They would add a few SJ locations before any of the MB teams. Winkler might have the population to support, but there are not even close to enough people to support more WHL teams in the east.
Penticton and Chilliwack to the WHL
- Thread starter Lackhalak
- Start date
Expansion to the east without going States side (and even then) looks a lot more difficult unfortunately.
You need to have a viable population size and a suitable arena (or plans to build such upon being awarded an expansion franchise)
Places like Brooks, Estevan and Steinbach just aren’t big enough. Winkler has a metro area of around 32,000. That’s still too small and it would be even more of an outlier than Brandon…and there’s not suitable rink.
Geographically, Lloyminster would be an amazing place to add a team. It’s nicely situated between Edmonton & Red Deer to the west, Saskatoon & Prince Albert to the east (2.5-3.5 hrs for each). But again, the population is almost certainly too small (32,000 metro) and there is currently no suitable arena to play in.
The one place that I think could be a viable option is Grande Prairie. 70,000+ residents and growing. Good economy. A newish 3,000 seat arena that could possibly be expanded to the west.
It would admittedly be a ridiculous drive from Brandon (1,600 km), but you could limit the play between Brandon and Grande Prairie to 1 or 2 games a year. Brandon could make up those games with closer teams and Grande Prairie could have crossover games with Prince George (4-6 games per year). The OHL does cross conference play like this with Barrie/Owen Sound, Erie/Niagara & Soo/Sudbury/North Bay.
I’m sure BC and US division would be in support of this haha
You need to have a viable population size and a suitable arena (or plans to build such upon being awarded an expansion franchise)
Places like Brooks, Estevan and Steinbach just aren’t big enough. Winkler has a metro area of around 32,000. That’s still too small and it would be even more of an outlier than Brandon…and there’s not suitable rink.
Geographically, Lloyminster would be an amazing place to add a team. It’s nicely situated between Edmonton & Red Deer to the west, Saskatoon & Prince Albert to the east (2.5-3.5 hrs for each). But again, the population is almost certainly too small (32,000 metro) and there is currently no suitable arena to play in.
The one place that I think could be a viable option is Grande Prairie. 70,000+ residents and growing. Good economy. A newish 3,000 seat arena that could possibly be expanded to the west.
It would admittedly be a ridiculous drive from Brandon (1,600 km), but you could limit the play between Brandon and Grande Prairie to 1 or 2 games a year. Brandon could make up those games with closer teams and Grande Prairie could have crossover games with Prince George (4-6 games per year). The OHL does cross conference play like this with Barrie/Owen Sound, Erie/Niagara & Soo/Sudbury/North Bay.
I’m sure BC and US division would be in support of this haha
Last edited:
Heres my Question
Based on what we know if Vees join 25-26 and Chilliwack Joins 26-27 how does that work for divisions?
BC Division would have 7 teams
PG
Kelowna
Kamloops
Victoria
Vancouver
Vees
Chilliwack
US Division 6 Teams
Spokane
Seattle
Everett
Wenatchee
Tri-City
Portland
That would be the West Conference with 13 Teams
Mean while the East has 11
Brandon
Moose Jaw
Regina
Prince Albert
Saskatoon
Medicine Hat
Lethbridge
Calgary
Edmonton
Red Deer
Swift Current
Would they move a team to the East?
Based on what we know if Vees join 25-26 and Chilliwack Joins 26-27 how does that work for divisions?
BC Division would have 7 teams
PG
Kelowna
Kamloops
Victoria
Vancouver
Vees
Chilliwack
US Division 6 Teams
Spokane
Seattle
Everett
Wenatchee
Tri-City
Portland
That would be the West Conference with 13 Teams
Mean while the East has 11
Brandon
Moose Jaw
Regina
Prince Albert
Saskatoon
Medicine Hat
Lethbridge
Calgary
Edmonton
Red Deer
Swift Current
Would they move a team to the East?
superdeluxe
NAFO
With apologies to the fans, supporters and employees of the Cougars, every single person in the WHL would be dancing in the streets if the Cougars were relocated to Chilliwack, instead of it being an expansion franchise.
superdeluxe
NAFO
Wasn’t there rumblings of a new owner (the Vancouver guy) getting a WhL team in abbotsford? Would be great for travel purposes
The original rumour was of Aquilini buying the Chilliwack Chiefs and the arena there. The team operated the building as well as the team, but there was a press release saying the team was relinquishing control of the building back to the city of Chilliwack, a clear sign that the BCHL was not sticking around.
