Philadelphia Wings (2018–present)

This article is about the current lacrosse team in Philadelphia. For the Philadelphia Wings franchise of the National Lacrosse League of 1974–75, see Philadelphia Wings (1974–75). For the Philadelphia Wings franchise of the National Lacrosse League which played from 1987–2014, see Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014).

Philadelphia Wings

Sport	Lacrosse
Founded	2017 (2017)
League	National Lacrosse League
Conference	Eastern
Location	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Arena	Wells Fargo Center
Colors	Black, Charcoal, Red, Gold
Owner	Comcast Spectacor
Head coach	Ian Rubel
General manager	Paul Day
Playoff appearances	1 (2022)
Website	wingslax.com
Current season

The Philadelphia Wings are a professional box lacrosse team in the Eastern Conference of the National Lacrosse League. The Wings have played at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since the 2018–2019 season.

History

The Philadelphia Wings were a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional box lacrosse league in North America starting in 1987. They played at the Spectrum (1987–96) and then at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Wings were one of the four original teams in the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League that began play in 1987 and the only team to reclaim its identity from the original 1974–75 National Lacrosse League and also retained the first Philadelphia Wings logo.

The Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League was renamed the Major Indoor Lacrosse League in 1989, and again to the National Lacrosse League in 1998. They are the only franchise to have played all 24 seasons in the same city. The Wings have the most titles in the combined league history with six total: four North American Cups in the MILL era and two Champion's Cup since the formation of the NLL.

On July 11, 2014, it was announced on the team's website that the Wings would be relocating after 28 years in Philadelphia. On September 19, 2014, it was announced that the team had moved to Uncasville, Connecticut, to be known as the New England Black Wolves and play at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

On September 14, 2017, the NLL awarded an expansion franchise in Philadelphia to owner Comcast Spectacor. The franchise fee for Philadelphia and fellow expansion team San Diego Seals was a reported $5 million. On November 29, 2017, it was announced the new franchise would use the "Wings" name to create the notion that the Wings had "returned" to Philadelphia. The Wings played their first game on December 15, 2018 in a loss against the Buffalo Bandits, 17–15.

Fan support and traditions

Philadelphia fans were known for their passionate support of their team, and the less-than-hospitable treatment of opposing players. In a poll of the players, over 62% stated that Wings fans had screamed the filthiest and nastiest things at them in the league.

Of the fans, goaltender Rob Blasdell said "They truly are the best fans in the league. They're probably the most knowledgeable fans in the league. It would kind of be the same as playing for the Leafs in Toronto. They're very, very passionate." Philadelphia fans enjoy the physical aspect of the game, leading Geoff Snider to comment: "The Philly fans are great. They are very loyal and they get behind it. I got a standing ovation once for a roughing penalty. I'd never seen anything like that before."

Fans traditions started from the national anthem, when fans could be heard making a 'tsch' sound at the end of each line, mocking a recording that was used by the Wings in the early years where the only audible portion of the song was the cymbal crashes. During the introductions of the opposing team, each player's name was followed by a call of "sucks", a tradition that has been extended to the opposing coaches, trainers, and the game officials. Until recently the local shot clock operator often escaped the jeering, and was instead cheered.

During the game, the opposing goalie was often the target of fans' heckling. The most common chant was to remind the goalies "It's all your fault" after every goal they allow. If there is a cheap shot fans are known to chant "asshole asshole"

One of the more notable traditions was the dueling "W-I-N-G-S" cheers. The side of the arena with the penalty boxes had long been led by "Chopper", a Wings superfan with face paint and a hard hat, well known around the league making opposing players who find their way to the penalty box regret their time there. He has gotten into verbal fights with stars like Shawn Evans. The bench side went through many leaders, from "Big Gabe" and the little gabesters (consisting of Matt Denker, Joshua Gross, Jordan Elsas, Adam David and Eli Goldstein) (father of Scott Gabrielson, a Wings captain in the 1990s) to "Big E" to Chasmo, and now "The Captain" and "Morpheus" or as he made himself known as during the second half of the game on February 29, 2008, "Doctor Lacrosse". The "kick butt baby" (Eric Kulb Martinez) was the biggest little fan even though he could barely talk. While the leader of the chants aren't always the same from year to year, the "W-I-N-G-S WINGS!" cheer did not die out at all, and is still present following the team's revival.

Players

Roster

Philadelphia Wings roster
Active (21-man) roster				Inactive roster		Coaches
Goaltenders 55 Angus Goodleaf 31 Zach Higgins Defensemen 18 Steph Charbonneau 7 Alex Crepinsek 26 Isaiah Davis-Allen 29 Ian Llord 41 Alex Pace 44 John Ranagan 2 Eric Shewell 12 Chad Tutton 94 Ryan Wagner		Forwards 92 Sam LeClair 6 Hunter Lemieux 90 Ben McIntosh 1 Matt Rambo 15 Joe Resetarits 10 Blaze Riorden 23 Cory Vitarelli Transition 73 Blake Gibson-McDonald 46 Kiel Matisz (C)		Practice Squad Bryan Costabile 96 George Downey 30 Deacan Knott 50 Christian Scarpello Injured Reserve 3 Brock Sorenson Holdout Patrick Resch 8 Koby Smith		Head Coach Ian Rubel Assistant Coaches Landon Miller Legend * Suspended list (C) Captain (A) Alternate captain Roster updated 2019-02-20 NLL Transactions

Retired numbers

Philadelphia Wings retired numbers
No.	Player	Pos.	Career	Ref.
11	Kevin Finneran	MF	1993–2002
35	Dallas Eliuk	GT	1991–2005
42	Tom Marechek		1994–2005
66	Jake Bergey		1998–2008

All-time record

Season	Conference	W–L	Finish	Home	Road	GF	GA	Coach	Playoffs
2019	Eastern	4–14	6th	3–6	1–8	218	246	Paul Day	Did not qualify
2020	Eastern	8–6	3rd	3–3	5–3	151	134	Paul Day	No playoffs held
2021	Eastern	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022	Eastern	9–9	5th	4–5	5–4	185	199	Paul Day	Lost Conference Semi-finals
2023	Eastern	9–9	5th	4–5	5–4	200	211	Paul Day	Did not qualify
2024	Unified	6–12	13th	1–8	5–4	198	233	Paul Day	Did not qualify
Total	5 Seasons	36–50		15–23	21–23	982	1,023
Playoff totals	1 Appearance	0–1		0–0	0–1	8	9	0 Championships

Playoff results

Season	Game	Visiting	Home
2022	Western Conference Semi-finals	Philadelphia 8	San Diego 9

Awards and honors

Year	Player	Award
2020	Paul Day	GM of the Year
		Les Bartley Award

Head coaching history

#	Name	Term	Regular Season				Playoffs
			GC	W	L	W%	GC	W	L	W%
1	Paul Day	2019–2024	86	36	50	.419%	1	0	1	.000%
2	Ian Rubel	2025–	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Draft history

NLL Entry Draft

First Round Selections

• 2018: Chris Cloutier (2nd overall)
• 2019: None
• 2020: Jackson Suboch (16th overall)
• 2021: Hunter Lemieux (15th overall)
• 2022: Taggart Clark (23rd overall)
• 2023: None

External links

• Official website