In April it was announced that the Chilliwack Bruins of the Western Hockey League (WHL) would be moving to Victoria for the upcoming 2011-2012 season. Hockey fans that are living in Victoria would like to welcome this new franchise to our beautiful city and are looking forward to some exciting major-junior hockey next fall.
General Manager and Head Coach Marc Habscheid unveiled the WHL Victoria Royals name, logo and colours at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on June 20, 2011.
Artist Brent Lynch of Nanoose Bay designed the logo; a stylized heraldic lion in royal blue, silver and black.
The process of deciding on a name for the team was lengthy, according to Dave Dakers, the president of the sports and entertainment division of RG Properties, which owns the Royals and operates Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. 200 potential names were whittled to 25, then narrowed down to the top 6, which were posted for the public on the team’s website. The front runners were the Royals and the Capitals, but trademark issues made Royals the prudent choice.
Reception on the Victoria Royals face book page has been largely enthusiastic, hockey fans in Victoria are excited to have a WHL team in the city again! Within 24 hours of announcing the name and unveiling the jersey the page had 3,000 likes.
On the new Victoria Royals website you will already find ticket information along with training camp info and a call for future billets and volunteers – now’s your chance to get in early…You can also register to be on their mailing list so that you are kept up to date with all the news about the Victoria Royals.
Yes, it sure feels like people who are living in Victoria are eager to welcome the WHL back to our city, and are looking forward to catching some quality sports entertainment from the Victoria Royals next season – Go Royals Go!
