The River City Jaguars were a

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the Sport governing body, governing body for organized ice ...

-sanctioned Tier III Junior A

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team playing in the

Northern Pacific Hockey League The Northern Pacific Hockey League (NPHL) was an American Tier III junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. Its championship trophy was the Cascade Cup. History Established in 2000 as the NorPac Junior Hockey League, the league was ...

(NorPac).

History

The franchise joined the NorPac in 2004 when the league was a Jr. B league. They originally played at Valley Ice Arena in

Beaverton, Oregon Beaverton is a city in Washington County, in the U.S. state of Oregon with a small portion bordering Portland in the Tualatin Valley. The city is among the main cities that make up the Portland metropolitan area. Its population was 97,494 at the ...

. In 2007 the league and member teams were granted Tier III Jr. A status by

, the governing body for ice hockey in the United States. In 2010, the Jaguars began playing out of the Mountain View Ice Arena in

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 ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. After one season in Vancouver, the Jaguars were renamed and became the Vancouver Victory. The next season the Victory renamed again to Vancouver Vipers and then in 2013 became the Fort Vancouver Vipers. On October 14, 2014, the Fort Vancouver Vipers Hockey Club ceased all operations due to an insufficient number of players and a recent increase in player injuries.

Alumni

The NorPac was for 16 to 20-year-old player development in a professional environment while maintaining their amateur status for

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

eligibility. The Jaguars franchise has had a number of alumni move on to collegiate programs and higher levels of

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 ...

in the United States and Canada. On November 27, 2005, Jaguars player, Jonathan Medina from California, died in an accident. In honor of Medina, the Jaguars retired his jersey and number. On April 13, 2010, the franchise saw its first alumnus sign with an

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

team when Jake Newton signed a three-year entry level contract with the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

Team affiliates

The River City Jaguars had been affiliated with the Tier II

Alaska Avalanche The Johnstown Tomahawks are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's East Division. The team plays its home games at the 1st Summit Bank Arena at Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is the o ...

of the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

and the Tier I

Tri-City Storm The Tri-City Storm is a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Kearney, Nebraska, that plays in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Its name refers to the three central Nebraskan cities of Kearney, Hastings, and Gr ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

to further player growth and development. In 2012, the Vancouver Vipers affiliated with the Canadian Junior A

Coquitlam Express The Coquitlam Express are a Junior "A" ice hockey team based in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Coastal Conference of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at the Poirier Sport & Lei ...

of the

British Columbia 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 Ca ...

which they maintained until ceasing operations in 2014.

References

External links

Vipers Website

Northern Pacific Hockey League Website
{{NPHL Ice hockey teams in Washington (state) Sports in Vancouver, Washington 2004 establishments in Oregon Ice hockey teams in Oregon Beaverton, Oregon Sports in the Portland metropolitan area 2014 disestablishments in Washington (state) Ice hockey clubs established in 2004 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2014