We know there's a franchise available to be purchased in Chilliwack, but is the building for sale too? If so, Aquilini may buy it to increase his real estate portfolio. If it's just the franchise? Who knows.
MeHateHe
Registered User
- Dec 24, 2006
- 2,456
- 2,771
What's he's suggesting is that when Chilliwack is in, you shift PG to the Central, and then you'll have four six-team divisions. FTR, Prince George will hate that idea, because they see Kamloops as their biggest rival (no matter what Kamloops might think).
As someone who experienced the loss of the Chilliwack Bruins first hand in 2011, it is certainly good to see the WHL coming back. I never really seen this happening, but it was good to see the commissioner apologize for what happened back in 2011 with the Bruins being yanked after only 5 seasons and moving to Victoria to block the AHL from coming in. Looks like community is excited too.
I'm pretty sure that everything would have been different had they seen the CHL-NCAA rule changing.
Exactly, pulled up a couple of stories from back then as my memory was a bit hazy.
The saga of the Chilliwack Bruins — a chronology
What follows is something of a chronology of events leading up to the announcement of the sale and relocation of the Chilliwack Bruins, most...
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
WHL apologizes for past Chilliwack mistakes, pledges future loyalty
Chilliwack Coliseum will welcome WHL action starting in 2026-27
www.theprogress.com
I'm also excited to live smack in the middle between them and the Vancouver Giants (who play out of Langley) and the Chilliwack team had pretty decent support when they were in the league.
I'll also add that the WHL is looking for an ownership group for the Chilliwack team and I have a lottery ticket, is anyone interested in a HFboards consortium ownership group if I win?
Want to own a hockey team in Chilliwack? The WHL has a brand new one for sale
The WHL has a higher profile than the BCHL and bigger crowds. The WHL is one of the main leagues NHL teams scout for the draft every year.
Last edited:
I agree with Nanaimo but they really need to get a building and not only for hockey reasons.
Nanaimo’s population poised to exceed 150,000 people by 2046
NANAIMO - A region which is already one of Canada's fastest growing areas is showing no signs of slowing down....
nanaimonewsnow.com
MeHateHe
Registered User
- Dec 24, 2006
- 2,456
- 2,771
Indeed. Problem is we live in a world where city councils are afraid to spend money on big things.I agree with Nanaimo but they really need to get a building and not only for hockey reasons.
Nanaimo’s population poised to exceed 150,000 people by 2046
NANAIMO - A region which is already one of Canada's fastest growing areas is showing no signs of slowing down....
John Keen suggested on the Pipeline Show that PG to the East is already in conversations around the league. Would give some balance, and just a little more bus time for the Cougs.
Strummer53
Registered User
- Sep 11, 2021
- 36
- 34
MeHateHe
Registered User
- Dec 24, 2006
- 2,456
- 2,771
Here's how it looks
PG - Kamloops is 527 km
PG - Kelowna is 691 km
PG- Langley is 750 km
PG - Victoria is 876 km (plus the ferry)
PG - Penticton is 711 km
PG - Edmonton in 738 km
PG - Red Deer is 784 km
PG- Calgary is 783 km (via the park)
PG- Lethbridge is 986 km
PG- Medicine Hat is 1,073 km
So if you move Prince George to the Central, their closest division game is 8 hours, as opposed to roughly six hours now. The overall time they'd spend in transit would be a little longer for their division games (factoring in the ferry, which adds two hours minimum each way).
Factor in the in-conference games and things get a little worse
PG- Seattle is 898 km
PG - Everett is 854 km
PG - Wenatchee is 979 km
PG - Tri-CIty is 1,138 km
PG - Portland is 1,178 km
PG - Spokane is 1,053 km
PG - Saskatoon is 1,253 km
PG - Regina is 1,513 km
PG - Moose Jaw is 1,467
PG - Swift Current is 1,296 km
PG - Prince Albert is 1,296 km
PG - Brandon is 1,874 km
Again, you have to factor in additional time for border crossing, but even so, the closest inter-conference, non-divisional game is a full hour further away than the furthest US-based team under this scenario. I think there's an argument to be made that having Kootenay in the Eastern conference doomed them to their eventual demise, and I'd be making the same argument if I were PG.
This doesn't even take into account that people in Prince George hate Kamloops, they hate Kelowna and they will hate Penticton. Separating them from their BC rivals will be bad for the business as much as it will be bad for the travel.
