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The Coquitlam Express are a
Junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...
team based in
Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with an estimated population of 174,248 in 2024, and one of th ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, Canada. They are members of the Coastal Conference of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at the Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex. Although the team had played in the neighbouring city of
Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...
for the previous five years, on 14 January 2010 it was announced that the BCHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the relocation of the franchise back to Coquitlam for the 2010–11 season.


History

The Coquitlam Express began play as a new franchise in the
BCHL The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice hockey league with 21 teams in British Columbia and Alberta. It was classified as a Junior "A" league within the Hockey Canada framework, until it became independe ...
for the 2001–02 hockey season, and played in the city for four seasons at the Coquitlam Sports Centre. Due to unsatisfactory conditions at the Sports Centre, specifically a reduction of parking due to the construction of a new aquatic complex next door, the team relocated to Burnaby for the 2005–06 season. Burnaby originally had a junior "A" team by the name of the Burnaby Bulldogs, which played in that city for four seasons (1998–2001). That team relocated to the city of
Port Alberni Port Alberni () is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. Port Alberni currently has a total popu ...
, on
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...
for the start of the 2002–03 season and was renamed the
Alberni Valley Bulldogs The Alberni Valley Bulldogs are a junior ice hockey team based in Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Island Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at Weyerhaeuser Arena. ...
. The 2005–06 season saw the Express win the league championship (Fred Page Cup) and the
Mowat Cup The Mowat Cup was donated to the British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association by John Mowat in 1927. Since 2024, it is awarded to the championship team from the British Columbia Hockey Conference (BCHC). The BCHC is made up of the Kootenay Interna ...
by defeating the Langley Hornets in four games, the Chilliwack Chiefs in 5 games, the Victoria Salsa in 5 games, and the Penticton Vees in six games. The team then defeated the
Fort McMurray Oil Barons The Fort McMurray Oil Barons are a Junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). They play in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada at the Centerfire Place. The Oil Barons have won three AJHL playoff championships, three regular ...
in six games for the Doyle Cup and entered the National Championship as Pacific Region winners. The Express won the Royal Bank Cup 2006 (National Championship) by defeating the Yorkton Terries by a score of 8–2. In the Semi-Final against the Fort William Northstars, they scored the tying goal with 12 seconds left in the third period then went on to win 3–2 in overtime. During the round-robin they had a record of 3–1, which seeded them 2nd in the Tournament, behind the hometown hosts Streetsville Derbys. In 2006–07 the Express were highly touted as a top team in the
Canadian Junior Hockey League The Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) is an association of Canadian junior ice hockey#Junior A, junior A ice hockey leagues and teams and was formed in November 1993, emerging from the Canada West Association of Junior 'A' Hockey. The champi ...
, with players like Kyle Turris and Tyler McNeely. In the first round of the BCHL playoffs, the team beat the Langley Chiefs in seven games before losing to the eventual BCHL league champions
Nanaimo Clippers The Nanaimo Clippers are a junior ice hockey team based in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Island Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at Frank Crane Arena. Franchise his ...
in seven games during the second round. The 2007 off-season saw a coaching change from Rick Lanz, a scout for the
Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...
, to Dave McLellan. The team was not very well-supported since the move from Coquitlam and struggled in attendance for the third straight year. By 17 October 2009, the Burnaby Express were averaging just 548 fans per game, which was the second lowest attendance of the 17 teams in the BCHL at the time. This was half the attendance the team averaged in their final season in Coquitlam (1,091 fans per game). With the team in last place in the Coastal Conference, on 16 January 2010 the Express announced the firing of coach Dave McLellan. General manager Darcy Rota took over during the interim, with Bill Zaharia and Tyler Kuntz named as assistants for the remainder of the 2009–10 season. On 13 April 2010, the Express named Jon Calvano as their next head coach. The 2010–11 season marked the Express' return to Coquitlam. They played their first game back at the newly renovated and renamed Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex on 24 September 2010, where they defeated the Surrey Eagles 4–2. Coquitlam made the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, losing in the first round to the Eagles in four games. The following year, they would again be eliminated in the first round, this time to the
Powell River Kings The Powell River Kings are a junior ice hockey team based in Powell River, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Coastal Conference of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at Hap Parker Arena. History ...
in six games. Following the 2011–12 season, the Express named Jon Calvano as general manager on top of his existing coaching duties. The 2012–13 season saw a great start for the Express until the team lost players to multiple injuries within a short period, including
New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...
draftee
Alexander Kerfoot Alexander Douglas Kerfoot (born August 11, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fifth round, 150th overall, by the New Jersey ...
. The team struggled for most of the latter half of the season and failed to reach the postseason for the third time in five years. Calvano was fired at the end of the season. Barry Wolff became the team's next head coach on 22 April 2013 and in the following season led the Express to their second Fred Page Cup championship, and their first and only appearance in the Western Canada Cup, where they finished fourth following a 5–3 loss in the semifinal to the AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints. Wolff was named the 2014 coach of the year by the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame and the team earned team of the year honours. The team achieved mixed success for the next couple of seasons, finishing fourth in the mainland division and eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in two consecutive seasons. The 2016–17 season again had the Express sustain many player injuries, resulting in a franchise worst 11–44–2–1 (25 points) record and finishing last in nearly every statistic. The following season continued the trend and after recording only three wins and eight points in the first half of the season, Wolff was fired and replaced with former OJHL's Toronto Patriots head coach Jason Fortier. The team turned around under Fortier until the 2019–20 season where the Express posted a franchise-best 47–9–1–1 (96 points) and won the Ron Boileau Memorial Trophy for the first time as regular season champions. Their performance over the regular season was enough to earn Fortier Coach of the Year honors for the 2019–20 season. Unfortunately, after winning their first round matchup with the Langley Rivermen,
Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...
cancelled the remainder of the Junior A season nationally due to the global
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, ending their run for a third league title. Fortier would leave the team in the off-season, with Dan Cioffi, coach of the BCMML's Valley West Giants, named as his replacement. He, however, would resign after the league's extended pre-season was paused by the Provincial Health Officer. Adam Nugent-Hopkins, older brother of Edmonton Oiler Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, took his place for the rest of the season alongside new GM Tali Campbell. He would coach the team to a 6-11-3 record in a 20 game pod season played against the Surrey Eagles and Powell River Kings. Brandon Shaw, previously assistant coach of the
Alberni Valley Bulldogs The Alberni Valley Bulldogs are a junior ice hockey team based in Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Island Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at Weyerhaeuser Arena. ...
, would be named head coach for the team's first full season since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. After a rough start, he would rally the team to a 22-26-6 record to bring the team back up to 7th in the Coastal Conference. The Express would be eliminated by the Chiefs in the first round but not without taking the series to a full seven games. Shaw would move up to become an assistant coach with the OHL's
Niagara Icedogs The Niagara IceDogs are a Canadian Hockey League, major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League based in St. Catharines, Ontario, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The franchise was originally known as the Mississauga IceDogs and found ...
, leaving the team to find their fourth head coach in three seasons. Not only was it announced that Vees assistant coach Patrick Sexton would become the new bench boss for the 2022-23 season, but on 17 August 2022 it was announced that a newly-retired Kyle Turris would be returning to the Express as a special advisor to GM Campbell and as a player development coach. Sexton would remain as head coach through to the end of the 2023-24 regular season, where he was replaced with Jeff Wagner for the duration of the team's playoff run following a poor record in the second half of the season. The team would bounce back but would lose in the first round to Alberni Valley in a closely fought seven-game series. During a game against the Langley Rivermen on 2 November 2022, the Express set a new all-time attendance record of 2209 fans at the Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex.


