Spot Light On.....The Whalers

Need advice on a stock, these are the go to guys, need advice on skating, uh, not so much....These number crunchers put lots of stock in team work on and off the ice. Spot Light on introduces you to a recent arrival at NYTEX...The Whalers.

Team History
TD AMERITRADE is a great company, with a unique… hockey team? Many companies print their names on T-shirts, slap a number on the back and run out numerous teams for corporate challenges in co-ed softball, basketball, etc. However, hockey is usually not on that list. Ice time is too expensive, there’s too much equipment to buy and who plays hockey in Texas anyway?!.


Well, it all started in the Spring of 2008. There were a few associates who had played in the I-League at the Star center in Euless for the previous few years. Ken Thomas and Paul Thurston skated for the “Brewers” and had been asked by a few other hockey fans and co-workers to get a company team started. After floating a few emails around the company, they decided to schedule a team information meeting. There were 15 to 20 who came to check it out. The range of talent and experience in the room was as far as the east is from the west. Since TDA is a trading company, the name “Wall Street Whalers” was batted around. It finally came down to simply “Whalers” and seemed to work since our company color is green… so we went with that. The company did provide our first jerseys (green) which are top quality. We found a guy on EBay who wanted to dump a bunch of 1980’s Hartford Whaler hockey socks and BAM!... we were looking’ pretty good.



A few pre-season practices weeded out some who were not quite ready for the ice, then on July 26, 2008 the TD AMERITRADE Whalers took the ice at the Euless Star center for the first time. We were winless in our first season, but did manage to take a team to OT. Our goalie did not stay with us for the second season, but the next goalie took us to the championship game in the second season. Unfortunately, we did not skate away with the Keg. Since then we have been a very competitive team and are capable of beating anyone when our roster is solid and we stay focused.



In November of 2009, the Whalers moved from Euless to NYTEX. We have spent a season getting accustomed to the new teams and league culture as well as jelling with a few new players of our own. We are glad to be in the Bronze League and look forward to seeing you on the ice.



Are the Whalers the oldest team in the league? Ken Thomas recently turned 50 and is going strong to quite strong. We also have 3 Whalers in their 40’s who are Thurston, Ellis and Watson. Watson has suffered a concussion and a snapped collar bone but keeps coming back for more. Other (younger) Whalers include:

Canzone: The ladies of the league seem to hate him for some reason.

Carlson: Wicked Awesome!

Hamster: Ask him about his dogs.

Honeycutt: Forgive the slide tackles.

Mercado: Returning to the net this year after a few years off.

Monaco: He’s still on the ice… “hey, line change!”

Penney: Any Red Raiders out there?

Schooley: The Captain of the Whalers.

Walter: You can’t say he doesn’t hustle.

Aarons: Has plenty to say… some of it is not half bad.

Cromer: Some call him Tripod… out with a broken finger.

Watseka: The Raging’ Cajun

Lash: Our only female Whaler

Svoboda: The Iron Man



One thing that adds a little fun for the team is our YouTube game videos. If you do a search for “TDA Whalers of Fort Worth” you will find about 25 game videos which we watch to critique ourselves or just to laugh at ourselves. Check it out… you might see yourself in one of them.


Team Philosophy?
Learn the game, work to improve, spend time with co-workers outside of work, create a fun diversion from work

Dud to Stud award (team member who has gone from zero to 60 fastest)hustle.
Richard Walter: He’s a torn ACL waiting to happen, but you can’t say he doesn’t

You’ve got one bottle of fabreeze to give away, which team mate earns it?
TJ Aarons has recently taken this trophy from Brian Hamster. They both have issues.

Most vocal on the bench?
It figures that the only Canadian on the team would have the most to say… Brad Watson.

Team High Point?
Championship/Keg game at Euless in January 2009

Team Low Point?
In the middle of our first season at Euless we were getting beat by 6 & 7 goals. The expansion team whipping was hard to take.

Our team loves to face off against?
We are just happy to be at NYTEX. We look forward to every opponent and for the most part have been impressed with the refs and the sportsmanship. But yes, we all have our bad days… even the Whalers.

Biggest Rivalry?
This might be the Jets since we played them the last two games of last season and it was quite a heated battle for both games. We lost by giving up leads in both games. We’ll be back.

Why we will win the keg next season….
We started the season with two wins and we are building chemistry with consistent lines and newer players. Plus, we have to live up to the quality of our uniforms.