Yellowknife Wraiths

Yellowknife Wraiths
Yellowknife Wraiths
Current season
	Established 2016; First season: 2016; Play in and headquartered in Burial Grounds; Yellowknife, Northwest Territories;
	Yellowknife Wraiths logo
	Logo
League/conference affiliations
	NSFL (2016–present) NSFC (2016 (S1)–present);
	Current uniform
	275px
Team colors	Black, Grey, Cyan
Personnel
General manager	Spike Crown (Bzerkap)
Team history
	Yellowknife Wraiths (2016–present);
Championships
	League championships (1); Ultimus Bowl championships (1); 2023 (S8) (VIII);
	Conference championships (3) NSFC: 2019 (S4), 2020 (S5), 2023 (S8);
	Division championships (3) NSFC: 2019 (S4), 2020 (S5), 2023 (S8);
Playoff appearances (7)
	NSFL: 2016 (S1), 2017 (S2), 2019 (S4), 2020 (S5), 2021 (S6), 2022 (S7), 2023 (S8);
Home fields
	Burial Grounds (2016–present);

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.

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.

Logos and uniforms

Season-by-season records

Players of note

Current roster

Yellowknife Wraiths roster

Quarterbacks

10 Maximus Boudreaux

Running backs

34 Money Tolliver

Wide receivers

Tight ends

80 Detective Crashmore TE
80 Anthony Simmons II TE

Offensive linemen

88 J.T Kurbis
91 Johnson Lovehammer

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

11 Zenzeroni Xystarch II K/P

Reserve lists

DSFL Send-downs

Rookies in italics

Roster updated January 24th, 2024
22 Active, 5 Send Downs

→ ASFC rosters → NSFC rosters

ASFC: ARI; NOLA; OCO; SJS; AUS; NYS

NSFC: BAL; COL; PHI; YKW; CHI; BER