Founded in 2002, the Knoxville Ice Bears will celebrate their 25th anniversary season beginning this October. In recognition of this milestone, the organization—with input from staff, players and fans—has put together a ranking of the top 25 players in Ice Bears history. Fans were invited to submit ballots of multiple players and write-in players of their choosing as well. Highlighted criteria includes, but is not limited to individual statistics, individual accolades, contributions to team and organizational success, organization-defining moments and tenure.
Each player listed in the rankings has a limited edition Ice Bears jersey available on DASH that will be auctioned off here.
5. Mike Craigen. RW. 2004-2008.
A two-time President’s Cup champion as a player, Mike Craigen holds the distinction of being the only man in SPHL history to win the President’s Cup as both a player and a head coach. Craigen spent four years as a mainstay in Knoxville and contributed significantly to the President’s Cup titles in 2006 and ’08. He remains in the top ten in franchise history in goals, assists and points and is still second all time in penalty minutes. He won the President’s Cup as Knoxville’s head coach in 2015.
4. K.J. Voorhees. RW. 2002-06.
A member of Knoxville’s first President’s Cup title in 2006, K.J. Voorhees remains second all-time in franchise history in points and goals. His 44-goal campaign in the inaugural SPHL season in 2004-05 still remains tied for the fourth-most goals in a single season in league history. He was inducted into the Ice Bears Pillar of Champions in March.
3. Bryan Hince. G. 2010-16.
One of the best goalies in SPHL history, Bryan Hince backstopped the Ice Bears for six seasons, putting together a remarkable playoff run in 2015 to lead Knoxville to the President’s Cup and garnering Playoff MVP honors. The rest of his playoff career is also impressive, going 12-6 with a 1.92 goals against average, a .949 save percentage and four shutouts in 20 total postseason appearances. He remains the franchise leader in wins, goals against average and shutouts (min. 30 games played). He was inducted into the Pillar of Champions in January 2025.
2. Mark Van Vliet. D/C. 2008-14.
The only player in SPHL history to win Defenseman of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons, Mark Van Vliet became the first two-time winner of the honor given to the SPHL’s top D-man. He was a four-time All-SPHL selection and won the President’s Cup with Knoxville in 2009. His 239 points are still the third most by a defenseman in league history. Not bad for a guy who actually switched from playing forward to the blue line. He became the first honoree of the Ice Bears Pillar of Champions in 2023.
1. Kevin Swider. C. 2002-2010, 2018.
Hard to argue this one. Kevin Swider is the franchise’s and SPHL’s all-time leader in points. A three-time President’s Cup champion and three-time league MVP honoree, Swider led the league in scoring six times and was a seven-time all-SPHL selection. The league later renamed its leading scorer award after him and his 693 career points are over 200 more than the next highest player on the all-time list. His No. 12 jersey hangs in the rafters as the only retired number in Ice Bears history.
