West Kelowna Warriors
The West Kelowna Warriors are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. They are a part of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) and play in the Interior Conference.
| West Kelowna Warriors | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada |
| League | British Columbia Hockey League |
| Conference | Interior |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Home arena | Royal LePage Place |
| Colours | Maroon and tan |
| Owner(s) | JMRH Hockey Development ULC (John Murphy and Rod Hume) |
| President | Chris Laurie |
| General manager | John Murphy Governor Rod Hume Managing Partner |
| Head coach | Simon Ferguson |
| Website | http://www.westkelownawarriors.ca |
| Franchise history | |
| 1994–1998 | Langley Thunder |
| 1998–2006 | Langley Hornets |
| 2006–2012 | Westside Warriors |
| 2012–present | West Kelowna Warriors |
The West Kelowna Warriors are a relocated franchise, moving to West Kelowna in 2006 from Langley, British Columbia.
History
Langley Thunder/Hornets
Langley was originally granted a British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL) franchise in 1973 called the Langley Lords. The team played as the Lords through the 1975–76 season. In those three years they had very decent regular seasons, making it to the playoffs each year, including a loss in the league finals in their first season. In 1976 the Lords changed their name to the Langley Thunder. Their regular season performance diminished each year and they missed the playoffs for the first time in the franchise's history in the 1978–79 season. Shortly after the completion of the 1978–79 season, the franchise ceased operations. An unrelated BCJHL franchise, the Chilliwack Colts, relocated to become the Langley Eagles from 1981–82 through the 1986–87 seasons, before moving back to Chilliwack, British Columbia.
In 1990, the BCJHL was renamed the BCHL, and in 1994 Langley returned to the BCHL with a new franchise, adopting the name Thunder from the defunct franchise of the 1970s. The new franchise competed as the Thunder for five seasons, reaching the BCHL championship finals in 1996, which they lost to the eventual Junior A national Royal Bank Cup champion Vernon Vipers, 4–1.
The Thunder changed their name to the Langley Hornets before the start of the 1998–99 season. Playing in Langley from 1998 through the 2005–06 season, the Hornets were led by several coaches. Coach Rick Lanz was notable for taking the last place 2001–02 team and guiding them to a fourth-place finish in the 2002–03 season, though the team would be eliminated in the first round of the BCHL playoffs. Lanz was not re-signed for the next season and the team returned to last place in the BCHL.[1]
Westside/West Kelowna Warriors
Before the start of the 2006–07 season the franchise moved from Langley to the unincorporated area on the "westside" of Kelowna, British Columbia, and renamed themselves the Westside Warriors. The Westside Warriors found immediate success, reaching the BCHL playoffs in the 2006–07 season, followed in 2007–08 with a third place BCHL finish in the regular season and making it to the BCHL semi-finals in the playoffs.
In late 2007, the unincorporated area the Westside Warriors called home became the incorporated Westside District Municipality, and in 2008 changed its name to West Kelowna. The franchise kept the place name Westside, rather than West Kelowna, through the 2011–12 season. In the summer of 2012, the Westside Warriors announced they would be changing their name to the West Kelowna Warriors, recognizing the proper name of the municipality where they play.
In 2018, the Warriors were purchased by Kim Dobranski and KD Sports Ltd. from Mark Cheyne and the Vision Sports Group LLP.[2][3]
In October 2019, the BCHL confirmed that it was in talks to buy the West Kelowna Warriors from current sole owner Kim Dobranski's KD Sports, Ltd.[4] with unaudited financial results that showed the team lost $60,000 for the fiscal year ending July 31, 2019.[5] In November 2019, the Warriors were purchased by John Murphy and Rod Hume under JMRH Hockey Development ULC,[6][7] with Murphy serving as governor and Hume as managing partner, and the BCHL approving the sale and the sale effective date being November 11, 2019.[7][8] The Warriors also announced that Chris Laurie was named team president.[9][8]
Season-by-season records
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points
BCJHL Langley Lords/Thunder
| Season | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973–74 | 64 | 38 | 24 | 2 | 326 | 283 | 78 | 1st, Coastal | Lost in Finals |
| 1974–75 | 66 | 34 | 31 | 1 | 330 | 351 | 69 | 1st, Coastal | Lost in Quarter-finals |
| 1975–76 | 66 | 32 | 31 | 3 | 349 | 298 | 67 | 5th, League | Lost in Quarter-finals |
| 1976–77 | 68 | 30 | 37 | 1 | 351 | 362 | 62 | 3rd, Coastal | Lost in Semi-finals |
| 1977–78 | 66 | 19 | 47 | 0 | 250 | 423 | 38 | 5th, Coastal | Lost in Quarter-finals |
| 1978–79 | 62 | 22 | 36 | 4 | 284 | 348 | 48 | 5th, Coastal | Did not qualify |
Current BCHL franchise
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Langley Thunder | ||||||||||
| 1994–95 | 60 | 38 | 21 | 1 | — | 321 | 252 | 77 | 2nd, Mainland | Lost in Quarter-finals |
| 1995–96 | 60 | 38 | 19 | 3 | — | 317 | 273 | 79 | 2nd, Mainland | Lost in Finals |
| 1996–97 | 60 | 21 | 35 | 4 | — | 228 | 289 | 46 | 7th, Coastal | Did not qualify |
| 1997–98 | 60 | 26 | 31 | 3 | — | 219 | 239 | 55 | 6th, Coastal | Did not qualify |
| Langley Hornets | ||||||||||
| 1998–99 | 60 | 44 | 12 | 4 | — | 330 | 219 | 92 | 1st, Mainland | Lost in Semi-finals |
| 1998–99 | 60 | 20 | 38 | — | 2 | 242 | 294 | 42 | 3rd, Mainland | Lost in 1st Round |
| 1999–00 | 60 | 41 | 17 | — | 2 | 305 | 247 | 84 | 1st, Mainland | Lost in Semi-finals |
| 2000–01 | 60 | 29 | 25 | — | 6 | 222 | 239 | 64 | 4th, Mainland | Lost in 1st Round |
| 2001–02 | 60 | 19 | 34 | — | 7 | 226 | 274 | 45 | 5th, Mainland | Did not qualify |
| 2002–03 | 60 | 34 | 22 | — | 1 | 225 | 231 | 72 | 2nd, Mainland | Lost in 1st Round |
| 2003–04 | 60 | 19 | 36 | 1 | 4 | 205 | 286 | 43 | 4th, Mainland | Did not qualify |
| 2004–05 | 60 | 12 | 42 | 1 | 5 | 169 | 277 | 30 | 4th, Mainland | Did not qualify |
| 2005–06 | 60 | 32 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 179 | 181 | 69 | 3rd, Mainland | Lost in Quarter-finals |
| Westside Warriors | ||||||||||
| 2006–07 | 60 | 23 | 25 | 3 | 9 | 192 | 221 | 58 | 7th, Mainland | Lost in Preliminary |
| 2007–08 | 60 | 40 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 237 | 161 | 83 | 3rd, BCHL | Lost in Semi-finals |
| 2008–09 | 60 | 37 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 220 | 162 | 79 | 5th, BCHL | Did not qualify |
| 2009–10 | 60 | 38 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 244 | 173 | 80 | 4th, BCHL | Lost Quarter-final |
| 2010–11 | 60 | 33 | 20 | 2 | 5 | 246 | 183 | 73 | 4th, Interior | Lost Division Semi-final |
| 2011–12 | 60 | 22 | 29 | 2 | 7 | 190 | 208 | 53 | 11th, BCHL | Did not qualify |
| West Kelowna Warriors | ||||||||||
| 2012–13 | 56 | 30 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 205 | 151 | 73 | 2nd, Interior 4th, BCHL | Won Div. Finals, 4–1 (Centennials) Lost Conf. Finals, 4–1 (Vees) |
| 2013–14 | 58 | 35 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 225 | 173 | 78 | 2nd, Interior 5th, BCHL | Lost Div. Semi-finals, 4–2 (Vipers) |
