Victoria Royals
| Victoria Royals | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Victoria, British Columbia |
| League | Western Hockey League |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | B.C. |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Home arena | Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre |
| Colours |
Royal blue, Silver, White, Black |
| General manager | Cam Hope |
| Head coach | Dave Lowry |
| Captain | Ryan Gagnon |
| Website | http://www.victoriaroyals.com |
| Franchise history | |
| 2006–2011 | Chilliwack Bruins |
| 2011–present | Victoria Royals |
Royal blue, Silver, White, Black
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. Their current captain is defensemen, Ryan Gagnon.
Victoria was left without a WHL team when the Cougars franchise relocated to Prince George in 1994. 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.
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. On April 20, 2011, the WHL announced the approval of both the sale, and the relocation of the Bruins to Victoria.
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. The Moose ultimately moved to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, where they are now known as the IceCaps, when the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg to become the second incarnation of the Jets.
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