However, they were disbanded in 1996 after failure to bring in enough fans and revenue.

D1 University Hockey

While Prince Edward Island is better known for its junior hockey, the province has one D1 university hockey team that competes within the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference as a part of the U Sports League — the top-tier university sports league in Canada.

The Prince Edward Island team in the AUS is the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers. Otherwise known as the UPEI Panthers, they’ve been around since the 1960s.

The UPEI Panthers have the sixth-most Atlantic Conference Championships with six (tied with Mount Allison Mounties). However, the Panthers have never won the U Sports University Cup (and have only made it to the final once in 1965).

College Hockey

Prince Edward Island doesn’t currently have any college hockey programs.

Junior Hockey

Wondering what junior hockey teams are in Prince Edward Island?

Well, PEI has about a dozen junior ice hockey teams spread across 4 leagues.

Here are all the junior hockey teams in Prince Edward Island, broken down by the different leagues:

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL – Major Junior) Teams:

So, does PEI have a major junior hockey team?

Yes! PEI has one major junior hockey team in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) team that competes within the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League:

The Charlottetown Islanders.

Originally established in Montreal (and called the Montreal Rocket), the team moved to Charlottetown, PEI in 2003.

The team was originally named after Montreal Canadiens legend Maurice “Rocket” Richard.

At the start of the 2013-14 season, the Charlottetown Rocket was renamed the Charlottetown Islanders.

They made it to the QMJHL championship finals once in 2022 where they were defeated by Shawinigan Cataractes 5-1.

So, where do the Charlottetown Islanders play?

At the Eastlink Centre Charlottetown at 46 Kensington Rd, Charlottetown, PE.

Maritime Junior A Hockey League (MHL – Junior A) Teams:

Summerside Western Capitals
Charlottetown Abbies (disbanded 2009)

Island Junior Hockey League (IJHL – Junior B) Teams:

Eastern Maniacs
Kensington Vipers
Sherwood Metros Jr. B
Western Red Wings

Prince Edward Island Junior C Hockey League (PEIJCHL – Junior C) Teams:

North River Flames
Pownal Ice Dogs
Sherwood Metros
South Side Lynx
Tignish Aces

Is There High School Hockey in Prince Edward Island?

No, there unfortunately isn’t an established high school hockey league in Prince Edward Island. There is however plenty of minor hockey for youth to play and develop within.

Minor hockey in Prince Edward Island is managed by Hockey PEI, which is a branch of Hockey Canada.

To learn more about minor hockey leagues in PEI, check out the Hockey PEI website here.

Are you curious to know what hockey teams compete in different U.S. states? Be sure to check out our post: Hockey Teams in Every U.S. State: Complete NHL & College List (2023).