The Victoria Grizzlies 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

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. They are members of the Island Division of the

British Columbia Hockey League 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 ...

(BCHL). They play their home games at

The Q Centre The Q Centre (formerly Bear Mountain Arena) is in Colwood, British Columbia, Colwood, British Columbia, Canada. In 2014, the arena was named "The Q Centre" after local radio station CKKQ-FM. The arena opened in February 2004, has 2,300 seats and ...

. The franchise was founded in 1994 as the Victoria Salsa.

History

The Victoria Cougars were created as a Junior A team, playing out of

, which joined the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL) as an expansion team for the start of the 1967–68 season. This brought the league to a total of six teams. After a 1971 realignment of junior hockey into "

Major Junior Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National List of members of the International Ice Hockey Federation, Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's nationa ...

" and " Tier II Junior A", the Cougars joined the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL), now 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 ...

. In 1994 the Cougars relocated to

Prince George, British Columbia Prince George is a city in British Columbia, Canada, situated at the confluence of the Fraser River, Fraser and Nechako River, Nechako rivers. The city itself has a population of 76,708; the metro census agglomeration has a population of 89,490 ...

. In 1990, the BCHL's Cowichan Valley Capitals relocated to Victoria from

Duncan, British Columbia Duncan is a city on southern Vancouver Island in the Cowichan Valley Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is the smallest city in Canada by area. It was incorporated as a city in 1912. Location The city is about 45 kilometres from b ...

and became the Victoria Warriors. The Warriors returned to Duncan in 1993 and became the Cowichan Valley Capitals again, so in 1994 the Victoria Salsa joined the BCHL as an expansion team. At the start of the 2006–07 season, the team was renamed as the Victoria Grizzlies under the ownership of Len Barrie who was building Bear Mountain Resort at the time (hence the name Grizzlies). The Grizzlies hosted and played in the 2009 Royal Bank Cup, won by the Vernon Vipers. In the 2013–14 season they won the Island Division championship after beating Powell River 4–2 in game six. In 2011 Ron Walchuk purchased the team and remained as the owner for almost 15 years. Most notably the team fell in a Conference Final in 2016-17 to the Chilliwack Chiefs and then again in the Conference Final to the Prince George Spruce Kings in 2018-19 with Alex Newhook as the team captain. During the summer of 2024, the team was purchased by local businessman; Jim Hartshorne. Hartshorne also owns the Victoria Shamrocks of the WLA making for the combination of both franchises playing out of

under the umbrella of "Keycorp Sports & Entertainment". That company was named for Hartshorne's Development company (Keycorp Developments). The team found success right away under new ownership and presidency of David Michaud, finishing fourth in the Coastal Conference with a record of 28-17-9. They defeated the Coquitlam Express in the first round in just six games before finishing their Island Rival Cowichan Valley Capitals in the second round in six games as well. They would, however, fall in the Conference Final in five games to the Chilliwack Chiefs.

Season-by-season record

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

NHL alumni

Awards and trophies

Fred Page Cup * 2001

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 ...

* 2001 Cliff McNabb Memorial Trophy * 2001 Chevrolet Cup * 2009 Brett Hull Trophy * Matthew Wood: 2022 * Tyler Bozak: 2007 * Kyle Greentree: 2004 Joe Tennant Memorial Trophy * Campbell Blair: 2000 Bob Fenton Trophy *Gary Nunn: 2007 * Terry Wilson: 1999 Top Defenceman Trophy *Jordan Heywood: 2010 Vern Dye Trophy * Jordan Sigalet: 2001 *Jimi St. John: 1998 Bruce Allison Memorial Trophy * Jamie Benn: 2007 * Matthew Wood: 2022 * Oliver Auyeung-Ashton: 2023 * Chase Pirtle: 2024

References

External links