The Kamloops Blazers are a

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

team in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major 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 h ...

(WHL). The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference, is based out of

Kamloops, British Columbia Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, ...

, and play home games at

Sandman Centre The Sandman Centre (formerly known as Riverside Coliseum and Interior Savings Centre) is a 5,464-seat multi-purpose arena in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. It is home to the Kamloops Blazers Ice hockey team. The arena is owned by The City of ...

. The Blazers originated as the Estevan Bruins in 1966, became the

New Westminster Bruins The New Westminster Bruins were a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. There were two franchises that carried this name: * 1971–1981 (formerly the Estevan Bruins, now the Kamloops Blazers) * 1983–1988 (formerly the Nan ...

in 1971, and relocated to Kamloops in 1981 as the Kamloops Junior Oilers. The Blazers have won the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

three times; in 1992, 1994, and 1995, and the

Ed Chynoweth Cup The Ed Chynoweth Cup is an ice hockey club championship trophy awarded to the playoff champion of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Originally called the President's Cup when the league was founded in 1966, the trophy was renamed in 2007 to honou ...

six times.

History

The franchise was granted in 1966 as the '' Estevan Bruins'' in

Estevan, Saskatchewan Estevan is the eighth-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is approximately north of the Canada–United States border. The Souris River runs by the city. This city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5. History Th ...

. In 1971, it moved to

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capi ...

, British Columbia, and was known as the ''

''. It then moved to Kamloops in 1981 and was known as the ''Junior Oilers'' until 1984, when it was given its present name, the ''Kamloops Blazers''. The team moved from the

Kamloops Memorial Arena The Kamloops Memorial Arena is an ice hockey arena built in 1948 in Kamloops, British Columbia. It hosted the Western Hockey League teams including the Kamloops Chiefs, Kamloops Junior Oilers and, most notably, the Kamloops Blazers. It was replace ...

to the Riverside Coliseum, then renamed the "Interior Savings Centre", in 1992, and finally changed to the Sandman Centre in 2015, due to co-owner

Tom Gaglardi R. Thomas Gaglardi (born December 7, 1967)S ...

also owning the Sandman hotels brand. The team has won the most

s of any team in the WHL with five, two as New Westminster (1977 and 1978) and three as Kamloops (1992, 1994 and 1995). The

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey ‒ 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 L ...

(CHL) record is seven, held by the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros ...

, now known as the

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marl ...

. The franchise began in 1946 as the Humboldt Indians of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and moved to Estevan to become the Bruins in 1957. The franchise has won the

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

a record 11 times, once in Estevan, four times in a row in New Westminster and six times since relocating to Kamloops. The Blazers hosted the 1995 Memorial Cup, also winning the WHL championship that year. The team was featured as a plot element in a book called ''Blazer Drive'' by

Sigmund Brouwer Sigmund Brouwer (born 1959) is a prolific Canadian author of children's, young adult, and adult books. He has over 100 titles and four million books in print. Brouwer's novel, ''Dead Man's Switch'', won the Arthur Ellis Award in 2015 for Cana ...

WHL finals appearances

* 1983–84: ''Win'', 4–3 vs. Regina * 1984–85: Loss, 0–4 vs. Prince Albert * 1985–86: ''Win'', 4–1 vs.

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are with ...

* 1987–88: Loss, 2–4 vs. Medicine Hat * 1989–90: ''Win'', 4–1 vs.

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

* 1991–92: ''Win'', 4–3 vs.

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

* 1993–94: ''Win'', 4–3 vs. Saskatoon * 1994–95: ''Win'', 4–2 vs.

Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name *Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...

* 1998–99: Loss, 1–4 vs.

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Memorial Cup appearances

* 1984 Memorial Cup – ''Loss'', 2–7 vs.

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

in semifinal (''as Kamloops Junior Oilers'') *

1986 Memorial Cup The 1986 Memorial Cup occurred May 10–17 at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. It was the 68th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Hosting rights w ...

– ''Loss'', 3–9 vs. Hull in semifinal *

1990 Memorial Cup The 1990 Memorial Cup occurred May 5–13 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario. It was the 72nd annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Participating teams ...

– ''Loss'', 0–3 in round-robin (vs. Kitchener (7–8 OT),

Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...

(6–7 OT) &

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

(2–4)) *

1992 Memorial Cup The 1992 Memorial Cup occurred May 9–17 at the Coliseum in Seattle. It was the 74th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Participating teams were the Western ...

– ''Win'', 5–4 vs. Sault Ste. Marie * 1994 Memorial Cup – ''Win'', 5–3 vs.

* 1995 Memorial Cup – ''Win'', 8–2 vs.

