Hope springs eternal in the fall in hockey.
The Victoria Royals will be looking for a rebound from misery when they open the home portion of their 2023-24 Western Hockey League regular season with back-to-back games Sept. 29-30 against the Prince George Cougars at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
The home openers for each WHL team were announced Monday, along with the pre-season games, with the full regular-season schedule to be unveiled today.
The Royals missed the playoffs the past two seasons, after placing last in the league in the bubble season previous to that, but return much of the roster and add touted rookie Cole Reschny.
“We are in a great position to take a step forward with an older group that cares a lot about [progressing],” said Victoria head coach and GM Dan Price, from Nashville, where he is attending coaching meetings prior to Wednesday’s NHL draft.
“There is a sense of purpose and opportunity. This is what the players have been working toward for a couple of years and they are definitely motivated. We’re excited to open at home against Prince George with a sa国际传媒 Division rivalry, which are games with four-point swings, and those are important points up for grabs because starting the season strongly is so important.”
Price said he wouldn’t put a number on the amount of wins he expects this coming season.
Even if it is the season for the Royals to pop, the past few seasons indicate a low ceiling, with the team expected to finally make the playoffs but in the fourth-to-eighth place range in the Western Conference.
Meanwhile, there had to be some schedule adjustments made after the announcement this month of the franchise move of the Winnipeg Ice to Wenatchee, Washington, where the team will skate as the Wild. The move of the franchise from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference added to the complexity of the late revamping of the WHL schedule.
The WHL pre-season schedule was announced with the Royals continuing a tradition of playing those on the road. Victoria will meet the Cougars in Port Coquitlam on Sept. 9, the Vancouver Giants in Ladner on Sept. 10, the Blazers in Kamloops on Sept. 15 and the Rockets in Kelowna on Sept. 16.
“We’ll get to see four different sa国际传媒 Division rivals and get an early assessment of the division,” said Price.
The games in Port Coquitlam and Ladner are among the exhibition games the WHL will conduct in eight non-league markets, including the Giants and Blazers playing at Cam Neely Arena in Maple Ridge. Other such games include the Calgary Hitmen playing the Red Deer Rebels in Siksika, Alta., the Edmonton Oil Kings meeting the Hitmen in Enoch, Alta., the Moose Jaw Warriors playing the Swift Current Broncos in Assiniboia, Sask., the Cougars and Oil Kings meeting twice in Grande Cache, Alta., and the Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades playing in Warman, Sask.
It gives other fans a look at the WHL, said Price.
