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Kamloops Blazers

Discoverer · ages 10+Adapted from Wikipedia
Giffen Nyren, a member of the Kamloops Blazers hockey team.

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

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
2025–2668312476264250754th 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:

Pictures

Ice hockey player Logan Stankoven posing in his Kamloops Blazers uniform in 2023.

Keep exploring

British Columbia
National Hockey League

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Kamloops Blazers, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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