Season-by-season record


Coquitlam Express, 2001-2005

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


Burnaby Express, 2005-2010

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


Coquitlam Express, 2010-present

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


Notable alumni

*
Mathew Barzal Mathew Barzal (born May 26, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Barzal was selected by the Islanders in the first round, 16th overall, of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. ...
* Mark Dekanich * Brad Hunt * David Jones *
Alexander Kerfoot Alexander Douglas Kerfoot (born August 11, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fifth round, 150th overall, by the New Jersey ...
* Andrew Ladd *
Milan Lucic Milan Lucic (; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played major junior career with the Vancouver ...
*
Wyatt Russell Wyatt Hawn Russell (born July 10, 1986) is an American actor and former professional ice hockey goaltender. He is best known for his portrayal of John Walker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe media franchise beginning with the Disney+ series '' ...
* Kyle Turris * Patrick Wiercioch * Brandon Yip * Clay Stevenson


Awards and trophies

Royal Bank Cup *2006 Doyle Cup *2006
Mowat Cup The Mowat Cup was donated to the British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association by John Mowat in 1927. Since 2024, it is awarded to the championship team from the British Columbia Hockey Conference (BCHC). The BCHC is made up of the Kootenay Interna ...
*2006 *2014 Fred Page Cup *2006 *2014 Cliff McNabb Memorial Trophy
Coastal Conference Champions *2006 Mainland Division Champions *2014 Ron Boileau Memorial Trophy
Regular Season Champions *2020
Bob Fenton Trophy
Most Sportsmanlike (Coastal) * Colton Kerfoot: 2016 *
Alexander Kerfoot Alexander Douglas Kerfoot (born August 11, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fifth round, 150th overall, by the New Jersey ...
: 2012 *Brock Bradford: 2004 Bruce Allison Memorial Trophy
Rookie Of The Year (Coastal) * Brett Supinski: 2015 *
Alexander Kerfoot Alexander Douglas Kerfoot (born August 11, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fifth round, 150th overall, by the New Jersey ...
: 2012 * Destry Straight: 2011 * Kyle Turris: 2006 * Brett Hemingway: 2002
Brett Hull Brett Andrew Hull (born August 9, 1964) is a Canadians, Canadian–Americans, American former ice hockey player and general manager, and currently an executive vice president of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played f ...
Trophy
Top Scorer * Corey Mackin: 2015 * Carlo Finucci: 2008 Vern Dye Memorial Trophy
Most Valuable Player (Coastal) * Corey Mackin: 2015 * Alex Petan: 2012 * Carlo Finucci: 2008 * Kyle Turris: 2007 Michael Garteig Trophy
Top Goaltender * Clay Stevenson: 2020 Wally Forslund Trophy
Top Goaltending Duo * Clay Stevenson & Jack Watson: 2020 Joe Tennant Memorial Trophy
Coach of the Year * Jason Fortier: 2020


See also

*
List of ice hockey teams in British Columbia The following is a list of ice hockey teams in British Columbia, past and present. It includes the league(s) they play for, and championships won. Major Professional National Hockey League Professional Women's Hockey League Pacific Coast Ho ...


References


External links


Official website
{{British Columbia Sports British Columbia Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in British Columbia Sport in Coquitlam 2001 establishments in British Columbia Ice hockey clubs established in 2001