Victoria Royals

Victoria Royals
City:	Victoria, British Columbia
League:	Western Hockey League
Conference:	Western
Division:	B.C.
Founded:	2011
Home Arena:	Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
Colours:	Royal blue, Silver, White, Black
Head Coach:	Cam Hope
General Manager:	David Lowry
Franchise history
2006–11:	Chilliwack Bruins
2011–present:	Victoria Royals

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

Relocation

Victoria was left without a WHL team since 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 WHL 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 league 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's Phoenix Coyotes to Winnipeg could result in the American Hockey League'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.

The Royals played their first game, a 5-2 loss against the Vancouver Giants in Vancouver on September 23, 2011. They won their first game in franchise history on September 24, 2011, defeating the Giants 5-3, in front of a sold-out crowd of 7,006 at SOFMC in Victoria.

Season-by-season record

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

Season	GP	W	L	OL	SL	GF	GA	Points	Finish	Playoffs
2011–12	72	24	41	3	4	233	325	55	4th B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarter-final (0–4, KAM)
2012–13	72	35	30	2	5	223	252	77	3rd B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarter-final (2–4, KAM)
2013–14	72	48	20	1	3	238	181	100	2nd B.C.	Won Western Conference quarter-final (4–0, SPO) Lost Western Conference semi-final (1–4, POR)
2014–15	72	39	29	3	1	244	219	82	2nd B.C.	Won Western Conference quarter-final (4–1, PRG) Lost Western Conference semi-final (1–4, KEL)
2015–16	72	50	16	3	3	281	166	106	1st B.C.	Won Western Conference quarter-final (4–2, SPO) Lost Western Conference semi-final (3–4 KEL)
2017–18	72	39	27	4	2	287	264	84	2nd B.C.	Won B.C. Division Semifinal (4-3, VAN) Lost B.C. Division Final (4–0, EVE)
2018-19	68	34	30	2	2	199	227	72	2nd B.C.	KAM]]) Lost Conf. SF 0-4 (VAN)
2019-20	64	32	24	6	2	176	190	72	2nd B.C.	Playoffs cancelled
2020-21	22	3	17	1	1	48	96	8	5th B.C.	Playoffs cancelled
2021–22	68	23	39	5	1	193	275	52	5th B.C.	Did not qualify
2022–23	68	17	43	6	2	199	323	42	5th B.C.	Did not qualify
2023–24	68	29	30	5	4	221	272	67	4th B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarter-final (0–4, POR)

External links

• Victoria Royals Official Web Site