The saga of the Chilliwack Bruins — a chronology

What follows is something of a chronology of events leading up to the announcement of the sale and relocation of the Chilliwack Bruins, mostly gleaned from the work of Tyler Olsen of the Chilliwack Times and Eric Welsh of the Chilliwack Progress.
Cast of characters, in order of appearance:
Ron Robison: WHL commissioner.
Moray Keith: Minority owner of Chilliwack Bruins and co-owner of Chilliwack Development Group (CDG), which manages Prospera
Centre.
Jim Bond: Minority owner of Chilliwack Bruins and co-owner of Chilliwack Development Group (CDG), which manages Prospera
Centre.
Darryl Porter: One of the Bruins’ three majority owners; he was the franchise’s governor.
Dave Dakers: President of RG Properties’ sports and entertainment division. RG Properties manages Prospera Place in Kelowna and the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria; it also owns the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings. RG Properties bought the Bruins.
Brian Burke: President and general manager of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs; one of the Chilliwack Bruins’ majority owners.
Glen Sather: President and general manager of the NHL’s New York Rangers; one of the Chilliwack Bruins’ majority owners.
Jim Mullin: Manager of the sports department at CKNW, an AM radio station in Vancouver. He was fired by CKNW on April 20 and tweeted that his dismissal had "everything to do with" his reporting of the sale of the Bruins.
Glen Ringdal: A consultant who works with Moray Keith and Jim Bond.
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2001: “Our interest in Victoria began in 2001 (and) intensified with the (2005) opening of the new facility (Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre).” — WHL commissioner Ron Robison, on The Hawk 89.5, April 20, 2011.
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2009: “In 2009, Robison told the league’s board of governors that the WHL might try and move the next team up for sale to Victoria.” — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, April 21, 2011.
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February 2009: “February of 2009, as part of its strategic plan, the Western Hockey League Board of Governors made a decision to actively pursue securing a WHL franchise for the Victoria market. At that time, the WHL Board of Governors were advised that should a franchise become available for sale, the WHL may elect to relocate the club to Victoria. Although expanding the league beyond 22 teams was not ruled out, the WHL Board of Governors preference was to relocate an existing team. Further expansion was not considered a viable alternative due to the demand it would place on the talent pool of players and the ability for WHL Clubs to remain competitive at the national level.” — WHL press release, April 20, 2011.
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November 2010: “Keith told the Times that Bond came away (from a Jan. 13 conference call) not thinking that a decision had been made and that no vote was taken. He also said CDG had a standing offer to buy the club dating back to November 2010. Porter said that he knew of no such offer and that there was no ambiguity as to CDG's willingness to sell.” — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, April 21, 2011.
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December 2010: Darryl Porter asks Chilliwack city council for $175,000 per year to prop up sagging revenues. The request is turned down.
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Early January 2011: In early January, Keith says that Bruins president Darryl Porter met with Robison during the World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y. According to Keith, “Robison told (Porter) point blank that if they wanted to sell, they had to sell to Victoria.” — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, April 21, 2011.
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January 2011: “Dave Dakers, president of RG Properties sports and entertainment division, said the genesis of the deal was when he met Darryl Porter on a ferry in January.” — Cleve Dheensaw, Victoria Times Colonist, April 20, 2011.
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Jan. 13, 2011: “Burke and Porter talked about a Jan. 13 conference call in which Jim Bond allegedly gave his and Keith’s approval to the pursuit of a sale, at the same time locking the group into exclusive negotiating rights with Victoria. . . . Keith wasn’t involved in that meeting, but he got a play-by-play from Bond. . . . ‘Burkie talked and he was the only guy that talked, and it was presented as a fait d’accompli that this was done,’ Keith said. ‘Jim is adamant that he didn’t concur in a unanimous way that it should be sold. Porter, Burke and Sather agreed to sell the team. That’s 75 per cent and that’s not unanimous.’ ” — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, April 20, 2011.
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March 4, 2011: Western Hockey League commission Ron Robison says Chilliwack remains a viable market for major junior hockey. And with rumours flying about the possible sale of the Chilliwack Bruins, Robison told the Chilliwack Times . . . that the league office hasn't received any notice that a sale is imminent. Robison said "there is tremendous interest in purchasing franchises around the league . . . but right now there's been nothing filed with us to indicate that there's been anything material occurring." — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, March 4, 2011.
