Today in history: January 16

January 16 in Indianapolis hockey history
Birthdays
Ken Kilrea: Capitals winger for parts of four different seasons between 1939-44. In 78 games with the Caps, he had 29 goals and 64 assists. He split each of those years with the Detroit Red Wings, and he also took the 1942-43 season off as it was in the midst of WWII. He had nine points to help lead the Caps to the 1942 Turner Cup championship. His brother Hec also played for the Caps. He continued to play in the AHL through 1949. He also had 39 points in 88 NHL games with the Red Wings, all concurrently with his tenure with the Caps. A native of Ottawa, he was born in 1919, and passed away in 1990.
Pat McReavy: Caps center for one game in 1941-42. He was dealt to Detroit from Boston and suited up for a single game with the Caps, and 34 with the Red Wings that year. After WWII service, he played two more years with the AHL St. Louis Flyers through 1947. He also had 15 points in 55 NHL games with Detroit and Boston. He won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 1939 and 1941. A native of Owen Sound, Ont., he was born in 1918, and passed away in 2001.
John Sorrell: Capitals' coach from 1943-46. He also played the first two seasons as a player-coach, totaling 37 goals and 43 assists in 107 games (and 10 points in 10 playoff games). As a coach, he had a 63-55-28 record in two and a half seasons. He also briefly coached the Chiefs in 1955-56. Sorrell had been an NHL veteran, with 246 points in 490 NHL games from 1930-41 with Detroit and the New York Americans. He won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 1936 and 1937. A native of Chesterville, Ont., he was born in 1906. He passed away in 1984.
Todd Rohloff: Ice defenseman for 17 games from 1997-99. He had two goals and one assist in the regular season, and one of each in six playoff games. He would go on to play 75 NHL games with the Capitals and Blue Jackets before retiring in 2006. A native of Grand Rapids, Minn., he is 38.

Today in history: November 7

Today in Indianapolis hockey history, November 7

1939: The Red Wings assign players to the Capitals, sending Hec and Ken Kilrea to Indianapolis, along with Jack Keating and Frank "Scotty" Bowman as they prepare for their first-ever home game. 

1946: Capitals beat Springfield 10-0. Tony Bukovich has a four-point night with two goals and two assists. Lloyd Doran adds a goal and three assists, while Red Almas has the shutout in goal. 

1963: The Indianapolis Capitols, without a home rink after the Coliseum explosion on Oct. 31, formally announce their move to Cincinnati after two road games. They had offers to play their home games temporarily at Maple Leaf Gardens and other venues, but permanently moved to Cincinnati and played as the Wings. The following year, they would move to Memphis and eventually to Fort Worth. 

Birthdays

Glen Brydson: A member of the original Capitals team in 1939-40. He was traded to the Caps partway through that season from New Haven, totaling 25 points total between the two teams. It was near the end of a 12-year pro hockey career that began in 1930 and featured eight NHL seasons with the Montreal Maroons, St. Louis Eagles, Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers. His best NHL season was an 11-goal year with St. Louis in 1934-35. After his year with the Caps, he had a 20-goal season for the Springfield Indians in 1940-41. A native of Swansea, Ont., he was born in 1910 and passed away in 1993. 

Murray Heatley: Racers right wing from 1974-76, where he had 17 goals and 13 assists in 63 games. Heatley tallied 15 of those goals in 1974-75, the Racers' first season. Heatley played 148 WHA games, also playing two seasons with the Minnesota Fighting Saints before joining the Racers. After his stint in Indianapolis, Murray played in Germany for several seasons. He is the father of NHL player and current Minnesota Wild player Dany Heatley, who was born in Germany while Murray was playing overseas. A native of Calgary, Alberta, he is 63. 

Jim Johnson: Racers center in 1974-75, where he played 42 games and tallied seven goals and 15 assists. That came at the end of a long NHL/WHA career that saw him break in with the New York Rangers in 1962-63, and play 459 games with the Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Fighting Saints and the Racers. His best season was an 18-goal, 48-point season with the Flyers in 1969-70, and a 15-goal, 54-point year with the Fighting Saints in 1973-74. He had 107 goals and 289 points in his NHL/WHA career. A native of Winnipeg, Johnson is 69. 

Michel Dubois: Racers defenseman for 34 games in 1975-76, where he had two goals and two assists. He was dealt to Quebec partway through the year and played 25 more games for the Nordiques over that season and into 1976-77. Dubois retired after the 1977-78 season. A native of Montreal, he is 57. 

Brian Felsner: Left wing for the Ice in 1997-98, where he tallied 17 goals and 53 points in 53 games. Felsner got the call to the Chicago Blackhawks for 12 games that year, but finished out the season with the Milwaukee Admirals. Those 12 games in Chicago were his only NHL games in a pro career that lasted from 1996-2008. He played primarily in the IHL through 2001 -- with Orlando, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit and Cincinnati -- and then in Europe for nearly all of the rest of his career. He is the brother of former NHL player Denny Felsner. A native of Mt. Clemens, Mich., he is 39.