Kamloops Blazers

The Kamloops Blazers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kamloops, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference and plays its home games at the Sandman Centre. The Blazers originated as the Estevan Bruins in 1966, became the New Westminster Bruins in 1971, and relocated to Kamloops in 1981 as the Kamloops Junior Oilers. After moving to Kamloops, the Blazers became the WHL's most successful club, winning a record six President's Cups, a record seven Scotty Munro Memorial Trophies, and three Memorial Cup titles, all between 1983 and 1995.

History

The Blazers franchise originated as one of the league's founding clubs, the Estevan Bruins, when the league launched in 1966. After winning a league title in 1968, owner and manager Scotty Munro sold his stake in the club in 1969 and moved on to the Calgary Centennials; two years later, the team moved to New Westminster, British Columbia, as part of the Western Canada Hockey League's effort to span the four Western Canadian provinces. The New Westminster Bruins established a WCHL dynasty in the 1970s, winning four consecutive league titles between 1975 and 1978 and the 1977 and 1978 Memorial Cups. Despite the team's success, it was relocated again in 1981, moving to Kamloops, where the team—supported directly by the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers—was initially known as the Junior Oilers. In 1984, the team came under community ownership and was renamed the Blazers.

In Kamloops, the Blazers quickly established a dynasty of their own. The team made three straight finals appearances from 1984 to 1986, winning in their first and third appearances; after a finals loss in 1988, the team would win four more President's Cups between 1990 and 1995. Led at various times by future NHL stars Scott Niedermayer, Darryl Sydor, Jarome Iginla, Shane Doan, Darcy Tucker, Corey Hirsch, and others, and managed by future NHL coaches including Ken Hitchcock and Tom Renney, the Blazers went on to win three Memorial Cup titles in a four-year span, the only team to achieve such a feat. The Blazers hosted the third Memorial Cup tournament in that run in 1995.

When the team arrived in Kamloops, they played at the Kamloops Memorial Arena before moving to the new Riverside Coliseum in 1992.

After their run of success, the Blazers would go twelve seasons without winning a playoff round; the team missed the playoffs for the first time in 2006, and missed four more times between 2011 and 2018. The team hosted the Memorial Cup for a second time in 2023. At the tournament, they were eliminated in overtime of a tie-breaker game against the Peterborough Petes.

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''

Championship history

* Memorial Cup (3): 1992, 1994, 1995
* President's Cup (6): 1983–84, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95
* Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy (7): 1983–84, 1986–87, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95
* Playoff Division titles (9): 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1998–99
* Regular season Division titles (17): 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2011–12, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23

WHL Championships series

* 1983–84: Win, 4–3 vs. Regina Pats
* 1984–85: Loss, 0–4 vs. Prince Albert Raiders
* 1985–86: Win, 4–1 vs. Medicine Hat Tigers
* 1987–88: Loss, 2–4 vs. Medicine Hat
* 1989–90: Win, 4–1 vs. Lethbridge Hurricanes
* 1991–92: Win, 4–3 vs. Saskatoon Blades
* 1993–94: Win, 4–3 vs. Saskatoon Blades
* 1994–95: Win, 4–2 vs. Brandon Wheat Kings
* 1998–99: Loss, 1–4 vs. Calgary Hitmen

Memorial Cup finals

*1992: Win, 5–4 vs. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
*1994: Win, 5–3 vs. Laval Titan
*1995'':'' Win, 8–2 vs. Detroit Junior Red Wings

Coaches

Notable head coaches in the history of the Kamloops Blazers include Ken Hitchcock, Tom Renney, Don Hay, Marc Habscheid, and Dean Evason.

NHL alumni

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

* Jared Aulin
* Warren Babe
* Rudolfs Balcers
* Len Barrie
* Victor Bartley
* Nolan Baumgartner
* Robin Bawa
* Brian Benning
* Craig Berube
* Doug Bodger
* Zac Boyer
* Mike Brown
* Rob Brown
* Garth Butcher
*Kyle Calder
* Jim Camazzola
* Erik Christensen
* Dave Chyzowski
* Dean Clark
* Ken Daneyko
* Scott Daniels
* Jarrett Deuling
* Rob DiMaio
* Shane Doan
* Hnat Domenichelli
* Devan Dubnyk
* Micki DuPont
* Joel Edmundson
* Keaton Ellerby
* Todd Ewen
* Dean Evason
* Dylan Ferguson
* Scott Ferguson
* Mark Ferner
* Steve Gainey
* Marc Habscheid
* Richard Hajdu
* Bruce Holloway
* Greg Hawgood
* Corey Hirsch
* Jason Holland
* Tony Horacek
* Ryan Huska
* Jarome Iginla
* Connor Ingram
* Jonas Johansson
* Ty Jones
* Mark Kachowski
* Matt Kassian
* Doug Kostynski
* Paul Kruse
* Bryce Lampman
* JC Lipon
* Jan Ludvig
* Brad Lukowich
* Ray Macias
* David Mackey
* Pat MacLeod
* Mike MacWilliam
* Dean Malkoc
* Dave Marcinyshyn
* Gord Mark
* Fraser Minten
* Shaone Morrisonn
* Glenn Mulvenna
* Chris Murray
* Tyson Nash
* Mike Needham
* Scott Niedermayer
* Colton Orr
* Steve Passmore
* Ed Patterson
* Garrett Pilon
* Rudy Poeschek
* Gage Quinney
* Brendan Ranford
* Daryl Reaugh
* Mark Recchi
* Robyn Regehr
* Cam Severson
* Ron Shudra
* Trevor Sim
* Rob Skrlac
* Tyler Sloan
* Jiri Smejkal
* Colin Smith
* Geoff Smith
* Logan Stankoven
* Ryan Stewart
* Jason Strudwick
* Darryl Sydor
* Darcy Tucker
* Scottie Upshall
* Kris Versteeg
* Gordie Walker
* David Wilkie
* Connor Zary
* Olen Zellweger

See also

*List of ice hockey teams in British Columbia

References

External links

*

{{British Columbia Sports

Ice hockey teams in British Columbia
Ice hockey clubs established in 1981
Western Hockey League teams
Sports clubs and teams in Kamloops
1981 establishments in British Columbia
Northland Properties