Victoria Royals

The Victoria Royals are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team currently members of the B.C. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team began play during the 2011–12 season after the League announced the relocation of the Chilliwack Bruins to Victoria. It marked the return of the WHL to Vancouver Island, 17 years after the departure of the Victoria Cougars. The Royals are based in Victoria, British Columbia, and play their home games at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.

Victoria Royals
CityVictoria, British Columbia, Canada
LeagueWestern Hockey League
ConferenceWestern
DivisionB.C.
Founded2011
Home arenaSave-On-Foods Memorial Centre
ColoursRoyal blue, silver, white, black
       
Owner(s)Graham Lee (Chairman - GSL Group)
General managerJake Heisinger
Head coachJames Patrick
CaptainN/A
Websitechl.ca/whl-royals/
Franchise history
2006–2011Chilliwack Bruins
2011–presentVictoria Royals
Championships
Regular season titles1 (2015–16)

History
Marc Habscheid, head coach of the Royals during their inaugural season.
Dave Lowry, Royals head coach from 2012–17.

Victoria was left without a WHL team when the Cougars franchise relocated to Prince George in 1994.[1] The city acquired a professional ECHL team in the Victoria Salmon Kings in 2004 when the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre was opened, but the city had made inquiries about returning the WHL to Vancouver Island in the past.[1]

While two minority owners of the Chilliwack Bruins hoped to purchase the team and keep it in Chilliwack following the 2010–11 season, they were outvoted by the remaining partners who opted to sell the team to a group planning to relocate the franchise.[2] On April 20, 2011, the WHL announced the approval of both the sale, and the relocation of the Bruins to Victoria.[3]

The relocation was brought about partially by the WHL's desire to protect the Victoria market, as the league feared that a potential summer relocation of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Phoenix Coyotes to Winnipeg could result in the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Manitoba Moose moving to Victoria.[4]

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

SeasonGPWLOTLSOLGFGAPointsFinishPlayoffs
2011–1272244134233325554th B.C.Lost Western Conference quarter-final (0–4, KAM)
2012–1372353025223252773rd B.C.Lost Western Conference quarter-final (2–4, KAM)
2013–14724820132381811002nd B.C.Won Western Conference quarter-final (4–0, SPO)
Lost Western Conference semi-final (1–4, POR)
2014–1572392931244219822nd B.C.Won Western Conference quarter-final (4–1, PRG)
Lost Western Conference semi-final (1–4, KEL)
2015–16725016332811661061st B.C.
1st WHL		Won Western Conference quarter-final (4–2, SPO)
Lost Western Conference semi-final (3–4 KEL)
2016–1772372951239219804th B.C.Lost Western Conference quarter-final (2–4, EVT)
2017–1872392742287264842nd B.C.Won Western Conference quarter-final (4–3, VAN)
Lost Western Conference semi-final (0–4, TRI)
2018–1968343022199227722nd B.C.Won Western Conference quarter-final (4–2, KAM)
Lost Western Conference semi-final (0–4, VAN)
2019–2064342462176190722nd B.C.Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in North America
2020–212231711489685th B.C.Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in North America
2021–2268233951193275525th B.C.Did not qualify
2022–2368174362199323425th B.C.Did not qualify
2023–2468293054221272674th B.C.Lost Western Conference Quarter-final (0–4, POR)

Head coaches

In June 2012, Marc Habscheid, the first head coach and general manager of the Royals, left both positions. The Royals named Cam Hope as their new general manager.

The Royals named Dave Lowry as head coach for the 2012–13 season.[5] He coached the Royals for five seasons, leading the team to franchise highs in wins and points on the way to a Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as WHL regular season champions in 2015-16. He left the club in 2017.[6]

In 2017, the Royals promoted assistant coach Dan Price to the head coaching position. Price became the fourth head coach in franchise history, and third since the team relocated from Chilliwack to Victoria.[7]

On November 6, 2023, following a 6–3 loss to the Wenatchee Wild, the Royals dismissed Price and named former Winnipeg Ice head coach James Patrick the fifth head coach in franchise history.[8][9]

