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Victoria Grizzlies

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Victoria Grizzlies
CityVictoria, British Columbia, Canada
LeagueBritish Columbia Hockey League
ConferenceCoastal
Founded1994
Home arenaThe Q Centre
ColoursGold, black, white
     
General managerRylan Ferster
Head coachRylan Ferster
Websitewww.victoriagrizzlies.com/
Franchise history
1994–2006Victoria Salsa
2006–presentVictoria Grizzlies

The Victoria Grizzlies are a junior ice hockey team based in Victoria, British Columbia. They are members of the Island Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at The Q Centre. The franchise was founded in 1994 as the Victoria Salsa.

History

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The Victoria Cougars were created as a Junior A team, playing out of Victoria, British Columbia, which joined the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL) as an expansion team for the start of the 1967–68 season. This brought the league to a total of six teams. After a 1971 realignment of junior hockey into "Major Junior" and "Tier II Junior A", the Cougars joined the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL), now the Western Hockey League. In 1994 the Cougars relocated to Prince George, British Columbia.

In 1990, the BCHL's Cowichan Valley Capitals relocated to Victoria from Duncan, British Columbia and became the Victoria Warriors.[1] The Warriors returned to Duncan in 1993 and became the Cowichan Valley Capitals again, so in 1994 the Victoria Salsa joined the BCHL as an expansion team.

Victoria Salsa Logo

At the start of the 2006–07 season, the team was renamed as the Victoria Grizzlies under the ownership of Len Barrie who was building Bear Mountain Resort at the time (hence the name Grizzlies). The Grizzlies hosted and played in the 2009 Royal Bank Cup, won by the Vernon Vipers. In the 2013–14 season they won the Island Division championship after beating Powell River 4–2 in game six.

In 2011 Ron Walchuk purchased the team and remained as the owner for almost 15 years. Most notably the team fell in a Conference Final in 2016-17 to the Chilliwack Chiefs and then again in the Conference Final to the Prince George Spruce Kings in 2018-19 with Alex Newhook as the team captain.

During the summer of 2024, the team was purchased by local businessman; Jim Hartshorne. Hartshorne also owns the Victoria Shamrocks of the WLA making for the combination of both franchises playing out of The Q Centre under the umbrella of "Keycorp Sports & Entertainment". That company was named for Hartshorne's Development company (Keycorp Developments).

The team found success right away under new ownership and presidency of David Michaud, finishing fourth in the Coastal Conference with a record of 28-17-9. They defeated the Coquitlam Express in the first round in just six games before finishing their Island Rival Cowichan Valley Capitals in the second round in six games as well. They are currently battling the Chilliwack Chiefs in the 2025 Coastal Conference Final.

Season-by-season record

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Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points

Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Pts Finish Playoffs
1994–95 60 21 35 4 — 263 338 46 4th, Coastal did not qualify
1995–96 60 12 43 5 — 219 314 29 4th, Coastal did not qualify
1996–97 60 24 35 1 — 213 273 49 6th, Coastal did not qualify
1997–98 60 31 24 5 — 188 209 67 3rd, Coastal Lost Quarterfinals, 3–4 (Chiefs)
1998–99 60 35 22 — 3 282 234 73 3rd, Coastal Lost Div. Semifinals, 2–3 (Chiefs)
1999–00 60 36 20 — 4 282 223 76 4th, Coastal Lost Conf. Quarterfinals, 2–4 (Clippers)
2000–01 60 29 23 — 8 225 205 66 2nd, Coastal Fred Page Cup Champions, 4–3 (Centennials)
2001–02 60 33 26 — 1 231 220 67 3rd, Coastal Lost Preliminary, 1–4 (Capitals)
2002–03 60 23 31 1 5 234 281 52 5th, Coastal did not qualify
2003–04 60 25 29 3 3 217 235 56 5th, Island Lost Preliminary, 1–4 (Eagles)
2004–05 60 16 39 0 5 176 255 37 5th, Island Lost Preliminary, 1–4 (Eagles)
2005–06 60 22 25 2 9 190 200 57 4th, Island Lost Semifinals, 1–4 (Express)
2006–07 60 39 17 3 1 263 211 82 2nd, Coastal Lost Quarterfinals, 2–4 (Capitals)
2007–08 60 30 22 3 5 204 189 68 5th, Coastal Lost Quarterfinals, 2–4 (Chiefs)
2008–09 60 43 13 1 3 237 159 90 1st, Island Lost Division Finals, 3–4 (Kings)
2009–10 60 34 18 2 6 220 175 76 3rd, Coastal Lost Div. Quarterfinals, 2–4 (Clippers)
2010–11 60 33 24 0 3 218 197 69 4th, Coastal Lost Division Semifinals, 4-3 (Kings)
2011–12 60 21 38 1 0 192 305 43 14th, BCHL did not qualify
2012–13 56 33 13 0 10 189 162 76 1st, Island Lost Division Finals, 2–3 (Bulldogs)
2013–14 58 37 15 3 3 212 163 80 1st, Island Eliminated 0–3 in round-robin
2014–15 58 29 18 1 10 208 205 69 2nd, Island Lost First Round (Kings)
2015–16 58 24 30 0 4 173 178 52 5th of 5, Island
11th of 17, BCHL		 did not qualify
2016–17 58 37 12 4 5 218 143 83 1st of 5, Island
4th of 17, BCHL		 Won Div. Semifinals, 4–1 (Clippers)
Won Div. Finals 4–3 (Kings)
Lost League Semi-finals 2–4 (Chiefs)
2017–18 58 32 18 4 4 216 187 72 1st of 5, Island
5th of 17, BCHL		 Won Div. Semifinals, 4–3 (Bulldogs)
Lost Div. Finals 1–4 (Kings)
2018–19 58 36 18 — 4 231 188 76 1st of 5, Island
5th of 17, BCHL		 Won First Round, 4–0 (Bulldogs)
Won Second Round, 4–3 (Kings)
Lost Semifinals, 0–4 (Spruce Kings)
2019–20 58 24 33 0 1 163 219 49 5th of 5, Island
14th of 17, BCHL		 Lost First Round, 0–4 ( Silverbacks)
2020–21 20 14 6 0 0 93 55 28 1st of 4, Alberni Val. Pod
4th of 16, BCHL		 Covid-19 "pod season" - no playoffs
2021–22 54 29 25 0 0 202 174 58 5th of 9, Coastal
11th of 18, BCHL		 Lost Div Quarterfinal, 4-1 (Rivermen)
2022–23 54 26 20 0 5 163 154 60 6th of 9, Coastal
12th of 18, BCHL		 Lost 1st round, 4-0 (Bulldogs)
2023–24 54 29 22 0 1 176 175 61 4th of 9, Coastal
9th of 17, BCHL		 Won 1st round, 4-1 (Clippers
Lost quarter finals, 4-2 (Eagles)
2024–25 54 28 17 8 1 205 191 65 4th of 10, Coastal
9th of 21, BCHL		 Won 1st round 4-2 (Express)
Won Quarterfinals 4-2 (Capitals)
Lost Semifinals 1-4 (Chiefs)

NHL alumni

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Awards and trophies

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Cowichan Valley Capitals About Us". CowichanCapitals.com. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
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