Early history (1984–1991)

The Madison Capitols began as a team in 1984, competing in the USHL, and played for 11 consecutive seasons.^[2] During this period, the Capitols played home games at the Hartmeyer Ice Arena, posting a 207–278–16 record, playing a total of 530 games.^[3]

The team was coached by Bob Suter from 1984 to 1986, posting a 35–48–3–10 record.^[4] Following what was a mild start to the franchise, Scott Owens took over coaching duties in 1986 and started a winning franchise, posting a 136–85–9–10 record through 1991.^[5] Owens would then move on to coach the Des Moines Buccaneers and Colorado College, ending the first era of the Madison Capitols.

Wisconsin Capitols (1991–1995)

With the departure of Owens, the Madison Capitols re-branded themselves as the Wisconsin Capitols in 1991. Steve Huglen, a University of Illinois Defensemen, was hired as head coach for the 1991–1992 campaign and the Capitols intended to continue their winning record; however, under Huglen the team posted an 11–37–0 season.

The 1992–93 campaign saw the departure of Huglen, and the addition of Mike Dibble as head coach. After the team posted a 2–21–2 record Dibble was replaced by Rob Andriga mid-season, who would coach the Capitols to a 4–19–1 record, finishing at 6–39–2–1 season record.^[6][7][8]

In the 1993–94 season, Andringa was still coaching the Wisconsin Capitols, along with the additions of Don Granato, and Brian Duffy.^[9][10] The Capitols would post a 9–37–1–3 record this season, second to their worst.^[3] The era of the Wisconsin Capitols and, for the time being, USHL hockey in Madison was close to an end.

The final season of the Capitols in Madison in 1994–95, saw the return of Duffy, who would post a 3–8–0^[10] record as head coach. The replacement coach, Len Semplice would finish the season with a 7–29–1 record, totaling a team season record of 10–37–1.^[11]

Madison Capitols (2014–present)

On November 26, 2013, the management of Madtown Hockey, LLC announced that the Madison Capitols would be returning to Madison in the 2014–15 season. Ryan Suter, defenseman for the Minnesota Wild and Tom Sagissor, a former Wisconsin Badger, would join the ownership group.^[2] It was also announced that the Madison Capitols would play at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

On May 22, 2014, Luke Strand was formally introduced as the Madison Capitols head coach and general manager. He was joined on the bench by fellow Eau Claire native Keith Paulsen and longtime NHL veteran and Stanley Cup Champion Tony Hrkac.

Following Bob Suter's death in September 2014, the Capitols honored the lifelong Madison native and gold medalist with stickers on team helmets, a banner bearing his jersey number 20 inside the Coliseum, and the ice rink named in his honor (Bob Suter Memorial Rink).

The Capitols began their first season back in the USHL on September 27, 2014, with a 4–3 loss at Muskegon. Luke McElhenie, a native of Sauk City, WI, scored the first goal in the new era of the Capitols. McElhenie previously played for Bob Suter and the Madison Capitols AAA program. Madison picked up its first victory in the USHL on October 24, defeating the Sioux Falls Stampede 3–1.

Following the 2014–15 season, Luke Strand left the organization to accept an assistant coaching position at the University of Wisconsin–Madison under head coach Mike Eaves.^[12]

On June 10, 2015, it was announced that Troy G. Ward had been hired as the new head coach and general manager.^[13][14] After one season, Troy Ward resigned his positions with the organization^[15] and was replaced as head coach and general manager by Garrett Suter.^[16]

On July 28, 2017, the Capitols announced that Andrew Joudrey was named the team's new president.^[17] That same day, the team announced plans to relocate from the Alliant Energy Center to Hartmeyer Ice Arena for the 2017–18 season. Reasons cited for the move included a decrease in available dates for hockey at the Alliant Energy Center and a desire on the Capitols' part for better sightlines and fan experience.^[18] Negotiations between the Capitols and Hartmeyer management over needed facility upgrades would come to an impasse, and on September 11, the Capitols announced they would instead play the 2017–18 season at Bob Suter's Capitol Ice Arena, a two-rink facility in suburban Middleton owned by Ryan Suter and named in father Bob Suter's memory. The Capitol Ice Arena, already a practice site for the Capitols, had a capacity of 1,300 fans for hockey, and became the smallest arena in the USHL.^[1] In the 2018 off-season, the Capitols renovated the rink to increase the capacity and add more suites.^[19] Head coach and general manager Garrett Suter stepped down after the 2019–20 season.^[20]

Due to the on-going restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Capitols went on hiatus for the 2020–21 season.^[21] The Capitols resumed play for the 2021–22 season.

Active roster

As of January 26, 2024.^[22]

More information No., S/P/C ...

