The New Westminster Royals was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in New Westminster,

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

, first established in 1911 for the

Pacific Coast Hockey Association The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The PCHA was cons ...

(PCHA). Though nominally based in New Westminster, the team played its home games at the

Denman Arena Denman Arena was an indoor arena located in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. The arena was located at 1805 West Georgia Street at the northwest corner with Denman Street. It opened in December 1911 and was destroyed by fire in 1936. Its pri ...

in nearby

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, as an arena was not available; the team would never play a PCHA home game in New Westminster as a result. They won the inaugural PCHA championship in

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

, though financial difficulties saw the team relocated to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

in 1914 and become the Portland Rosebuds.

History

The first team played from 1911–1914 in the

(PCHA) which was established in 1911. The team was notable as it was the inaugural 1911–12 champion of the PCHA. It would be the only league championship the Royals would earn. Their home arena was the

. The name was revived for a club that played in the Pacific Coast Hockey League from 1945 to 1952 and 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 ...

from 1952 to 1959. The Royals 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 ...

in 1949–1950 as PCHL champions.

Junior team

The

New Westminster Royals The New Westminster Royals was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in New Westminster, British Columbia, first established in 1911 for the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). Though nominally based in New Westminster, ...

name was revived for a junior-level franchise in the Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League (PCJHL) in 1962, winning five-straight PCJHL championships before movingwith league mates Victoria Cougarsinto the

British Columbia Junior Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada and BC Hockey. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 18 teams. From 1993 to 2021, the league was a member of the Cana ...

(BCJHL) for the 1967–68 season. The Royals played on-and-off from 1962 to 1991 in the years when the

major junior 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 ...

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 ...

were not playing. In 1991, the Royals relocated across the

Pattullo Bridge The Pattullo Bridge is a through arch bridge that crosses the Fraser River and links the city of New Westminster to the city of Surrey in British Columbia. It was named in honour of Thomas Dufferin Pattullo, the 22nd Premier of British Columbia. A ...

to neighbouring

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, changing their name to

Surrey Eagles The Surrey Eagles are a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Mainland Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at South Surrey Arena. History New ...

Head coaches

* Jimmy Gardner (1911–1913) * Pete Muldoon (1913–1914)

References

Bibliography

* * * 1911 establishments in British Columbia 1918 disestablishments in British Columbia Defunct ice hockey teams in British Columbia Pacific Coast Hockey Association teams Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1918 Ice hockey clubs established in 1911 Defunct British Columbia Hockey League teams New Westminster Western Hockey League (1952–1974) teams {{Canada-icehockey-team-stub