Kamloops Blazers


The Kamloops Blazers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kamloops, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference and plays its home games at the Sandman Centre. The Blazers originated as the Estevan Bruins in 1966, became the New Westminster Bruins in 1971, and relocated to Kamloops in 1981 as the Kamloops Junior Oilers. After moving to Kamloops, the Blazers became the WHL's most successful club, winning a record six President's Cups, a record seven Scotty Munro Memorial Trophies, and three Memorial Cup titles, all between 1983 and 1995.

History

The Blazers franchise originated as one of the league's founding clubs, the Estevan Bruins, when the league launched in 1966. After winning a league title in 1968, owner and manager Scotty Munro sold his stake in the club in 1969 and moved on to the Calgary Centennials; two years later, the team moved to New Westminster, British Columbia, as part of the Western Canada Hockey League's effort to span the four Western Canadian provinces. The New Westminster Bruins established a WCHL dynasty in the 1970s, winning four consecutive league titles between 1975 and 1978 and the 1977 and 1978 Memorial Cups. Despite the team's success, it was relocated again in 1981, moving to Kamloops, where the team—supported directly by the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers—was initially known as the Junior Oilers. In 1984, the team came under community ownership and was renamed the Blazers.
In Kamloops, the Blazers quickly established a dynasty of their own. The team made three straight finals appearances from 1984 to 1986, winning in their first and third appearances; after a finals loss in 1988, the team would win four more President's Cups between 1990 and 1995. Led at various times by future NHL stars Scott Niedermayer, Darryl Sydor, Jarome Iginla, Shane Doan, Darcy Tucker, Corey Hirsch, and others, and managed by future NHL coaches including Ken Hitchcock and Tom Renney, the Blazers went on to win three Memorial Cup titles in a four-year span, the only team to achieve such a feat. The Blazers hosted the third Memorial Cup tournament in that run in 1995.
When the team arrived in Kamloops, they played at the Kamloops Memorial Arena before moving to the new Riverside Coliseum in 1992.
After their run of success, the Blazers would go twelve seasons without winning a playoff round; the team missed the playoffs for the first time in 2006, and missed four more times between 2011 and 2018. The team hosted the Memorial Cup for a second time in 2023. At the tournament, they were eliminated in overtime of a tie-breaker game against the Peterborough Petes.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
SeasonGPWLTOTLGFGAPointsFinishPlayoffs
1981–827218531–320464374th WestLost West Division semifinal
1982–837246260–461356923rd WestLost West Division semifinal
1983–847250220–4673321001st WestWon Championship
1984–857252172–4232931061st WestLost final
1985–867249194–4492991021st WestWon Championship
1986–877255143–4962921131st WestLost West Division final
1987–887245261–399307911st WestLost final
1988–897234335–326309733rd WestLost West Division final
1989–907256160–4842781121st WestWon Championship
1990–917250202–3852471021st WestLost West Division final
1991–927251174–3512261061st WestWon Championship and Memorial Cup
1992–937242282–302253863rd WestLost West Division final
1993–947250166–3812251061st WestWon Championship and Memorial Cup
1994–957252146–3752021101st WestWon Championship and Memorial Cup
1995–967248222–343257982nd WestLost West Division final
1996–977228377–256285635th WestLost West Division quarterfinal
1997–987237323–234253774th WestLost West Division quarterfinal
1998–9972481113–2981951091st WestLost final
1999–0072363051244228784th WestLost West Division quarterfinal
2000–0172352872289274793rd WestLost West Division quarterfinal
2001–0272382554263230851st B.C.Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2002–0372392751261222842nd B.C.Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2003–0472342882192182783rd B.C.Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2004–0572263772161211614th B.C.Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
SeasonGPWLOTLSOLGFGAPointsFinishPlayoffs
2005–0672343323179196735th B.C.Did not qualify
2006–0772402642245222862nd B.C.Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2007–0872274122197253584th B.C.Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2008–0972333324242277723rd B.C.Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2009–1072323325237284713rd B.C.Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2010–1172293733219285645th B.C.Did not qualify
2011–1272472023290211991st B.C.Lost Western Conference semifinal
2012–1372472023261180992nd B.C.Lost Western Conference final
2013–1472145323175305335th B.C.Did not qualify
2014–1572283743214258634th B.C.Did not qualify
2015–1672382554237218853rd B.C.Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2016–1772422424243198903rd B.C.Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2017–1872303714212237654th B.C.Did not qualify
2018–1968283262196212643rd B.C.Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2019–2063411831271166861st B.C.Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–2122184008751361st B.C.No playoffs held due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021–2268481730287176991st B.C.Lost Western Conference final
2022–23684813433131981031st B.C.Lost Western Conference final
2023–2468204233180295465th B.C.Did not qualify
2024–2568243941206271534th B.C.Did not qualify

Championship history

Notable head coaches in the history of the Kamloops Blazers include Ken Hitchcock, Tom Renney, Don Hay, Marc Habscheid, and Dean Evason.

NHL alumni