The Edmonton Ice were a Canadian major

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

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. A

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a 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 hocke ...

expansion team established in 1996, the team played only two seasons from 1996 to 1998 before relocating to

Cranbrook, British Columbia Cranbrook ( ) is a city in southeast British Columbia, Canada, located approximately 10 km southwest of the confluence of the Kootenay River and the St. Mary River (British Columbia), St. Mary's River. It is the largest urban centre in the region ...

, where the team became known as the

Kootenay Ice The Kootenay Ice (officially stylized as ICE) were a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Cranbrook, British Columbia, competing in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and playing its home games at Western Financial Place. The franchise, ...

History

The city of Edmonton had a rich history with the Western Hockey League (WHL), with Edmonton Oil Kings owner Bill Hunter serving as a driving force behind the establishment of the league in 1966. The Oil Kings were a successful early franchise, but relocated to Portland in 1976 after the establishment of the professional

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

. The Oil Kings briefly returned to the league for the 1978–79 season, but when the team relocated again, Edmonton was left without top-level junior hockey. After nearly two decades, the WHL expanded to Edmonton in 1996, and the Ice began play at the Northlands Agricom. On January 16, 1996, Dave Siciliano was announced as the first head coach for the Ice. Siciliano and team owner Ed Chynoweth were committed to building a relationship between the Ice and local

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

programs. The Ice completed the 1996–97 season with 14 wins in 72 games, placing last overall in the league, and did not qualify for the playoffs. When the team began the 1997–98 season with nine losses and one tie, Siciliano was fired on October 24, 1997, and replaced by assistant coach Ryan McGill. During Siciliano's tenure, the Ice lost 31 games by a one-goal margin. The team gained only three more wins and again missed the playoffs. After two seasons, the team relocated to Cranbrook, British Columbia, and became the

. The team has since been relocated twice more. In 2019, the team moved from Cranbrook to Winnipeg and was known as the

Winnipeg Ice The Winnipeg Ice (officially stylized as ICE) were a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded as an expansion Western Hockey League team in 1996 as the Edmonton Ice, the team played in Cranbrook, British Colum ...

; then, in 2023, the team moved to

Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and most populous city of Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and has increased to 35,508 as of 2020. ...

, where they are known as the Wenatchee Wild. Edmonton gained a new WHL expansion franchise in 2007, which was named the Edmonton Oil Kings after the original Edmonton WHL club.

Season-by-season record

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

NHL alumni

References

{{Defunct WHL 1996 establishments in Alberta 1998 disestablishments in Alberta Defunct ice hockey teams in Alberta Defunct Western Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1996 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1998

Ice Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...

History

Season-by-season record

NHL alumni

See also

References