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March 4, 2011: Asked if the league stresses keeping teams in their current markets, Robison said "absolutely." He continued: "It's clearly our desire to keep them where they are. From time to time we have to review relocation but that's been very rare. There hasn't been a relocation in our league for many, many years." — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, March 4, 2011.
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March 4, 2011: When asked by the Progress whether the team would be playing in Chilliwack in 2011-12, the answer wasn't exactly a resounding yes. “I would be very surprised if the Western Hockey League isn't playing hockey in Chilliwack,” Porter replied. — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, March 4, 2011.
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March 4, 2011: Asked whether the Bruins would be playing in Chilliwack in 2011-12, (Robison) offered this. “It is certainly our intent and we haven’t considered anything different at this point.” — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, April 21, 2011.
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March 4, 2011: Asked about the league’s strong desire to get into Victoria, (Robison) offered this. “We are very interested in that possibility, and it’s just been a case of whether we can accommodate that. At this point, we’re not in a position to do that.” — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, April 21, 2011.
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March 2011: “In March, Porter told the Times that the owners were weighing ‘multiple offers.’ The owners were, however, negotiating with only one other partner. On (April 20) he apologized for the misleading statements, saying that he was trying to respect a confidentiality agreement and that there was still a possibility that the team wouldn’t be sold to RG Properties. ‘I still had some belief that we would be enticing other offers,’ he said.” — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, April 21, 2011.
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March 15, 2011: The Chilliwack Progress reports that Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, who “has ties to the area,” is interested in helping keep the Bruins in Chilliwack. "Justin has expressed his interest in being involved with us as an investor in hockey based in Chilliwack," Keith said in an e-mail to the Chilliwack Progress. "We would be honoured to have him involved. It is all predicated obviously in our successfully securing the team.” — Chilliwack Progress, March 15, 2011.
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March 15, 2011: The Chilliwack Progress reports that “a news article this morning said there is pressure on Burke, Sather and Porter to accept a bid that would land the team in Victoria. That would fly in the face of commments WHL commisioner Ron Robison made in a Chilliwack Progress interview last week.” . . . “The league's position on ownership is always to look for local ownership,” he said. “That is always a priority. We have to make sure we have the right type of ownership, but if there is local interest, that is something we would want to explore.” — Chilliwack Progress, March 15, 2011.
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March 17, 2011: “On March 17, the WHL Board of Governors granted conditional approval for the sale of the Chilliwack WHL franchise and final agreements were then signed.” — WHL news release, April 21, 2011.
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March 31, 2011: “Darryl Porter not confirming sale of Chilliwack Bruins at 5:50pm. Says it's not done. Says no sale agreement signed despite speculation.” — Randy Merkley, the radio voice of the Bruins, via Twitter.
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April 5, 2011: The WHL issues a news release saying it has granted conditional approval to the sale of the Chilliwack Bruins. The news release doesn’t identify a buyer.
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April 4, 2011: Burke, in a letter through his lawyers to Jim Mullin earlier in the week, claimed that the WHL had “promised” a franchise to Graham Lee, the chief executive officer and president of RG Properties. . . . Burke also wrote that it was “. . . the WHL’s and Mr. Lee’s desire to have an established team in Victoria rather than an expansion team. This will not leave Chilliwack without a WHL team. The WHL is in the process of negotiating the movement of another WHL team to Chilliwack.”
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April 11, 2011: “Keith cited an April 11 phone conversation between his right-hand man Glen Ringdal and Porter where Porter fingered Robison and the WHL executive as the masterminds behind the Chilliwack-to-Victoria plot.” — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, April 20.
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April 18, 2011: The WHL announces that a news conference will be held April 20 in Victoria.
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April 19, 2011: The deal between RG Properties and the Bruins owners closes.
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April 20: 2011: The WHL announces the Bruins will be relocated to Victoria.

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Moving day . . .

It is moving day at the Prospera Centre in Chilliwack.

While the WHL is in Victoria announcing the arrival of the Chilliwack Bruins, the moving fans are in Prospera Centre.
For the last five years, Prospera Centre has been the home of the Bruins, who have been sold to Vancouver-based RG Properties and are being relocated to Victoria.
The Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria has been the home of the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings, also for five years.
Strangely enough, whoever is responsible for selecting today as the day for the announcement, picked a game day for the Salmon Kings. They play the visiting Utah Grizzlies tonight. Victoria holds a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series.
Meanwhile, back at Prospera Centre . . .
I am told that the pictured trucks were being loaded with equipment from dressing rooms and storage. Workers also lowered the score clock in order to remove the video screens. As well, all the equipment from the media booth was taken away.

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Taking Note on Twitter

Friday . . .

THE CHILLIWACK-TO-VICTORIA SAGA, Chapter 57:
The Regina Moose? The Regina Gophers? The Chilliwack Pats?
The Victoria Bruins?
When the dominoes start falling, who knows how all this will shake out. And now you have to wonder if one of the dominoes might be the Regina Pats?
The Pats are in lease negotiations with Evraz Place, the landlord that controls the Brandt Centre, the arena the team calls home.
These negotiations have been messy in the past and they appear headed down Nasty Street once again.
In fact, a source has told me that the Evraz people have given the Pats “a take-it-or-leave-it offer.”
The Pats’ owners — Diane and Russ Parker — are said to be seriously thinking of leaving it. Their son, Brent, is the team’s president after a long run as general manager.
I also have been told that the Evraz Place people have had discussions with the American Hockey League, which is doing preliminary planning in case a new home is needed for the Winnipeg-based Manitoba Moose. That move would become necessary should the NHL move the Phoenix Coyotes back to Winnipeg.
All of this is nothing more than speculation, of course, but it does mean there may be a sliver of light so far as the WHL fans of Chilliwack are concerned.
Understand that the Pats have been down this road a few times before and, at the end of the day, have always reached agreement with their landlord.
However, I don’t think the Pats have ever been in a position like they are now — with an arena such as the one in Chilliwack looking for a primary tenant. (The Bruins, if you’ve come in late, have been sold, presumably to Vancouver-based RG Properties, and will be relocated to Victoria.)
Yes, the Pats could very well use Chilliwack as a bargaining chip. However, it could work the other way, too, meaning that Evraz Place might have to be careful in calling the Pats’ bluff because the hockey team just might have another landing place.
Of course, it could be that Evraz Place has its eyes on an AHL franchise.
Oh, what a tangled web . . .
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Interestingly, the Colorado-based Arabian Horse Association wasn’t able to close negotiations to keep its Royal Red horse show at Evraz Place and revealed late in March that it has chosen to move it to Brandon’s Keystone Centre. The Royal Red had been held in Regina for 22 years.
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The Parkers have a long sporting history in the west and, in fact, Russ and Brent likely would be quick to tell you that baseball is their first love. Russ owned a AAA baseball franchise in Calgary not all that long ago, but it left town when he and the City couldn’t come together on the building of a new facility or the refurbishing of an old one.
A year ago, the Parkers bought a Golden Baseball League franchise and set it up in Victoria as the Seals. Darren Parker, another son, was put in charge. However, the owners weren’t at all pleased with playing conditions — apparently, Victoria is lacking in baseball facilities and the Seals played on a soccer pitch with a portable snow fence around the outfield — and the franchise folded over the winter.
Should the Pats end up in the centre of a controversy related to a possible move, it wouldn’t be the first time. In 1985-86, the franchise, then owned by the Pinder family of Saskatoon, was so close to moving to Swift Current during the Christmas break that one game scheduled to be played in Regina was postponed. The marquee in front of the Agridome even announced that the team was on the move. Saner heads prevailed, of course, and the Pats stayed where they belong.
The bone of contention back then was a $1 parking charge that Regina Exhibition Park, then the Pats’ landlord, chose to implement.
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And if you’re wondering how the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings are doing . . . they opened a best-of-seven second-round series with the host Utah Grizzlies on Friday night. The Salmon Kings won, 4-2, with former Kootenay Ice F Adam Taylor sealing the victory with an empty-netter. . . . Attendance in the 10,207-seat Maverik Center was 3,063. . . . Game 2 is scheduled for tonight. . . . The series heads to Victoria for Games 3, 4 and, if necessary, 5 on Wednesday, Friday and April 23.
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MEANWHILE . . .
The hurt will be a while in going away, but Lorne Molleken, the general manager and head coach of the Saskatoon Blades, says he’ll be back behind the team’s bench next season.
After last season, Molleken thought about leaving the bench and focussing on the front-office duties.
“I sat down last year at the end of the (season) with (Blades co-owner) Jack Brodsky and we talked about the coaching,” Molleken told Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. “The Brodsky family, at that time, their wishes were that I stay behind the bench. Jack asked me to commit for another three years, so I made that
commitment to him and we’ll move forward.”
Molleken told Wolfe that he plans “to stay coaching for a long time.”
For more on the Blades and how they are dealing with the way their season ended, check out Wolfe’s copy right here.
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DAWSON GUHLE

