The Spokane Flyers were 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 that played one and a half seasons in the

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 ...

from 1980–1982. They played in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, United States.

History

This team is not to be confused with the

Spokane Flyers Spokane Flyers could mean: * Spokane Flyers (senior), a former senior ice hockey team in the Western International Hockey League * Spokane Flyers (junior), a former junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League {{disambig ...

that played in Canadian Senior Amateur Hockey and won the

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. It was most recently won by the Wentworth Gryphins ...

championships in 1976 and 1980. The Spokane Flyers entered the WHL on May 15, 1980 when Bob Cooper, owner of the dormant Great Falls Americans franchise, resurrected his team and relocated it to Spokane for the

1980–81 WHL season The 1980–81 WHL season was the 15th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL), featuring thirteen teams and a 72-game regular season. The Victoria Cougars won both the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for topping the regular season standings— ...

. Like the Americans, the Flyers would quickly cease operations, as the franchise folded on December 2, 1981 just 26 games into its second season. It was widely believed that the failure of the Flyers was due to poor management. Spokane would have a second chance in the WHL when the relocated

Kelowna Wings The Kelowna Wings were a junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia that played in the Western Hockey League from 1982 to 1985. The Wings were abysmal in their three-year tenure, winning just 56 out of 216 games played. The franchise ...

renamed themselves the

Spokane Chiefs The Spokane Chiefs are an American major junior ice hockey team based in Spokane, Washington. The Chiefs play in the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference, playing home games at Spokane Arena. The Chiefs are two-time M ...

. The Flyers franchise first joined the then-named Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

as the

Flin Flon Bombers The Flin Flon Bombers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in Flin Flon, a city located on the Manitoba–Saskatchewan provincial border. The Bombers are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), which is a member of the Canadia ...

. The franchise had a great deal of stability in

Flin Flon Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located withi ...

, Manitoba and lasted eleven seasons in the community before the WHL outgrew it. The Bombers relocated to

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 for one season in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

before being sold and relocating again to

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the List of cities and towns in Montana, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

. The Great Falls Americans failed to last even one season, as they ceased operations in December, having played 28 of a scheduled 72 games of the

1979–80 WHL season The 1979–80 WHL season was the 14th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). It featured eleven teams completing a 72-game regular season. The Portland Winter Hawks became the first American-based club to top the regular season standings, c ...

. Cooper resurrected them again in Spokane for the start of the 1980–81 season, though they would fold again in December of the following

1981–82 WHL season The 1981–82 WHL season was the 16th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL), featuring twelve teams completing a 72-game regular season. The Lethbridge Broncos won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for posting the best record during the re ...

. The Flyers were posthumously involved in one of the most bizarre trades in hockey history. After ceasing operations, the Flyers team bus was sold to the

Victoria Cougars The Victoria Cougars were a major league professional ice hockey team that played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) from 1911 to 1924 under various names, and (after the PCHA's merger with the Western Canada Hockey League) in the W ...

. The Cougars owners were not willing to pay the duties and taxes required to bring the vehicle into

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, so on December 19, 1983, the Cougars traded the bus to the

Seattle Breakers Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the coun ...

for holdout Tom Martin.

Season-by-season Record

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

References

whl.ca
*2005–06 WHL Guide {{Defunct WHL Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Sports in Spokane, Washington Defunct Western Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1980 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1982 Defunct ice hockey teams in Washington (state) 1980 establishments in Washington (state) 1982 disestablishments in Washington (state)

History

Season-by-season Record

See also

References