The Tacoma Rockets 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 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 ...

(WHL) from 1991 to 1995. They played at the

Tacoma Dome The Tacoma Dome is an indoor multi-purpose arena in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It is located south of Downtown Tacoma, adjacent to Interstate 5 in Washington, Interstate 5 and Tacoma Dome Station. It is currently used for basketball tou ...

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

. The Rockets were granted as an expansion franchise, and were named after the defunct professional team of the same name.

After the 1994–95 season, low attendance forced the team to move to

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

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 ...

after only four seasons, where they became the

Kelowna Rockets The Kelowna Rockets are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference, playing their home games at Prospera Place. The Rockets a ...

. While the Rockets drew high attendance numbers when they played the

Seattle Thunderbirds The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. Founded in 1971 as the Vancouver Nats, the team arrive ...

, they did not draw as well with other teams. The

was not well-suited for hockey as the risers for the seats were too shallow, making the sightlines bad for hockey.

Franchise history

Marcel Comeau Marcel Comeau (born March 1, 1952) is a Canadian ice hockey scout, and former player, coach, and National Hockey League team executive. He played eleven seasons in the International Hockey League (IHL), where he was the league's top scorer a ...

was hired to be the first coach of the Rockets, and stayed with the team all four seasons. The 1991–92 season marks the first season of the expansion side Rockets, who began play in the

, one of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

's largest hockey arenas. The inaugural Rockets blasted their way to one of the most memorable inaugural seasons in the 25-year history of the

. Attendance of 14,975 and 15,240 at two heated contests against their then arch rival, the

. This assisted the Rockets in chalking up the highest per game average for a first year expansion team under the

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; , LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three me ...

umbrella. In 1992–93, the Rockets startled everyone in the league by winning 24 straight home games for an all-time Western Hockey League record. Tacoma held first place in the West Division for three months and finished with a promising 45–27–0 season. Head coach

won the

Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy The Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the Coach of the Year 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 ...

as the WHL coach of the year, and the CHL Coach of the Year Award as well. In addition to their winning streak, the Rockets home record of 36–6–0 and collecting 37 more points than the previous year, proved them serious contenders in the WHL. Once again the Rockets attendance of 13,769 saw them defeat the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-2 in win number 24, marking the third largest crowd in the history of the WHL. Three Rockets won best in the WHL West. Goaltender,

Jeff Calvert Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson (given name), Jefferson or Jeffrey (given name), Jeffrey, which comes from a Middle Ages, medieval variant of Geoffrey (given name), Geoffrey. Music ...

– Most Valuable Player;

Michal Sýkora Michal Sýkora (born 5 July 1973) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers. He is not related to ...

– Most Valuable Player; and

Jamie Black Jamie is a unisex name. Traditionally a masculine name, it can be diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names and is of Scottish English origin. It is also given as a name in its own right. Since the mid-20th century it has been used as ...

selected as Most Sportsmanlike Player. The 1993–94 season marked the year of transition for the Rockets, with the graduation of high scoring veteran

Allan Egeland Allan Egeland (born January 31, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He was drafted in the third round, 55th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Egeland was born in Lethbridge, Alberta. Playing ...

, a solid forward, Trever Fraser, and netminder, Jeff Calvert. The Rockets' third season also brought forward some of the league's best rookies and a phenomenal base of nine

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

drafted players. Six alone were selected in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, bringing the total to thirteen Rockets drafted in three seasons. Rockets finished third in the Western Hockey League with a 33–34–5 record. With a strong finish in the 1993–94 season, the Rockets strove to compete at a higher level of excellence. They launched their third season boasting size in defense and the strength of nine NHL draft picks. Adding the skill and talent of one of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

's top young forwards,

Václav Varaďa Václav Varaďa (; born April 26, 1976) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player and current coach. He formerly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) in a ten-year span. In his professional career, he has previously played for the Bu ...

, who slotted 50 points and tied the team's rookie scoring record.

Todd MacDonald Todd MacDonald (born 1973) is a Canadian Australian actor who is best known for his roles on the soap opera ''Neighbours'' and the drama series ''The Secret Life of Us'' and '' Rush''. Early life MacDonald and his older brother Paul were born ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

draft choice, became the team's top goalie, nominated for the Best in the West award. Veteran

Dallas Thompson Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

became team

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. This combination brought the Rockets to a second-place finish in the West.

Season-by-season records

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

NHL alumni

References

{{Defunct WHL Defunct Western Hockey League teams Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Sports in Tacoma, Washington Ice hockey clubs established in 1991 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1995 Defunct ice hockey teams in Washington (state) 1991 establishments in Washington (state) 1995 disestablishments in Washington (state)