Man who sold Checkers AHL franchise for its move to Charlotte dies of COVID-19

Walter Robb, who sold his American Hockey League franchise to Checkers’ owner Michael Kahn in 2010, died of the CORVID-19 virus early Monday in a hospital in Albany, N.Y., the AHL announced.

Robb, 92, contracted the virus last week while caring for his wife Anne, who also has the illness. Robb was hospitalized over the weekend.

He owned the Albany River Rats from 1998 until selling the team to Kahn, who then moved the franchise to Charlotte and renamed the team as the Checkers.

“In addition to being a pioneering innovator and philanthropist, Walter Robb was a lifelong hockey fan,” AHL President David Andrews said. “The American Hockey League was fortunate to be touched by his passion and leadership.”

Robb was an engineer who became director of General Electric’s research and development center. After retiring, he bought the River Rats franchise.

The Checkers, like the rest of the NHL and AHL, are shut down until at least mid-May, according to AHL officials.

The league has encouraged AHL teams to help their players return home, and most Checkers players have done so.

Since the season was suspended two weeks ago, the Checkers have postponed their annual fundraising golf tournament and have moved to new headquarters. Checkers’ Chief Operating Officer Tera Black says the club has moved to the Bojangles’ Coliseum annex — a series of offices that connect the coliseum and nearby Ovens Auditorium.

Their old headquarters were at 210 East Trade Street.

Since the shutdown, the team has signed brothers David and Jason Cotton to contracts.

David Cotton, 22, was a sixth-round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2015 but spent the past four years playing for Boston College. He is a 6-foot-4 forward who scored 127 points in 148 games for the Eagles.

Jason Cotton, 25, also a forward, played two years in the U.S. Hockey League but spent the past three years at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. He had 37 points in 34 games this season.

But the big question surrounding the team is how might the AHL season be revived?

When the league shut down operations March 11, reports circulated that the season would be over, like the ECHL — the next rung down the minor-league system — chose to do. AHL officials, however, said they hope to resume operations in May. If that timetable is followed, it’s not known of play will resume with the finish of the regular season — or if the league would go straight to the playoffs.

If it’s the latter option, the Checkers will be in the postseason. Charlotte, the defending AHL champion, is third in the Atlantic Division and would face second-place Hershey in the first round of the playoffs. First-place Providence would meet No. 4 Hartford in the other first-round series.

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle

This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 12:05 PM.