List of coaches

Players

Current roster

Updated March 30, 2024[10]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Drafted
2 United States Hudson Bjornson D L 18 2021 Scottsdale, Arizona Eligible 2024
27 Canada Jaren Brinson D L 19 2024 Airdrie, Alberta Undrafted
34 Canada Escalus Burlock RW R 18 2023 Regina, Saskatchewan Eligible 2024
17 Canada Hayden Chaloner C L 19 2023 Winnipeg, Manitoba Undrafted
16 Canada Wyatt Danyleyko C L 16 2022 Victoria, British Columbia Eligible 2025
36 Canada Alex Edwards RW R 19 2021 Grand Forks, British Columbia Undrafted
20 Norway Casper Evensen RW L 18 2023 Oslo, Norway Undrafted
4 Canada Seth Fryer D R 17 2021 Victoria, British Columbia Eligible 2024
31 United States Braden Holt G L 20 2022 Bozeman, Montana Undrafted
24 Canada Matthew Keller D L 18 2021 Calgary, Alberta Eligible 2024
32 Canada Deegan Kinniburgh LW L 18 2021 Taber, Alberta Eligible 2024
3 Canada Justin Kipkie D L 18 2020 Calgary, Alberta 2023, 160th Overall, ARI
33 Canada Jayden Kraus G L 17 2021 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Eligible 2025
8 Canada Tyson Laventure RW R 21 2024 Lloydminster, Alberta Undrafted
23 Canada Nate Misskey (A) D R 19 2020 Melfort, Saskatchewan Undrafted
25 Canada Reggie Newman RW R 18 2020 Kamloops, British Columbia Undrafted
29 Canada Dawson Pasternack (A) RW R 21 2024 Winnipeg, Manitoba Undrafted
28 Canada Logan Pickford RW R 18 2023 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Eligible 2024
7 Canada Cole Reschny C L 17 2022 Macklin, Saskatchewan Eligible 2025
19 Canada Ben Riche C L 19 2023 Bethune, Saskatchewan Undrafted
21 Czech Republic Robin Sapousek (A) C L 20 2022 Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic Undrafted
9 Canada Tanner Scott (A) LW L 19 2019 Sherwood Park, Alberta Undrafted
15 Canada Ryan Spizawka D L 20 2019 Victoria, British Columbia Undrafted
22 Canada Teydon Trembecky LW L 18 2022 Strathcona, Alberta Undrafted
18 Canada Keaton Verhoeff D R 15 2023 Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta Eligible 2026
5 Canada Austin Zemlak D L 19 2020 Fort McMurray, Alberta Undrafted

Team captains
  • Hayden Rintoul, 2011–2012
  • Tyler Stahl, 2012–2013
  • Jordan Fransoo, 2013–2014
  • Joe Hicketts, 2014–2016
  • Ryan Gagnon, 2016–2017
  • Matthew Phillips, 2017–2018
  • Phillip Schultz, 2019–2020
  • Tarun Fizer, 2021–2022
  • Gannon Laroque, 2022–2023

NHL alumni

The following is a list of players from the Victoria Royals who have played in the National Hockey League.

  • Noah Gregor
  • Joe Hicketts
  • Brayden Pachal
  • Matthew Phillips
  • Brayden Tracey

Awards and honours

Team

Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy
WHL Regular Season Champion

St. Clair Group Trophy
WHL Marketing/Business Award

WHL Scholastic Team of the Year

Individual

Brad Hornung Trophy
WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player

Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy
WHL Coach of the Year

Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy
WHL Rookie of the Year

Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy
WHL Executive of the Year

WHL Western Conference First All-Star Team

WHL Western Conference Second All-Star Team

See also
  • List of ice hockey teams in British Columbia

References
  1. Epp, Sharie (April 1, 2011). "Western Hockey League's Bruins moving to Victoria: report". Victoria Times-Colonist. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  2. Olsen, Tyler (April 1, 2011). "Keith confirms Bruins have been sold, confidentiality agreements now in place". The Province. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  3. Olsen, Tyler (April 20, 2011). "WHL's Chilliwack Bruins are no more, moving to Victoria". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  4. Maki, Allan (April 20, 2011). "Phoenix failure felt as far away as Victoria". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  5. "ROYALS ANNOUNCE DAVE LOWRY AS HEAD COACH – Victoria Royals".
  6. "LA Kings Bolster Staff as Dave Lowry is Named Assistant Coach".
  7. "ROYALS NAME DAN PRICE AS HEAD COACH – Victoria Royals".
  8. Trozzo, Tony (November 6, 2023). "Royals Announce Change To Coaching Staff". chl.ca/whl-royals. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  9. Trozzo, Tony (November 6, 2023). "Royals Name James Patrick Head Coach". chl.ca/whl-royals. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  10. "Victoria Royals 2023 - 24 Regular Season". Retrieved March 30, 2024.
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