The Western Hockey League franchise has never missed the playoffs since moving to Cranbook from Edmonton in 1998-99. It hasn鈥檛 had a losing season since that first year in the sa国际传媒 Kootenay region, but both those streaks are in jeopardy this year as the Ice are a league-worst 6-22-2 after Friday night鈥檚 4-0 loss in Vancouver against the Giants, who are last in the Western Conference.
Despite a championship pedigree that includes three WHL titles (2000, 2002, 2011) and the Memorial Cup championship in 2002, Kootenay is also dead last in attendance this season with a 1,933 per-game average. Any time there is speculation about a franchise move in the WHL, the Ice invariably pop into the conversation, as they did during the last such rumour flurry in June.
But all that off-ice stuff Kootenay could always hold at bay with its on-ice success and alumni list that includes Sam Reinhart of the Buffalo Sabres and Victoria鈥檚 Adam Cracknell of the Vancouver Canucks. Until this season. The malaise in the stands is also now on the ice during the kind of major rebuilding season that this franchise has been able to avoid.
Yet, the Royals can hardly take any team for granted, especially since they needed two third-period goals to pull out a 3-1 victory Tuesday at the Memorial Centre against the WHL third-worst Medicine Hat Tigers, another proud franchise struggling through an off-season.
That鈥檚 the kind of rebuilding campaign a lot of WHL observers thought the Royals would have to endure, but this youthful Victoria club has defied all expectations. Maybe because of being so young themselves, they don鈥檛 take any team lightly.
鈥淲e respect all our opponents,鈥� said Victoria head coach Dave Lowry.
鈥淲e hold each other accountable in that room each game.鈥�
This will be Lowry鈥檚 final game behind the Royals bench until Jan. 8 in Prince George. He will miss 13 games while he is away as head coach of sa国际传媒 at the 2016 world junior championship in Helsinki, with the national-team camp opening next week in Toronto. Asked what his parting words for his team will be to keep in mind during his absence, Lowry replied: 鈥淭he way we play better not change.鈥�
It will also be the final game before the world junior camp for Royals captain Joe Hicketts, a national junior team gold-medallist returnee, who is also a candidate to be Canadian captain.
鈥淲ith Dave and I leaving, we wanted to establish a [Royals] momentum that will carry forward,鈥� said Hicketts, who, going into Friday night, led the WHL in scoring by a defenceman with 29 points.
Hicketts departs on an off-beat note with tonight being his bobblehead night, a quirky North American sporting cultural honour that is a rarity and only afforded the top-flight players of any level.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of different but also kind of cool,鈥� said Hicketts. 鈥淚鈥檝e got a few to give to family and friends back home [in Kamloops]. It鈥檚 once-in-a-lifetime because you don鈥檛 know if it will happen again.鈥�
