If WHL is going to beat AHL into Victoria, is Chilliwack a candidate for relocation?
Here we go again.
Hardly a year goes by without rumours of a Western Hockey League franchise relocating to Victoria, B.C. The British Columbia capital has the population (exceeding 400,000, counting suburbs), the facility (a state-of-the-art rink built in 2005 with a capacity of 7,400), and a hockey-mad fan base craving hockey's top junior league.
So what makes this year's discussion different, you ask? The impending threat of an American Hockey League franchise, which now essentially puts the WHL in a precarious position: uproot another franchise to (finally) return to Vancouver Island or risk losing one of its biggest markets to a rival league.
The WHL always valued the Victoria marketplace. The league always speaks glowingly of the city it left behind when the Cougars relocated to the northern B.C. city of Prince George in 1994.
Since then, Victoria's residents have basically cried out for a WHL franchise to come back. Believe me -- as a former resident of the beautiful city, I can vouch that junior hockey is still missed and would instantly become a hot ticket.
What legitimizes these discussions is that the WHL is finally in a position where it has something to lose by taking its time. It's no secret the AHL values the Canadian marketplace and would love to make bigger inroads north of the border.
The fact of the matter is the AHL has already begun muscling its way into WHL territory. In addition to the Vancouver Canucks' AHL affiliate in Winnipeg, the Calgary Flames' affiliate took up residence in Abbotsford, B.C., a stone's throw between two WHL franchises in Vancouver and Chilliwack, two years ago. Now there are rumours the AHL could be looking to do so again in Victoria.
What's that saying? Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice… you get the idea.
The prevailing theory is that the WHL would return to Vancouver Island when it had not one, but two teams looking to relocate. Since the league is already at 22 teams -- two more than the Ontario Hockey League and four more than the Québec Major Junior Hockey League -- expansion is not an option.
Victoria, along with Nanaimo, has long since been considered a package deal. Since island travel makes things difficult -- not to mention expensive -- it makes sense the league would look into bringing two teams simultaneously.
The newfound urgency for the WHL is that the AHL pressure may mean the league is running out of time to seize its long, lost market. An AHL team in Victoria means the WHL can kiss it goodbye.
There is one thing working in the WHL's favour. The league always insisted it would only move to the island if it had a team that was contemplating relocation. Rumours are swirling that the Chilliwack Bruins, who remain without a lease on their home rink for next season, are in play.
Jim Mullin from radio station CKNW in Vancouver reported Thursday that a "high placed source within the WHL" confirmed the Bruins-to-Victoria talks are "70 per cent done."
The key holder (literally) to the Victoria doorway has always been Graham Lee's RG Properties. The Vancouver-based development company built the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre and owns the rink's current tenant, the ECHL's Salmon Kings. The Vancouver Canucks' ECHL affiliate in Victoria averages a mediocre 3,618 fans per game this season, sixth-worst of the 19-team circuit.
By all accounts, ownership has been happy with the ECHL team and its reception in the city. But it's also hard to believe the city rolled out such a nice facility for a league Canadian hockey fans hardly care for. Should the WHL move in, signaling the end of the Salmon Kings, they wouldn't be missed.
The time for the WHL to act is now. Bruins co-owner Darryl Porter told Eric Welsh of the Chilliwack Progress last week that "we're not prepared to discuss publically the conversations that may or may not be going on right now."
Where there's smoke, there's usually fire. If these heavily-circulated rumours are true, and Porter's statements don't exactly eschew that notion, then the WHL may finally have the missing link to its Victoria puzzle.
The situation isn't exactly ideal, as two teams on the island has always been the preference, but the time might never be better than now for the WHL to set up shop in Victoria for a final time. Wait any longer and this often overlooked marketplace brimming with potential could be lost for good.
An AHL team in Victoria would put these yearly rumours to rest.
