The New Westminster Bruins were a major junior ice hockey 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 ...

. There were two franchises that carried this name: * 1971–1981 (formerly the

Estevan Bruins 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 The ...

, now the

Kamloops Blazers The Kamloops Blazers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference, is based out of Kamloops, British Columbia, and play home games at Sandman Centre. The Blazers ...

) * 1983–1988 (formerly the Nanaimo Islanders, now the

Tri-City Americans The Tri-City Americans are a major junior ice hockey team of the Western Hockey League, based in Kennewick, Washington. The team plays its home games at Toyota Center. Every game is broadcast locally on the Tri-City Americans' flagship radio st ...

) Both incarnations of the franchise played at Queen's Park Arena in the

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

suburb of

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 capita ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

History

First Bruins

The franchise began in 1946 as the Humboldt Indians of the original version of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (1948–1966), moving to Estevan to become the Bruins in 1957. They were a founding member of the

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

-based Canadian Major Junior Hockey League (later renamed the Western Canada Hockey League) in 1966. The Estevan Bruins had been a successful franchise, including a loss in the

1968 Memorial Cup The 1968 Memorial Cup was the 50th annual Memorial Cup competition, organized by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) to determine the champion of junior A ice hockey. The George Richardson Memorial Trophy champions Niagara Falls Fly ...

national championship, when team owner and coach Punch McLean moved the team to New Westminster for the

1971–72 WCHL season The 1971–72 WCHL season was the sixth season of the Western Canada Hockey League. Twelve teams completed a 68-game season, with the Edmonton Oil Kings winning their second consecutive President's Cup. League notes *The Victoria Cougars joined ...

. Once the team arrived in New Westminster, the success continued throughout much of the decade. The Bruins won the President's Cup four times in a row between 1975 and 1978. They made it to 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 ...

finals four years in a row as well, losing in 1975 and 1976 before winning it in 1977 and 1978. The WCHL was renamed the Western Hockey League for the 1978–79 WHL season; that season, after a brawl at the end of a game against Portland in March 1979 at Queens Park Arena, some local hockey fans started to look with disfavour upon the Bruins' rough tactics, and the team's popularity began to wane. The Bruins moved to

Kamloops 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, ...

, British Columbia, for the 1980–81 WHL season, where they would become first the Kamloops Junior Oilers and, from the

1984–85 WHL season The 1984–85 WHL season was the 19th season for the Western Hockey League. Fourteen teams completed a 72-game season. The Prince Albert Raiders won the President's Cup before going on to win the Memorial Cup. League notes *The Winnipeg Warrio ...

, the

Second Bruins

The second incarnation of the Bruins arrived in New Westminster in 1983 from

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "Hub City," which was ...

, British Columbia, where they had previously been known as the Nanaimo Islanders. The team originated in

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, maki ...

in 1966–67 with a stop as the Billings Bighorns. The team only played one season in Nanaimo before moving. The new Bruins did not enjoy the same level of success, and lasted only five seasons in New Westminster before moving to

Kennewick, Washington Kennewick () is a city in Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima rivers and across from the confluence of the Co ...

, to become the

. This franchise has never won the WHL championship in any of its incarnations.

Season-by-season records

First Bruins (1971–81)

Note: GP = games played, W = wins, L = losses, T = ties Pts = points, GF = goals for, GA = goals against

Second Bruins (1983–88)

NHL alumni

Totals include both incarnations of the Bruins

References

*2005–06 WHL Guide
hockeydb.com
{{Defunct WHL Defunct Western Hockey League teams Defunct ice hockey teams in British Columbia New Westminster