The Kamloops Blazers are a

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

team in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...

(WHL). The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference, is based out of

Kamloops, British Columbia Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, ...

, and play home games at

Sandman Centre The Sandman Centre (formerly known as Riverside Coliseum and Interior Savings Centre) is a 5,464-seat multi-purpose arena in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. It is home to the Kamloops Blazers Ice hockey team. The arena is owned by The City of ...

. The Blazers originated as the

Estevan Bruins Estevan is the eighth-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is approximately north of the Canada–United States border. The Souris River runs by the city. This city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5. History Th ...

in 1966, became the

New Westminster Bruins The New Westminster Bruins were a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. There were two franchises that carried this name: * 1971–1981 (formerly the Estevan Bruins, now the Kamloops Blazers) * 1983–1988 (formerly the Nan ...

in 1971, and relocated to Kamloops in 1981 as the Kamloops Junior Oilers. The Blazers have won the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

three times; in 1992, 1994, and 1995, and the Ed Chynoweth Cup six times.

History

The franchise was granted in 1966 as the ''

'' in

Estevan, Saskatchewan Estevan is the eighth-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is approximately north of the Canada–United States border. The Souris River runs by the city. This city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5. History Th ...

. In 1971, it moved to

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capi ...

, British Columbia, and was known as the ''

''. It then moved to Kamloops in 1981 and was known as the ''Junior Oilers'' until 1984, when it was given its present name, the ''Kamloops Blazers''. The team moved from the

Kamloops Memorial Arena The Kamloops Memorial Arena is an ice hockey arena built in 1948 in Kamloops, British Columbia. It hosted the Western Hockey League teams including the Kamloops Chiefs, Kamloops Junior Oilers and, most notably, the Kamloops Blazers. It was repla ...

to the Riverside Coliseum, then renamed the "Interior Savings Centre", in 1992, and finally changed to the Sandman Centre in 2015, due to co-owner

Tom Gaglardi R. Thomas Gaglardi (born December 7, 1967)S ...

also owning the Sandman hotels brand. The team has won the most

s of any team in the WHL with five, two as New Westminster (1977 and 1978) and three as Kamloops (1992, 1994 and 1995). The

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey ‒ LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey ...

(CHL) record is seven, held by the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros ...

, now known as the

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marl ...

. The franchise began in 1946 as the Humboldt Indians of the

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years o ...

(SJHL) and moved to Estevan to become the Bruins in 1957. The franchise has won the President's Cup a record 11 times, once in Estevan, four times in a row in New Westminster and six times since relocating to Kamloops. The Blazers hosted the 1995 Memorial Cup, also winning the WHL championship that year. The team was featured as a plot element in a book called ''Blazer Drive'' by

Sigmund Brouwer Sigmund Brouwer (born 1959) is a prolific Canadian author of children's, young adult, and adult books. He has over 100 titles and four million books in print. Brouwer's novel, ''Dead Man's Switch'', won the Arthur Ellis Award in 2015 for Canad ...

WHL finals appearances

* 1983–84: ''Win'', 4–3 vs. Regina * 1984–85: Loss, 0–4 vs. Prince Albert * 1985–86: ''Win'', 4–1 vs.

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are wit ...

* 1987–88: Loss, 2–4 vs. Medicine Hat * 1989–90: ''Win'', 4–1 vs.

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to t ...

* 1991–92: ''Win'', 4–3 vs.

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

* 1993–94: ''Win'', 4–3 vs. Saskatoon * 1994–95: ''Win'', 4–2 vs. Brandon * 1998–99: Loss, 1–4 vs.

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

Memorial Cup appearances

* 1984 Memorial Cup – ''Loss'', 2–7 vs.

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

in semifinal (''as Kamloops Junior Oilers'') * 1986 Memorial Cup – ''Loss'', 3–9 vs.

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

in semifinal *

1990 Memorial Cup The 1990 Memorial Cup occurred May 5–13 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario. It was the 72nd annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Participating teams ...

– ''Loss'', 0–3 in round-robin (vs. Kitchener (7–8 OT),

Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the ...

(6–7 OT) & Laval (2–4)) *

1992 Memorial Cup The 1992 Memorial Cup occurred May 9–17 at the Coliseum in Seattle. It was the 74th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Participating teams were the Western ...

– ''Win'', 5–4 vs. Sault Ste. Marie * 1994 Memorial Cup – ''Win'', 5–3 vs. Laval * 1995 Memorial Cup – ''Win'', 8–2 vs.

