The Kootenay Ice (officially stylized as ICE) were a major

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 based in

Cranbrook, British Columbia Cranbrook ( ) is a city in southeast British Columbia, Canada, located on the west side of the Kootenay River at its confluence with the St. Mary River (British Columbia), St. Mary's River. It is the largest urban centre in the region known as the ...

, and competed 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 played its home games at

Western Financial Place The Western Financial Place (formerly known as the Cranbrook Recreational Complex) is a 4,268-seat (plus 352 standing room) arena and an aquatics centre which is located in East Kootenay Cranbrook, British Columbia, Cranbrook, British Columbia. W ...

. The franchise was owned by the Chynoweth family from 1995 until it was sold to Winnipeg-based company 50 Below Sports and Entertainment in 2017. The Ice moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

in 2019 and now play as the Winnipeg Ice.

History

The franchise began play in 1996 as the

Edmonton Ice The Edmonton Ice were a junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that played two seasons in the Western Hockey League from 1996 to 1998. History The WHL expanded to Edmonton in 1996, and the Ice began play at the Northlands Agri ...

founded by

Ed Chynoweth Edward Chynoweth (December 14, 1941 – April 22, 2008) was a Canadian ice hockey executive. He served as president of the Western Hockey League and the Canadian Hockey League for over 20 years each. He was also a league director, team own ...

after he left his position as the

's president. He moved the Ice to Cranbrook in 1998. The move of the Ice to Cranbrook resulted in the folding of the local Junior A powerhouse

Cranbrook Colts The Cranbrook Colts were a Junior "B" and a Junior "A" team in Cranbrook, British Columbia. They were formed in 1970 as a Junior "B" team in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. They were immediately successful, winning the league title ...

and possibly the entire troubled Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League that the Colts were the top team in. All of the remaining five RMJHL franchises from the

Kootenays The Kootenays or Kootenay ( ) is a region of southeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Kutenai First Nations people. Boundaries The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Kootenay ...

dropped to the Junior B

Kootenay International Junior Hockey League The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) is a Junior "B" Ice Hockey league in British Columbia, Canada sanctioned by Hockey Canada. The winner of the Teck Cup competes with the champions of the Pacific Junior Hockey League ...

within years of the Ice coming to the region. The Kootenay Ice were three-time WHL champions (

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

). They 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 ...

, and also participated in

and

. In 2017, the Chynoweth family sold the team to 50 Below Sports + Entertainment Inc. The company's owners, Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell, were installed as the team's governor and president/general manager, respectively. A new logo was unveiled on May 1, 2017. On January 29, 2019, the Kootenay Ice announced the team would relocate to

at the end of the 2018–19 season. The move saw the Ice and

Swift Current Broncos The Swift Current Broncos are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. Founded during 1967 in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, the Broncos played seven seasons before relocating to Lethbridge from 1974 to 1986 as the Lethbridge Broncos ...

switch places within the East and Central divisions. The Winnipeg Ice began play in the 2019–20 season.

WHL championships

* 1999–00: Won, 4–2 vs. Spokane * 2001–02: Won, 4–2 vs. Red Deer * 2010–11: Won, 4–1 vs. Portland

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

NHL alumni

* Riley Armstrong *

Dean Arsene Dean Arsene (born July 20, 1980) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey defenceman. While he played the majority of his AHL career with the Hershey Bears, he last played with the Abbotsford Heat of the American Hockey League (AHL). He play ...

Dan Blackburn Daniel Clark Blackburn (born May 20, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 63 regular-season games for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), going 20–32–11 with 1 shutout. Minor league ca ...

* Zdenek Blatny *

Mike Comrie Michael William Comrie (born September 11, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. During his 13-year National Hockey League (NHL) career he played with the Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Ottawa Senators ...

* Adam Cracknell *

Nigel Dawes Nigel Alexander Dawes (born February 9, 1985) is a Canadian- Kazakhstani professional ice-hockey winger for Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He has played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Phoenix ...

Cody Eakin Cody Eakin (born May 24, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with the SCL Tigers of the National League (NL). He was selected by the Washington Capitals in the third round, 85th overall, of the 2009 NHL E ...

Brennan Evans Brennan Evans (born January 6, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 13 years in the American Hockey League and with the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Evans spent four season ...

* Cale Fleury * Kris Foucault *

Matt Fraser Matthew John Fraser (born May 20, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left wing. He is currently under contract with EC KAC of the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). He has previously played in the National Hockey League for the Dallas Stars ...

* Jeff Glass * Mike Green * Stanislav Gron * Jason Jaffray * Peyton Krebs *

Nathan Lieuwen Nathan Lieuwen (born August 8, 1991) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey Goaltender (ice hockey), goaltender. On June 25, 2011 he was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He was selected in the 6th round, ...

* Ben Maxwell * Steve McCarthy *

Ryan McGill Ryan Clifford McGill (born February 28, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, and current assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played in the 151 games in the NHL with the Chicag ...

Brayden McNabb Brayden Luke McNabb (born January 21, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally selected 66th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2009 NHL Entry D ...

John Negrin John Negrin (born March 26, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Negrin was a third round pick of the Calgary Flames, 70th overall, at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft; he played only three games with them and has spent the majority of hi ...

* Tomas Plihal * Roman Polak *

Sam Reinhart Samson Reinhart (born November 6, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Reinhart was selected second overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Reinhar ...

* Max Reinhart *

Aaron Rome Aaron Rome (born September 27, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently serving as a skills coach with the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Rome was selected in the fourth round (104th ...

* Ryan Russell *

Mackenzie Skapski Mackenzie Skapski (born June 15, 1994) is a goaltending coach and former Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who last played for HKM Zvolen in the Tipsport Liga (Slovak). He has formerly played for the New York Rangers in the National ...

Jarret Stoll Jarret Lee Stoll (born June 24, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Stoll has played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild. He is a two-time St ...

Brett Sutter Brett Darryl Sutter (born June 2, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is currently playing with the Calgary Wranglers of the American Hockey League (AHL). Sutter was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the sixth round (179th ove ...

* Marek Svatos *

Jaroslav Svoboda Jaroslav Svoboda (born June 1, 1980) is a Czech former professional ice hockey right winger. He played in the National Hockey League with the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars between 2001 and 2006. The rest of his career, which lasted from 19 ...

Duncan Milroy Duncan Alexander James Milroy (born February 8, 1983) is a Canadian retired ice hockey right winger who played five games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens. Playing career Milroy played in the junior hockey in the Western ...

Rinat Valiev Rinat Valiev (born May 11, 1995) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing under contract with Admiral Vladivostok of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Valiev was selected in the third round (68th overall) of the ...

* Matt Walker * Kyle Wanvig *

Jeremy Yablonski Jeremy Yablonski (born March 21, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. Primarily a hockey enforcer, Yablonski is a six time, novice Golden Gloves boxing champion. After his professional hockey career, Yablonski went on ...

References

External links