Victoria Royals

History

Victoria was left without a WHL team when the Cougars franchise relocated to Prince George in 1994. The city acquired a professional ECHL—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 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 Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg could result in the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose moving to Victoria.

The Royals got off to a relatively strong start in Victoria, making the playoffs in each of the team's first eight seasons; the team was on track to make the playoffs for a ninth straight year in 2019–20 when the season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. The team's best season came in 2015–16. The Royals reached the 50-win mark for the first time and secured their first Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the league's best team in the regular season. They ultimately lost their second-round playoff series against the defending champion Kelowna Rockets; the Royals were leading in the seventh and deciding game when the Rockets tied the game with less than a second remaining in regulation, going on to win in overtime.

Season-by-season record

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

Players

Team captains

• Hayden Rintoul, 2011–2012
• Tyler Stahl, 2012–2013
• Jordan Fransoo, 2013–2014
• Joe Hicketts, 2014–2016
• Ryan Gagnon, 2016–2017
• Matthew Phillips, 2017–2018
• Phillip Schultz, 2019–2020
• Tarun Fizer, 2021–2022
• Gannon Laroque, 2022–2023
• Justin Kipkie, 2024–2025
• Reggie Newman, 2025–present

NHL alumni

The following is a list of players from the Victoria Royals who have played in the National Hockey League.

• Noah Gregor
• Joe Hicketts
• Brayden Pachal
• Matthew Phillips
• Brayden Tracey

Head coaches

On November 6, 2023, following a 6–3 loss to the Wenatchee Wild, the Royals dismissed Price and named former Winnipeg Ice head coach James Patrick the fifth head coach in franchise history.

List of coaches

Awards and honours

Team

Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy

WHL Regular Season Champion

• 2015–16

St. Clair Group Trophy

WHL Marketing/Business Award

• 2015–16

WHL Scholastic Team of the Year

• 2016–17

Individual

Brad Hornung Trophy

WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player

• Tyler Soy: 2015–16

Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy

WHL Rookie of the Year

• Matthew Phillips: 2015–16

Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy

WHL Coach of the Year

• Dave Lowry (2): 2013–14, 2015–16
• James Patrick: 2024–25

Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy

WHL Executive of the Year

• Cam Hope: 2013–14

WHL Western Conference First All-Star Team

• Joe Hicketts: 2015–16
• Matthew Phillips: 2016–17, 2017–18

WHL Western Conference Second All-Star Team

• Joe Hicketts: 2014–15
• Tyler Soy: 2015–16
• Scott Walford: 2018–19
• Justin Kipkie: 2024–25

WHL B.C. Division First All-Star Team

• Gannon Laroque: 2021–22
• Bailey Peach: 2021–22
• Justin Kipkie: 2023–24

WHL B.C. Division Second All-Star Team

• Tarun Fizer: 2021–22

References

References

1. Epp, Sharie. (April 1, 2011). "Western Hockey League's Bruins moving to Victoria: report". Victoria Times-Colonist.
2. Olsen, Tyler. (April 1, 2011). "Keith confirms Bruins have been sold, confidentiality agreements now in place". [[The Province]].
3. Olsen, Tyler. (April 20, 2011). "WHL's Chilliwack Bruins are no more, moving to Victoria". [[Vancouver Sun]].
4. Maki, Allan. (April 20, 2011). "Phoenix failure felt as far away as Victoria". [[The Globe and Mail]].
5. Dheensaw, Cleve. (2020-03-18). "Victoria Royals’ regular season abandoned". Times-Colonist.
6. Dheensaw, Cleve. (2016-03-17). "One goal down, few more to go for Victoria Royals". The Times-Colonist.
7. Dheensaw, Cleve. (2016-04-19). "Rockets defeat Royals in OT after tying game in last second". The Times-Colonist.
8. "ROYALS ANNOUNCE DAVE LOWRY AS HEAD COACH – Victoria Royals".
9. "LA Kings Bolster Staff as Dave Lowry is Named Assistant Coach".
10. "ROYALS NAME DAN PRICE AS HEAD COACH – Victoria Royals".
11. (November 6, 2023). "Royals Announce Change To Coaching Staff".
12. (November 6, 2023). "Royals Name James Patrick Head Coach".
13. Kepke, Cami. (April 29, 2025). "Royals Head Coach Patrick awarded Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy as 2024-25 WHL Coach of the Year". WHL.ca.
14. Kepke, Cami. (April 1, 2025). "WHL names Second All-Star Teams for 2024-25". WHL.ca.