Tom Ebright, owner of the Baltimore Skipjacks, had a daughter who was an intern at the East Coast Hockey League's Nashville Knights. Liking the way the Knights did business, Ebright contacted Knights owner, W. Godfrey Wood, asking to relocate the Skipjacks to a better market. Wood relocated the team to his home region of Portland, Maine, leading to the creation of the Portland Pirates in 1993 with an affiliation to the Washington Capitals. The Pirates filled the void made by the Maine Mariners who had departed to become the Providence Bruins a year earlier. On August 4, 1993, forward Eric Fenton was signed to a professional contract to become the very first member of the Portland Pirates team.