The Chilliwack Bruins were a

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 ...

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 h ...

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) based in

Chilliwack Chilliwack ( )( hur, Ts'elxwéyeqw) is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are numerous outdo ...

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, ...

, Canada. The 2006–07 season marked the Bruins' inaugural season in the WHL. The team played at Prospera Centre, which was expanded to 5,386 seats for the arrival of the team. The Bruins were sold after the 2010–11 season and subsequently relocated to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

to become the

Victoria Royals The Victoria Royals are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team currently members of the B.C. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team began play during the 2011–12 season after the League announced the ...

History

In 2005, the City of Chilliwack was granted a WHL expansion team after an attempt by the owners of 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 ...

( Brian Burke, Glen Sather and Darryl Porter) to move the Americans to Chilliwack was voted down by the WHL directors. As a result, Burke, Sather and Porter sold their stake in the Americans and purchased the 21st franchise in the WHL. The arrival of the Bruins displaced the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL)'s Chilliwack Chiefs, who relocated to Langley to become the

Langley Chiefs The Langley Rivermen are a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Mainland Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). History The BCHL franchise was founded as the Richmond Soc ...

. In early 2011, it became apparent to fans that they had been sold to RG Properties to allow them to move the team to Victoria. The previous ownership group of the original Chilliwack Chiefs franchise before 2006 had an offer of $7.75 million from the Chiefs development group, including

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player

Justin Morneau Justin Ernest George Morneau (born May 15, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, and Chicago White Sox. At and , ...

and

National Hockey League 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 ...

player Willie Mitchell. This offer was rejected by both the majority ownership of the Bruins as well as the league. The Bruins opened their inaugural season in 2006–07 at Prospera Centre on September 21, 2006, defeating the

Kelowna Rockets The Kelowna Rockets are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. The Rockets play in the Western Hockey League (WHL), out of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). They play their home games at Prospera Place. The R ...

by a score of 3–1. Keith Voytechek scored the first goal in franchise history, while Alex Archibald earned the first win by a Bruins goaltender. A month later, on October 28, Archibald became the first Bruins goaltender to record a shutout with a 3–0 win over the Tri-City Americans, which also established the first Bruins road win. Forward Josh Aspenlind established another Bruins first later in the season with the franchise's first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

on February 23, 2007, against 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 o ...

. General Manager Darrell May and the team's first head coach, Jim Hiller, helped the Bruins post an overall record of 25–40–5–2, the third-best overall record for a WHL expansion team, qualifying for the post-season. In the 2007 playoffs, the Bruins played the eventual

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 ...

champion

Vancouver Giants The Vancouver Giants are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Inaugurated in 2001–02, the Giants have won one President's Cup (now known as the Ed Chynoweth Cup) in 2006 and one Memorial Cup in 2007 in t ...

in the first round and lost the series four games to one. Bruins forwards Mark Santorelli and Oscar Moller emerged in the team's second season in 2007–08, establishing team-highs in all statistical categories. Santorelli set team-highs with 74 assists and 101 points, earning the team's first major WHL trophy by leading the League in scoring, while Moller scored a franchise-high 39 goals. The Bruins finished in seventh place in the Western Conference and lost to Vancouver in the first round. All games were decided by one goal. After missing the playoffs in 2008–09, the Bruins fired head coach Jim Hiller. On June 3, 2009, the team named

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 ...

as the team's new head coach and general manager.

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

Team records

Full List of Team Records

NHL draftees

* Oscar Moller (Drafted by

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

in 2007; second round, 52nd overall) * Mark Santorelli (Drafted by

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

in 2007; fourth round, 119th overall) * Ryan Howse (Drafted by

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

in 2009; third round, 74th overall) * Roman Horak (Drafted by

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

in 2009; fifth round, 127th overall) * Kevin Sundher (Drafted by

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

in 2010; third round, 75th overall) * Tyler Stahl (Drafted by

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

in 2010; sixth round, 167th overall) * Dylen McKinlay (Drafted by

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

in 2010; seventh round, 189th overall)

NHL alumni

* Oscar Moller –

Nick Holden Nick Holden (born May 15, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Holden began his hockey career in the St. Albert, Alberta area, playing alongside Ryan Stanton wit ...

–

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

, Boston Bruins,

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expa ...

, Ottawa Senators * Roman Horak –

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

* Brandon Manning –

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

, Edmonton Oilers

References

External links

Western Hockey League official site
{{Defunct WHL Defunct ice hockey teams in British Columbia Sport in Chilliwack Defunct Western Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 2006 Sports clubs disestablished in 2011 2006 establishments in British Columbia 2011 disestablishments in British Columbia