Chilliwack Bruins

The Chilliwack Bruins were a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League, based out of Chilliwack, British Columbia. The 2006–07 season marked the Bruins inaugural season in the WHL. The team played at Prospera Centre, which was expanded to 5,386 seats for the arrival of the Bruins. The team was sold after the 2010-2011 season and relocated to British Columbia's capital, Victoria to become the Royals.

History
In 2005, the city of Chilliwack was granted a WHL expansion team after an attempt by the owners of the Tri-City Americans (Brian Burke, Glen Sather and Darryl Porter) to move the Americans to Chilliwack was voted down by the WHL directors. As a result, Burke, Sather, and Porter sold their stake in the Americans and purchased the 21st franchise in the WHL. The arrival of the Bruins displaced the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL)'s Chilliwack Chiefs, who relocated to Langley to become the Langley Chiefs. They have since been sold to RG Properties to allow them to move the team to Victoria. The previous ownership group had an offer of 7.75 Million from the Chiefs development group including Justin Morneau and Willie Mitchell.

The Bruins opened their inaugural season in 2006–07 at Prospera Centre on September 21, 2006, defeating the Kelowna Rockets by a score of 3–1. Keith Voytechek scored the first goal in franchise history, while Alex Archibald earned the first win by a Bruins goaltender. A month later, on October 28, Archibald became the first Bruins goaltender to record a shutout with a 3–0 win over the Tri-City Americans, which also established the first Bruins road win. Forward Josh Aspenlind established another Bruins first later in the season with the franchise's first hat-trick on February 23, 2007, against the Kamloops Blazers. General Manager Darrell May and the team's first head coach, Jim Hiller, the Bruins posted an overall record of 25–40–5–2, the third best overall record for a WHL expansion team, and made it to the post-season. In the 2007 playoffs, the Bruins played the eventual Memorial Cup champion Vancouver Giants in the first round and lost the series 4–1.

Bruins forwards Mark Santorelli and Oscar Moller emerged in the team's second season in 2007–08, establishing team marks in all statistical categories. Santorelli set team marks with 74 assists and 101 points, earning the team's first major WHL trophy by leading the league in scoring, while Moller scored a franchise-high 39 goals. The Bruins finished in 7th place in the Western Conference and lost to the Giants in the first round. All games were decided by one goal.

After missing the playoffs in 2008–09, the Bruins fired head coach Jim Hiller. On June 3, 2009, the team named Marc Habscheid as head coach and general manager.

Initial interest in the team was good, prior to the arrival of the Abbotsford Heat of the American Hockey League. Following the Heat's arrival, interest in the Bruins waned and the team was sold to an ownership group from Victoria, British Columbia.

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

Team records

 * Full List of Team Records

NHL draftees

 * Oscar Moller (Drafted by Los Angeles Kings in 2007; second round, 52nd overall)
 * Mark Santorelli (Drafted by Nashville Predators in 2007; fourth round, 119th overall)
 * Ryan Howse (Drafted by Calgary Flames in 2009; third round, 74th overall)
 * Roman Horak (Drafted by New York Rangers in 2009; fifth round, 127th overall)
 * Kevin Sundher (Drafted by Buffalo Sabres in 2010; third round, 75th overall)
 * Tyler Stahl (Drafted by Carolina Hurricanes in 2010; sixth round, 167th overall)
 * Dylen McKinlay (Drafted by Minnesota Wild in 2010; seventh round, 189th overall)

NHL alumni

 * Oscar Moller
 * Nick Holden

Transactions

 * Keith Voytechek traded to the Moose Jaw Warriors for Defenseman Dylan Chapman - October 8, 2006
 * Stephen Lenoski traded to the Spokane Chiefs for Defenseman Matt McCue - December 28, 2006
 * Myles Stoesz traded to the Regina Pats for Forward Brayden Metz - January 10, 2007
 * Bruins traded a 5th round 2007 Bantam Draft pick to the Brandon Wheat Kings for Forward Michael Proudley
 * Bruins traded a 4th round 2007 Bantam Draft pick to the Everett Silvertips for Goaltender Matt Esposito
 * Goaltender Alex Archibald and Bruins list player Tyler Halliday were traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings in lieu of Edmonton selecting a player from the Bruins unprotected list for their expansion draft pick