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Coaches

Notable head coaches in the history of the Kamloops Blazers include

Ken Hitchcock Kenneth S. Hitchcock (born December 17, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach. Hitchcock coached the Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League ...

, Tom Renney,

Don Hay Don Hay (born February 13, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and National Hockey League head coach. As a player, Hay played shortly in the International Hockey League before becoming a three-time Memorial Cup-winning co ...

Marc Habscheid Marc Joseph Habscheid (born March 1, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former National Hockey League player. Habscheid is the former head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League. He was drafted in the sixth round, 1 ...

and Dean Evason.

Players

Current roster

Updated December 8, 2022.

NHL alumni

:''Totals include those who played for the franchise as the Kamloops Junior Oilers'' *

Jared Aulin Jared Aulin (born March 15, 1982) is a Canadian former professional hockey centre. He was a second round selection of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2000 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft and played 17 NHL games for the Los Angeles Kings. ...

* Len Barrie *

Nolan Baumgartner Nolan Baumgartner (born March 23, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was formerly an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Baumgartner was selected by the Washington Capita ...

Robin Bawa Robin N. Bawa (born March 26, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent parts of four seasons in the National Hockey League between 1989 and 1994. Playing career Bawa spent five productive seasons of junior hockey in the ...

Brian Benning Brian Anthony Benning (born June 10, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, and F ...

Craig Berube Craig Berube (; born December 17, 1965) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the head coach for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Chief", Berube played 17 seasons in the NHL for ...

Doug Bodger Douglas Paul Bodger (born June 18, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman in the National Hockey League. Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins ninth overall in the 1984 NHL Draft he would play in over 1,000 games in the NHL w ...

Zac Boyer Zachary Jason Boyer (born October 25, 1971) is a Canadian former National Hockey League right winger. In the final game of the 1992 Memorial Cup, Boyer scored the championship-winning goal for the Kamloops Blazers with 14 seconds remaining i ...

* Mike Brown * Rob Brown *

Garth Butcher Garth Butcher (born January 8, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Butcher was a top prospect as a junior player and was a member of the first Canadian team to win gold at the world junior championship. Butcher played in ...

Kyle Calder Kyle Charles Calder (born January 5, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim D ...

* Erik Christensen * Dave Chyzowski * Dean Clark * Ken Daneyko *

Jarrett Deuling Jarrett Rufus Deuling (born March 4, 1974 in Vernon, British Columbia) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player. He played in 15 games for the New York Islanders during the 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons. The rest of his career ...

* Rob DiMaio *

Robert Dirk Robert Michael Dirk (born August 20, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Dirk played in the National Hockey League between 1987 and 1996. Playing career Dirk was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. He was selected 54th overall in ...

Shane Doan Shane Albert Doan (born October 10, 1976) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player currently serving as chief hockey development officer for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Doan spent the entir ...

Hnat Domenichelli Hnat A. Domenichelli (born February 16, 1976) is a Canadian-Swiss former professional ice hockey player of Ukrainian descent. He was drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the fourth round, 83rd overall, of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He played 267 Nati ...

* Devan Dubnyk *

Micki DuPont Micki DuPont (born April 15, 1980) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for Eisbären Berlin in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Playing career Normally playing ...

Joel Edmundson Joel Edmundson (born June 28, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the St. Louis Blues and Carolina Hurricanes. Gr ...

Keaton Ellerby Keaton Ellerby (born November 5, 1988) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He last played under contract with the Sheffield Steelers of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). He previously played in the National Hockey League for ...

Todd Ewen Todd Gordon Ewen (March 22, 1966 – September 19, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for several teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). A right wing, Ewen was primarily known as an enforcer. He played for the ...

* Dean Evason * Dylan Ferguson *

Scott Ferguson Scott Ferguson (born January 6, 1973) is a Canadian former Métis professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Edmonton Oilers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Minnesota Wild. He was an assistant coach, alo ...

* Mark Ferner *

Steve Gainey Steve Gainey (born January 26, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in parts of four seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes. He is the son of former NHL player and exec ...

Greg Hawgood Gregory William Hawgood (born August 10, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Pengu ...

Corey Hirsch Corey Hirsch (born July 1, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender, currently working for Sportsnet as a colour commentator on Vancouver Canucks radio broadcasts. He spent the majority of his National Hockey Leagu ...

* Jason Holland *

Ryan Huska Ryan Huska (born July 2, 1975) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the current head coach for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Huska was drafted in the third round, 76th overall, in the 199 ...