No.	S/P/C	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	College commitment
1		Patriks Berzins	G	6' 1"	185 lb	2003-08-30	Talsi, Latvia	Tri-City (USHL)	Maine
2		Jack Henry	D	6' 0"	194 lb	2004-02-25	Skaneateles, New York	Cranbrook (BCHL)	Yale
3		James Mackey	D	6' 6"	229 lb	2005-10-15	Villanova, Pennsylvania	Hotschkiss (USHS–PA)	Harvard
5		Charlie Michaud	D	6' 0"	185 lb	2006-08-12	Denver, Colorado	Little Caesars 16U (Midget AAA)	Miami
6		Diego Johnson	F	5' 11"	165 lb	2004-09-07	Fort St. James, British Columbia	Sherwood Park (AJHL)	Wisconsin
7		Rainers Rullers	C	6' 3"	181 lb	2004-12-11	Riga, Latvia	Zemgale (LHHL)	None
8		Jack Brandt	F	5' 10"	170 lb	2004-06-14	Columbus, Ohio	Chicago (USHL)	None
9		Sam Rice	F	5' 8"	163 lb	2003-12-31	Prior Lake, Minnesota	Chippewa (NAHL)	Minnesota State
10		Chris Delaney (A)	C	5' 6"	146 lb	2004-09-25	Hopkinton, Massachusetts	Chicago (USHL)	None
11		Sam Kappell	F	6' 1"	185 lb	2007-02-05	Appleton, Wisconsin	Notre Dame Academy (USHS–WI)	None
13		Andrew Kuzma	C	6' 0"	194 lb	2005-01-29	Naperville, Illinois	Des Moines (USHL)	None
14		Noah Barlage	D	6' 0"	185 lb	2003-03-28	Humboldt, Saskatchewan	Humboldt (SJHL)	Alaska
16		Ethan Elias (C)	D	5' 8"	187 lb	2003-04-03	Maple Grove, Minnesota	Omaha (USHL)	St. Thomas (Minnesota)
17		Aiden Long	F	6' 2"	201 lb	2005-03-13	Mono, Ontario	Whitecourt (AJHL)	Cornell
18		Nate Murray	F	5' 8"	152 lb	2005-02-09	Fowlerville, Michigan	Corpus Christi (NAHL)	Colorado College
19		James Hong (A)	F	5' 9"	168 lb	2004-11-22	Irvine, California	Waterloo (USHL)	Ohio State
21		Austin Burnevik	F	6' 4"	201 lb	2005-01-03	Blaine, Minnesota	USNTDP (USHL)	St. Cloud State
22		Brendan Lamb (A)	F	5' 11"	176 lb	2004-05-14	Battle Creek, Michigan	Fox Motors 16U (Midget AAA)	None
23		Max Nagel	F	5' 8"	161 lb	2004-06-30	West St. Paul, Minnesota	St. Thomas Academy (USHS–MN)	Colgate
24		Nathan Tobey	D	6' 0"	170 lb	2005-01-02	Lantana, Texas	USNTDP (USHL)	Quinnipiac
25		Ronan O'Donnell	RW	6' 2"	174 lb	2004-02-26	Fairfield, Connecticut	Cowichan Valley (BCHL)	Yale
27		Finn Brink	LW	5' 10"	185 lb	2005-04-06	Maple Grove, Minnesota	Maple Grove (USHS–MN)	Wisconsin
28		Colton Jamieson	D	6' 0"	198 lb	2004-11-28	Hudson, Wisconsin	Cretin-Derham Hall (USHS–MN)	St. Thomas (Minnesota)
32		Carsen Musser	G	6' 4"	220 lb	2005-05-19	Sherburn, Minnesota	USNTDP (USHL)	Colorado College

Close

Notable alumni

• Derek Plante, 1989–90^[23]
• Brian Rafalski, 1990–91

NHL draft picks

Awards and player recognition

• Scott Owens – USHL General Manager of the Year, 1986–87
• Scott Owens – USHL Coach of the Year, 1987–88^[24]
• Joe Harwell – 1988-89 All-USHL 1st Team
• Forrest Karr – 1994-95 All-USHL 2nd Team
• Ryan Edquist – 2015–16 USHL All-Rookie Team^[28]
• Sam McCormick – 2015-16 All-USHL 3rd Team
• Michael Mancinelli – 2017–18 USHL All-Rookie Team^[29]
• Mick Messner – 2016 U.S. Junior Select Team^[30][31]
• Ryan O'Reilly – 2017–18 USHL All-Rookie Team, 2018 U.S. Junior Select Team^[32]
• Simon Latkoczy – 2019-20 USHL All-Rookie Team
• Ryan Kirwan – 2019-20 USHL All-Rookie Team
• Christian Stoever – 2019-20 All-USHL 3rd Team

Prospects games participants

• Ryan Edquist – 2015 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game, 2016 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game^[33]
• Mick Messner – 2016 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game,^[34] 2017 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game^[35]
• Ryan O'Reilly – 2017 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game,^[36] 2018 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game^[37][38]
• Kamil Sadlocha – 2017 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game
• Carson Bantle – 2020 USA Hockey BioSteel All American Game