The Kimberley Dynamiters are a defunct

senior ice hockey Senior hockey refers to amateur or semi-professional ice hockey competition. There are no age restrictions for Senior players, who typically consist of those whose Junior eligibility has expired. Senior hockey leagues operate under the jurisd ...

club that played prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in the West Kootenay Hockey League (WKHL). In 1936 the Kimberley Dynamiters won the

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are th ...

, defeating the Sudbury Falcons in the best of 3 final series with a score of 2 games to 0. The team went on to win the 1937 World Ice Hockey Championships. The 1935-1936 Kimberley Dynamiters was inducted as a Team into the

BC Sports Hall of Fame The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in BC Place Stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia's spo ...

in 1976.

History

The West Kootenay League operated from 1922-23 through 1940-41. Many of the players resisted the idea of turning professional because, with the promise of high paying

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

jobs, they had secure jobs for life and were making as much, if not more, than players in the NHL. In 1931 the Kimberley Dynamiters joined the

West Kootenay League The West Kootenay League, also referred to as the ''West Kootenay Hockey League'' (WKHL), is a defunct senior men's ice hockey league that operated in eastern British Columbia from 1922–1941, and also during the 1945-46 season. In 1946-47 the lea ...

, and thus began an immediate rivalry with the always strong Trail Smoke Eaters, a true powerhouse of senior British Columbia hockey. Kimberley was home to the Sullivan Mine, one of the largest lead and zinc mines in the world. The mining company, Cominco, actively scouted players for their Kimberly team hoping to build a team that would beat their rivals from

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. The promise of a good wage and steady work attracted some of the very best hockey players to the area. Players with the Kimberly Dynamiters in the 1930s were making more money than a regular player in the NHL. The result was that the West Kootenay League became the centre for some of the best hockey in Canada. The Dynamiters won the Savage Cup, as British Columbia's Senior AAA hockey champion, in 1934 and 1935 and 1936, and captured their first

in 1936 by defeating the Sudbury Falcons in the best of 3 final series 2 games to 0. The Allan Cup title won the Dynamiters the right to represent Canada at the 1937 World Ice Hockey Championships, held that year in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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. At this world tournament the Kimberley Dynamiters recorded a perfect record of nine wines, with no losses, to decisively win the title of World Champions. In 1941 the WKHL league suspended operations for three seasons due to

, and its teams merged with the Alberta Senior League to become the Alberta-British Columbia Senior League for the 1941-42 season. The West Kootenay League was resurrected for the 1945-46 season, and in 1946-47 the league expanded to Spokane and

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and became the Western International Hockey League.

1937 World Ice Hockey Championships team roster

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimberley Dynamiters (Wkhl) Defunct ice hockey teams in Canada Ice hockey teams in British Columbia West Kootenay League Ice hockey teams representing Canada internationally East Kootenay

History

1937 World Ice Hockey Championships team roster

See also

References