* Jarome Iginla * Jonas Johansson *

Ty Jones Tyler Jones (born February 22, 1979) is an American former professional ice hockey winger. Playing career He was drafted in the first round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft with the 16th overall pick by the Chicago Blackhawks. After playing four ...

Mark Kachowski Mark Edward Kachowski (born February 20, 1965) is a Canadian former ice hockey player. A left winger, he played three seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the ...

Paul Kruse Paul Johannes Kruse (born March 15, 1970) is a Canadian former ice hockey left wing. He played in the National Hockey League with the Calgary Flames, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and San Jose Sharks between 1991 and 2001. He was draft ...

Bryce Lampman Bryce James Lampman (born August 31, 1982) is an American former professional ice hockey Defenseman who played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers. Playing career Lampman was drafted 113th overall by the New York Rangers i ...

* J.C. Lipon * Brad Lukowich *

David Mackey David Mackey (born July 24, 1966) is a Canadian former professional National Hockey League player. He played parts of six seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota North Stars, and St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ...

* Pat MacLeod * Mike MacWilliam *

Dean Malkoc Dean Malkoc (born January 26, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent four seasons in the National Hockey League between 1995 and 1999 with the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and New York Islanders. The rest of ...

* Dave Marcinyshyn *

Gordon Mark Gordon F. Mark (born September 10, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted in the sixth round, 105 overall, in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. Mark played 85 National Hockey League games for the New Jersey Devils ...

Shaone Morrisonn Shaone Morrisonn (born December 23, 1982) is a Canadian-Croatian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently under contract with the Dubai Mighty Camels in the Emirates Ice Hockey League (EHL). He played for the Boston Bruins, Washing ...

* Chris Murray *

Tyson Nash Tyson Scott Nash (born March 11, 1975) is a Canadian former ice hockey left winger. He announced his retirement on September 11, 2008. He last played for the Nippon Paper Cranes in Japan during the 2007–08 season. Hockey Nash spent his firs ...

Mike Needham Michael Lawrence Needham (born April 4, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 86 games in the National Hockey League with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Dallas Stars between 1992 and 1994. Needham was born in Calgary, ...

* Scott Niedermayer *

Colton Orr Colton "Bobby" Douglas Orr (born March 3, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Having played nearly 500 games in the NHL, Orr was known as an enforcer for his physical style of play and for regularly fighting. In 2019, he ...

Steve Passmore Steve Passmore (born January 29, 1973 in Thunder Bay, Ontario) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques as their ninth-round pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. He played 93 games in the NHL bet ...

* Ed Patterson *

Rudy Poeschek Rudolph Leopold "Pot Pie" Poeschek (born September 29, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, Tampa Bay Lightning, and St. Louis Blues ...

* Brendan Ranford * Daryl Reaugh *

Mark Recchi Mark Louis Recchi (; born February 1, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former assistant coach. Recchi played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, ...

* Robyn Regehr *

Cam Severson Cam Severson (born August 15, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Draft Severson was drafted in the eighth round, 192nd overall, by the San Jose Sharks in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Career After playing five full seas ...

* Ron Shudra * Trevor Sim * Rob Skrlac *

Tyler Sloan Tyler Sloan (born March 15, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. An undrafted player, Sloan spent seven years in the minor leagues before making his National Hockey League debut for the Washington Capitals in his hometown ...

* Colin Smith * Geoff Smith * Ryan Stewart * Jason Strudwick *

Darryl Sydor Darryl Marion Sydor (born May 13, 1972) is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey defenceman. He won two Stanley Cups during his career: with the Dallas Stars in 1999, and with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. He also reached the Stanl ...

Darcy Tucker Darcy Tucker (born March 15, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played most of his National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. A sixth round draft choice, Tucker began his NHL career with the Mon ...

* Scottie Upshall *

Gord Walker Gord Walker (born August 12, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 31 games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings between 1987 and 1989. The rest of his career, which last ...

David Wilkie David Wilkie may refer to: * David Wilkie (artist) (1785–1841), Scottish painter * David Wilkie (surgeon) (1882–1938), British surgeon, scientist and philanthropist * David Wilkie (footballer) (1914–2011), Australian rules footballer * David ...

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

References

External links

Kamloops Blazers official website
{{British Columbia Sports Ice hockey teams in British Columbia Ice hockey clubs established in 1981 Western Hockey League teams Sport in Kamloops 1981 establishments in British Columbia Northland Properties