Yellowknife Wraiths
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Yellowknife Wraiths | |||
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First season: 2016 Play in and headquartered in Burial Grounds Yellowknife, Northwest Territories | |||
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League/conference affiliations | |||
Current uniform
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Team colors | Black, Grey, Cyan | ||
Personnel | |||
General manager | Spike Crown (Bzerkap) John Gruden (Daybe) | ||
Team history | |||
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Championships | |||
League championships (1) | |||
Conference championships (3) | |||
Division championships (3) | |||
Playoff appearances (7) | |||
Home fields | |||
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The Yellowknife Wraiths are a professional American football franchise based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The Wraiths currently compete in the National Simulation Football League (NSFL) as a member club of the league's National Simulation Football Conference (NSFC) which currently only has one division. The franchise was established in 2016 (S1) as one of the six original teams. They have an intense rivalry with the Baltimore Hawks and Philadelphia Liberty. The Wraiths have won the NSFC championship three times and won their first Ultimus in 2023 (S8), beating the New Orleans Second Line in Ultimus Bowl VIII.
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History of the Yellowknife Wraiths
The Yellowknife Wraiths were one of the inaugural teams of the National Simulation Football League, managed by Bubba Nuck Sr. and Tyler Varga Sr. The inaugural draft brought a number of high-quality players to Yellowknife, including Bubba Nuck Jr., Chris Orosz, Josh Garden, Alexandre LeClair, and Ricky Maddox, among others. Heading into 2016 (S1) season, the Wraiths were tipped to win not just their conference, but also the Ultimus. However, the Wraiths would only manage second place in the NSFC with an 8-6 record, before losing the conference championship game 13-6 to the Colorado Yeti. 2017 (S2) brought an increased sense of optimism for the Wraiths, as they secured Dermot Lavelle with the number one pick in the 2017 ISFL Draft (S2), combined with Marcus Kane and outspoken linebacker Kevin Cushing. However, they again slumped to an 8-6 record, and lost a second straight conference championship game, this time 16-14 against the Baltimore Hawks.
Spike Crown took charge of the team following the stepping down of longtime general manager Bubba Nuck Sr. in 2018 (S3), and the team underwent several changes. Most notably, the addition of the controversial Francois Lamoreux divided opinions. The Wraiths would slump to a franchise-worst 7-7 record and failed to reach the playoffs. This was followed, in 2019 (S4), by the trade of Chris Orosz, leading to Mat Akselsen converting to quarterback. Star receiver Josh Garden declined to re-sign with the Wraiths and instead joined defending champions Arizona on a lucrative deal, while controversial cornerback Kevin Cushing was traded to the Philadelphia Liberty. Despite all that, Yellowknife returned to the playoffs after finishing atop the NSFC, with an 8-6 record. A 26-20 win over the Liberty in the conference championship saw Yellowknife make Ultimus Bowl IV – the first time they played in an Ultimus Bowl – where the Orange County Otters beat them 30-23.
Phillipe Carter arrived in Yellowknife after the Las Vegas Legion retirement scandal in 2020 (S5), along with Jayce Tuck – the latter despite an ongoing investigation into possible performance enhancing drugs use. Tuck would later be suspended for a year and did not take his first snap for the Wraiths until 2021 (S6). Former third overall draft pick Blaster Blade joined the Wraiths alongside Fuego Wozy to shore up the Wraiths defensive line, as Yellowknife notched a franchise-best regular season record of 10-4. A win over Baltimore in the conference championship saw a return to the Ultimus Bowl for Ultimus Bowl V, however, the Otters would again beat them, this time 26-15. Mat Akselsen hit his peak in 2021 (S6) with Eric Kennedy at runningback, but Yellowknife struggled during the regular season and slumped to a 7-6-1 record, losing 31-21 to the Philadelphia Liberty in the conference championship.
Rookie runningback Robby Rainey arrived in 2022 (S7), while linebacker Boss Tweed, and defensive tackle Arbin Asipi Jr. also landed in Yellowknife to form arguably the strongest Wraiths team in franchise history. An NSFL best regular season record of 13-1 followed, before a shock 40-31 defeat in the conference championships at the hands of the Philadelphia Liberty. 2023 (S8) saw the arrival of Micah Hendrix to add to an already impressive linebacker corps, and Yellowknife ended the season with an 11-3 record, before beating an aging Baltimore Hawks side 38-24 in the conference championship. Ultimus Bowl VIII saw Yellowknife finally break their curse, beating the New Orleans Second Line 24-13 to claim their first NSFL Championship.
Coming off of an 8-6 record and one game out of the playoffs to end the 2025 (S10) season, many considered the Wraiths to be a dark horse team for the playoffs in 2026 (S11). Despite losing the likes of Tegan Atwell, Robby Rainey, Eric Kennedy, and Boss Tweed, the Wraiths had a good crop of rookies coming in that had everyone excited. Yellowknife would sputter out of the gate losing their first two games, but would rattle off three straight wins and look have turned the corner. That wouldn't be the case though as the Wraiths would drop the next five games and eight of their final nine to finish with a 4-10 record and end with the second overall pick as a consolation prize to the playoffs.
Logos and uniforms
Season-by-season records
Players of note
Current roster
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Yellowknife Wraiths roster
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Quarterbacks
Running backs Wide receivers Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
DSFL Send-downs
Rookies in italics
Roster updated January 24th, 2024 | ||||||
Yellowknife Wraiths individual awards
NSFL Award Winners | ||
Season | Player | Award |
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2016 (S1) | Bubba Nuck (RB) | Most Valuable Player |
General managers
Name | Tenure | Regular Season Record | Post Season Record | |||||
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W | L | T | W | L | ||||
Sum Dum Goy | 2016-2017 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Current staff
Yellowknife Wraiths staff
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Franchise records
Passing
Regular Season | Playoffs | Rookie | ||||||
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Career | Season | Game | Career | Season | Game | Season | Game |
+ = min. 500 attempts, # = min. 100 attempts, ∗ = minimum 15 attempts
Rushing
Regular Season | Playoffs | Rookie | ||||||
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Career | Season | Game | Career | Season | Game | Season | Game |
∗ = minimum 15 attempts, # = min. 100 attempts, + = min. 500 attempts
Receiving
Regular Season | Playoffs | Rookie | ||||||
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Career | Season | Game | Career | Season | Game | Season | Game |
∗ = minimum 4 receptions, # = min. 20 receptions, + = min. 200 receptions
Other
Regular Season | Playoffs | Rookie | ||||||
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Career | Season | Game | Career | Season | Game | Season | Game |
Returns
Regular Season | Playoffs | Rookie | ||||||
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Career | Season | Game | Career | Season | Game | Season | Game |
Kicking
Regular Season | Playoffs | Rookie | ||||||
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Career | Season | Game | Career | Season | Game | Season | Game |
Defense
Regular Season | Playoffs | Rookie | ||||||
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Career | Season | Game | Career | Season | Game | Season | Game |
Exceptional Performances
Regular Season | Playoffs | Rookie | ||||||
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Career | Season | Game | Career | Season | Game | Season | Game |
References