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 started as the Estevan Bruins in 1966, then became the New Westminster Bruins in 1971, before moving to Kamloops in 1981 as the Kamloops Junior Oilers. After moving, the Blazers became one of the most successful teams in the WHL, winning many important championships between 1983 and 1995.

History

The Kamloops Blazers started as one of the first teams in their league, called the Estevan Bruins, when the league began in 1966. The team won a league title in 1968 before moving to New Westminster, British Columbia in 1971, where they became the New Westminster Bruins and won many more titles in the 1970s.

In 1981, the team moved to Kamloops and was first called the Junior Oilers, supported by the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. In 1984, the team became known as the Blazers under community ownership. The Blazers quickly became successful, winning several championships and producing future NHL stars like Jarome Iginla. They played at the Kamloops Memorial Arena before moving to the Riverside Coliseum in 1992.

After a long period without playoff wins, the Blazers hosted the Memorial Cup again in 2023.

Season-by-season record

Giffen Nyren played for the Blazers between 2008 and 2010.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Points	Finish	Playoffs
1981–82	72	18	53	1	–	320	464	37	4th West	Lost West Division semifinal
1982–83	72	46	26	0	–	461	356	92	3rd West	Lost West Division semifinal
1983–84	72	50	22	0	–	467	332	100	1st West	Won Championship
1984–85	72	52	17	2	–	423	293	106	1st West	Lost final
1985–86	72	49	19	4	–	449	299	102	1st West	Won Championship
1986–87	72	55	14	3	–	496	292	113	1st West	Lost West Division final
1987–88	72	45	26	1	–	399	307	91	1st West	Lost final
1988–89	72	34	33	5	–	326	309	73	3rd West	Lost West Division final
1989–90	72	56	16	0	–	484	278	112	1st West	Won Championship
1990–91	72	50	20	2	–	385	247	102	1st West	Lost West Division final
1991–92	72	51	17	4	–	351	226	106	1st West	Won Championship and Memorial Cup
1992–93	72	42	28	2	–	302	253	86	3rd West	Lost West Division final
1993–94	72	50	16	6	–	381	225	106	1st West	Won Championship and Memorial Cup
1994–95	72	52	14	6	–	375	202	110	1st West	Won Championship and Memorial Cup
1995–96	72	48	22	2	–	343	257	98	2nd West	Lost West Division final
1996–97	72	28	37	7	–	256	285	63	5th West	Lost West Division quarterfinal
1997–98	72	37	32	3	–	234	253	77	4th West	Lost West Division quarterfinal
1998–99	72	48	11	13	–	298	195	109	1st West	Lost final
1999–00	72	36	30	5	1	244	228	78	4th West	Lost West Division quarterfinal
2000–01	72	35	28	7	2	289	274	79	3rd West	Lost West Division quarterfinal
2001–02	72	38	25	5	4	263	230	85	1st B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2002–03	72	39	27	5	1	261	222	84	2nd B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2003–04	72	34	28	8	2	192	182	78	3rd B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2004–05	72	26	37	7	2	161	211	61	4th B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
Season	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	GF	GA	Points	Finish	Playoffs
2005–06	72	34	33	2	3	179	196	73	5th B.C.	Did not qualify
2006–07	72	40	26	4	2	245	222	86	2nd B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2007–08	72	27	41	2	2	197	253	58	4th B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2008–09	72	33	33	2	4	242	277	72	3rd B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2009–10	72	32	33	2	5	237	284	71	3rd B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2010–11	72	29	37	3	3	219	285	64	5th B.C.	Did not qualify
2011–12	72	47	20	2	3	290	211	99	1st B.C.	Lost Western Conference semifinal
2012–13	72	47	20	2	3	261	180	99	2nd B.C.	Lost Western Conference final
2013–14	72	14	53	2	3	175	305	33	5th B.C.	Did not qualify
2014–15	72	28	37	4	3	214	258	63	4th B.C.	Did not qualify
2015–16	72	38	25	5	4	237	218	85	3rd B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2016–17	72	42	24	2	4	243	198	90	3rd B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2017–18	72	30	37	1	4	212	237	65	4th B.C.	Did not qualify
2018–19	68	28	32	6	2	196	212	64	3rd B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2019–20	63	41	18	3	1	271	166	86	1st B.C.	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21	22	18	4	0	0	87	51	36	1st B.C.	No playoffs held due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021–22	68	48	17	3	0	287	176	99	1st B.C.	Lost Western Conference final
2022–23	68	48	13	4	3	313	198	103	1st B.C.	Lost Western Conference final
2023–24	68	20	42	3	3	180	295	46	5th B.C.	Did not qualify
2024–25	68	24	39	4	1	206	271	53	4th B.C.	Did not qualify
2025–26	68	31	24	7	6	264	250	75	4th B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarterfinal

Championship history

The Kamloops Blazers have won many important trophies over the years. They have won the Memorial Cup three times, a big tournament for junior hockey teams. They also won the President's Cup six times, which is the championship for the Western Hockey League. Additionally, they have won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy seven times for being the best regular season team.

Here are the years they won these titles and some key matches:

Coaches

Main pages: Category:Kamloops Blazers coaches and Category:Kamloops Junior Oilers coaches

Some well-known head coaches for the Kamloops Blazers have been Ken Hitchcock, Tom Renney, Don Hay, Marc Habscheid, and Dean Evason.

NHL alumni

Many players who started with the Kamloops Blazers went on to play in the NHL. This list includes those who played for the team when it was known as the Kamloops Junior Oilers as well.

Here are some of the players who made it to the NHL:

History

Season-by-season record

Championship history

Coaches

NHL alumni

Images

Related articles

City	Kamloops, British Columbia
League	Western Hockey League
Founded	1966
Home arena	Sandman Centre
Playoff championships	Memorial Cup 3 times