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Coaches

Notable head coaches in the history of the Kamloops Blazers include Ken Hitchcock,

Tom Renney Thomas Renney (born March 1, 1955) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach and executive. He served as the chief executive officer of Hockey Canada from 2014 to 2022, and was previously an associate coach with the National Hockey League's Detroit ...

Don Hay Don Hay (born February 13, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and National Hockey League head coach. As a player, Hay played shortly in the International Hockey League before becoming a three-time Memorial Cup-winning co ...

Marc Habscheid Marc Joseph Habscheid (born March 1, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former National Hockey League player. Habscheid is the former head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League. He was drafted in the sixth round, 1 ...

and

Dean Evason Dean Clement Evason (born August 22, 1964) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the current head coach for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Evason was selected by the Washington Capitals in t ...

Players

Current roster

Updated December 8, 2022.

NHL alumni

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

Jared Aulin Jared Aulin (born March 15, 1982) is a Canadian former professional hockey centre. He was a second round selection of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2000 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft and played 17 NHL games for the Los Angeles Kings. ...

Len Barrie Leonard G. Barrie (born June 4, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played 184 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, and Florida Panthers. ...

* Nolan Baumgartner *

Robin Bawa Robin N. Bawa (born March 26, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent parts of four seasons in the National Hockey League between 1989 and 1994. Playing career Bawa spent five productive seasons of junior hockey in the ...

Brian Benning Brian Anthony Benning (born June 10, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, and ...

Craig Berube Craig Berube (; born December 17, 1965) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the head coach for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Chief", Berube played 17 seasons in the NHL for ...

Doug Bodger Douglas Paul Bodger (born June 18, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman in the National Hockey League. Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins ninth overall in the 1984 NHL Draft he would play in over 1,000 games in the NHL w ...

Zac Boyer Zachary Jason Boyer (born October 25, 1971) is a Canadian former National Hockey League Winger (ice hockey), right winger. In the final game of the 1992 Memorial Cup, Boyer scored the championship-winning goal for the Kamloops Blazers with 14 ...

* Mike Brown * Rob Brown *

Garth Butcher Garth Butcher (born January 8, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Butcher was a top prospect as a junior player and was a member of the first Canadian team to win gold at the world junior championship. Butcher played in ...

Kyle Calder Kyle Charles Calder (born January 5, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim D ...

Erik Christensen Erik Christensen (born December 17, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who last played for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Playing career Christensen was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third round (69t ...

Dave Chyzowski David B. Chyzowski (born July 11, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He was selected second overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders after playing major junior with the Kamloops Blazers. He spent ...

* Dean Clark *

Ken Daneyko Kenneth Stephen Daneyko (born April 17, 1964) is a Ukrainian–Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played his entire twenty-season career with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), winning three Stanley Cup ...

* Jarrett Deuling *

Rob DiMaio Robert DiMaio (born February 19, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in 894 National Hockey League (NHL) games with the New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, New York Range ...

Robert Dirk Robert Michael Dirk (born August 20, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Dirk played in the National Hockey League between 1987 and 1996. Playing career Dirk was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. He was selected 54th overall in ...

Shane Doan Shane Albert Doan (born October 10, 1976) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player currently serving as chief hockey development officer for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Doan spent the entir ...

Hnat Domenichelli Hnat A. Domenichelli (born February 16, 1976) is a Canadian-Swiss former professional ice hockey player of Ukrainian descent. He was drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the fourth round, 83rd overall, of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He played 267 Nati ...

Devan Dubnyk Devan Dubnyk (born May 4, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round, 14th overall, of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft ...

Micki DuPont Micki DuPont (born April 15, 1980) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for Eisbären Berlin in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Playing career Normally playing a ...

Joel Edmundson Joel Edmundson (born June 28, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the St. Louis Blues and Carolina Hurricanes. Gr ...

* Keaton Ellerby *

Todd Ewen Todd Gordon Ewen (March 22, 1966 – September 19, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for several teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). A right wing, Ewen was primarily known as an enforcer. He played for the ...

* Dylan Ferguson *

Scott Ferguson Scott Ferguson (born January 6, 1973) is a Canadians, Canadian former Métis professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Minnesota Wild. He w ...

* Mark Ferner * Steve Gainey *

Greg Hawgood Gregory William Hawgood (born August 10, 1968) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, Pittsb ...

Corey Hirsch Corey Hirsch (born July 1, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender, currently working for Sportsnet as a colour commentator on Vancouver Canucks radio broadcasts. He spent the majority of his National Hockey Leag ...

* Jason Holland *

Ryan Huska Ryan Huska (born July 2, 1975) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the current head coach for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Huska was drafted in the third round, 76th overall, in the 199 ...

Jarome Iginla Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla (; born July 1, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. He played over 1500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Br ...

* Jonas Johansson * Ty Jones *

Mark Kachowski Mark Edward Kachowski (born February 20, 1965) is a Canadian former ice hockey player. A left winger, he played three seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1987 to 1990. Kachowski was born in Edmonton, Alber ...

Paul Kruse Paul Johannes Kruse (born March 15, 1970) is a Canadian former ice hockey left wing. He played in the National Hockey League with the Calgary Flames, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and San Jose Sharks between 1991 and 2001. He was drafted ...

* Bryce Lampman * J.C. Lipon *

Brad Lukowich Bradley J. Lukowich (born August 12, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and former assistant coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League. He has won the Stanley Cup twice in his career, with the Da ...

* David Mackey * Pat MacLeod * Mike MacWilliam *

Dean Malkoc Dean Malkoc (born January 26, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent four seasons in the National Hockey League between 1995 and 1999 with the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and New York Islanders. The rest of his ...

* Dave Marcinyshyn *

Gordon Mark Gordon F. Mark (born September 10, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted in the sixth round, 105 overall, in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. Mark played 85 National Hockey League games for the New Jersey Devils ...

* Shaone Morrisonn * Chris Murray * Tyson Nash * Mike Needham *

Scott Niedermayer Scott Niedermayer (born August 31, 1973) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman and current special assignment coach of the Anaheim Ducks. He played 18 seasons and over 1,000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devi ...

Colton Orr Colton "Bobby" Douglas Orr (born March 3, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Having played nearly 500 games in the NHL, Orr was known as an enforcer for his physical style of play and for regularly fighting. In 2019, he w ...

* Steve Passmore *

Ed Patterson Edward Patterson (born November 14, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Patterson is currently the head coach of the Kamloops Storm of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. Biography Patterson was born in Delta ...

* Rudy Poeschek * Brendan Ranford *

Daryl Reaugh Daryl Kevin "Razor" Reaugh (pronounced "Ray") (born February 13, 1965) is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender and now a broadcaster for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL), ''NHL on NBC'' and ''Hockey Night in Canada''. H ...

Mark Recchi Mark Louis Recchi (; born February 1, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former assistant coach. Recchi played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, ...

Robyn Regehr Robyn Regehr (born April 19, 1980) is a Brazilian-born Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was a first round draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche, selected 19th overall at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, but was traded to the Calgary ...

Cam Severson Cam Severson (born August 15, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Draft Severson was drafted in the eighth round, 192nd overall, by the San Jose Sharks in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Career After playing five full season ...

Ron Shudra Ronald James Shudra (born November 28, 1967) is a Canadian-British retired professional ice hockey player. Most of his career, which lasted from 1987 to 2009, was mostly spent in the United Kingdom, though he also played 10 games in the National ...

Trevor Sim Trevor B. Sim (born June 9, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played most of his career in minor leagues. Sim was born in Calgary, Alberta. He played junior hockey for four different Western Hockey League teams and ...

* Rob Skrlac * Tyler Sloan * Colin Smith * Geoff Smith * Ryan Stewart *

Jason Strudwick Jason Wayne Strudwick (born July 17, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and current broadcaster. Playing career Strudwick was drafted in the third round, 63rd overall, by the New York Islanders in the 1994 NHL Entry D ...

Darryl Sydor Darryl Marion Sydor (born May 13, 1972) is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey defenceman. He won two Stanley Cups during his career: with the Dallas Stars in 1999, and with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. He also reached the Sta ...

Darcy Tucker Darcy Tucker (born March 15, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played most of his National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. A sixth round draft choice, Tucker began his NHL career with the Mon ...

Scottie Upshall Scott Upshall (born October 7, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He was selected in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators in the first round, sixth overall. Playing career Amateur As a youth, Upshall p ...

Gord Walker Gord Walker (born August 12, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 31 games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings between 1987 and 1989. The rest of his career, which lasted f ...

David Wilkie David Wilkie may refer to: * David Wilkie (artist) (1785–1841), Scottish painter * David Wilkie (surgeon) (1882–1938), British surgeon, scientist and philanthropist * David Wilkie (footballer) (1914–2011), Australian rules footballer * David ...

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''

References

External links

Kamloops Blazers official website
{{British Columbia Sports Ice hockey teams in British Columbia Ice hockey clubs established in 1981 Western Hockey League teams Sport in Kamloops 1981 establishments in British Columbia Northland Properties