 The Islanders were born out of an effort to coax an AHL team into Albany's newly built Knickerbocker Arena.However, the Adirondack Red Wings, based in Glens Falls, had long claimed the Capital District as part of its home territory, and initially refused to allow an AHL expansion team to play in Albany.Those plans changed when the International Hockey League expanded eastward out of its Great Lakes stronghold to move the Fort Wayne Komets to Knickerbocker Arena as the Albany Choppers.