| 2014–15 | 58 | 29 | 21 | 0 | 8 | 205 | 210 | 44 | 4th of 6, Interior 7th of 16, BCHL | Lost Div. Semi-finals, 4–1 (Vees) |
| 2015–16 | 58 | 38 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 242 | 180 | 79 | 2nd of 6, Interior 3rd of 17, BCHL | Won Div. Semi-finals, 4–2 (Silverbacks) Won Div. Finals, 4–2 (Vees) 2nd of 3, round-robin Won League Finals, 4–2 (Chiefs) Advance to Western Canada Cup |
| 2016–17 | 58 | 27 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 175 | 204 | 56 | 4th of 6, Interior 9th of 17, BCHL | Lost Div. Semi-finals 4–0 (Centennials) |
| 2017–18 | 58 | 28 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 198 | 221 | 59 | 5th of 7, Interior 11th of 17, BCHL | Lost Div. Semi-finals 4–0 (Smoke Eaters) |
| 2018–19 | 58 | 28 | 28 | — | 2 | 210 | 220 | 58 | 6th of 7, Interior 12th of 17, BCHL | Lost First Round, 3–4 (Wild) |
| 2019–20 | 58 | 16 | 33 | 0 | 9 | 160 | 223 | 41 | 6th of 7, Interior 16th of 17, BCHL | Lost First Round, 1–4 (Vees) |
Western Canada Cup
Western Canada championship from 2013 to 2017
Participants: British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) – Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) – Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) – Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) – host team
Round-robin play with 1st vs. 2nd winner advancing to RBC Cup junior A national championship and loser to a runner-up game.
3rd vs. 4th in semifinal with winner to the runner-up game and loser eliminated.
Runner-up game determined second representative to national championship.
| Year | Round-robin | Record | Standing | Semifinal | Runner-up game | Championship game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | W, Estevan Bruins (host) 3–0 L, Brooks Bandits (AJHL) 2–4 OTW, Portage Terriers (MJHL) 3–2 W, Melfort Mustangs (SJHL) 4–1 | 3–1–0 | 2nd of 5 | — | — | W, Brooks Bandits 6–0 Cup Champions |
Royal Bank Cup
Hockey Canada junior A national championship
Participants in 2016: Dudley Hewitt Cup champions (Central), Fred Page Cup champions (Eastern, Western Canada Cup champions (Western #1), Western Canada Cup runners-up (Western #2) and a host team
Round-robin play with top four in semifinal and winners to finals.
| Year | Round-robin | Record W–OTW–OTL–L | Standing | Semifinal | Championship game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | W, Lloydminster Bobcats (host) 5–2 L, Brooks Bandits (Western #2) 1–5 OTW, Trenton Golden Hawks (Central) 4–3 W, Carleton Place Canadians (Eastern) 4–1 | 2–1–0–1 | 3rd of 5 | W, Brooks Bandits 4–1 | W, Lloydminster Bobcats 4–0 Canadian Junior A Champions |
References
- Greenizan, Nick (5 October 2016). "Lanz returns to Surrey Eagles as assistant coach". Peace Arch News. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- "West Kelowna Warriors under new ownership". JuniorHockey.com. 15 August 2018.
- McIntyre, Pete (10 August 2018). "New Owner For BCHL Team". 103.1 Beach Radio/Jim Pattison Broadcast Group. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- Munro, Rob (16 October 2019). "League take-over of West Kelowna Warriors just might be good news for the city". infoNEWS.ca. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- Ibid.
- "Warriors Announce New Ownership". West Kelowna Warriors. 12 November 2019.
- Britton, Mackenzie (12 November 2019). "West Kelowna Warriors find new owner". Kelowna Capital News. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- Lowe, Travis (13 November 2019). West Kelowna Warriors get new owners (television). Kelowna, British Columbia: Global Okanagan News.
- "Chris Laurie Named Team President". West Kelowna Warriors. 12 November 2019.
External links
| Preceded by Portage Terriers |
Royal Bank Cup Champions 2016 |
Succeeded by Cobourg Cougars |