The Medicine Hat Tigers get their second opportunity to eliminate the Red Deer Rebels tonight. The Tigers take a 3-1 series lead into Game 5 in Red Deer.
The Tigers won the first three games of the series and a lot of fans thought the series was over when Red Deer lost G Darcy Kuemper with a high ankle sprain suffered in Game 3.
However, backup Dawson Guhle, 18, stepped in and pitched a shutout, stopping 19 shots as the Rebels won Game 4, 1-0.
Guhle will be back in goal tonight, as Kuemper, 20, still is on the limp. In fact, Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate reports that Kuemper “has been fitted with a special boot which he will wear for a least a month.”
Backing up Guhle, who was acquired from the Regina Pats in November, will be Bolton Pouliot, 16, from the midget AAA Calgary Royals.
The Rebels have scored just three goals in the four games with Medicine Hat. Obviously, then, Red Deer is going to have to find some offence if it hopes to keep on playing.
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The Tri-City Americans and the visiting Spokane Chiefs are 2-2 going into Game 5 in Kennewick, Wash., on Sunday. The Americans evened the series with a 4-3 double-overtime victory on Thursday.
If you’re planning on attending Sunday’s game, perhaps you should be prepared for OT. Nine of the last 14 playoff games between these teams have needed extra time.
If you’re wondering why this series has a 2-3-2 format, with the Americans playing host to the middle three, it’s because of scheduling difficulties involving an Elton John concert, a two-day youth wrestling tournament and an Amway convention.
The wrestling tournament will be held today and Sunday in the Toyota Center in Kennewick, with the facility to be converted for hockey in time for a 7:30 p.m. start.
Bob Tory, the Americans’ GM, wasn’t at all happy about not having any Friday dates.
"It's bad management," Tory told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald earlier this month. "When you have Spokane and Tri-City and we can't have a weekend date, that is unacceptable. We are the anchor tenant with a history of playoff success the last five years."
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ON THE ICE FRIDAY NIGHT:

JESSEY ASTLES

In Portland, F Jessey Astles scored at 7:08 of OT to give the Kelowna Rockets a 2-1 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 54 shots. . . . The goal was Astles third of the playoffs. He picked off a pass at the Kelowna blue line and skated in alone to beat G Mac Carruth to the blocker side. . . . Astles, an 18-year-old from Coquitlam, scored one goal in 56 regular-season games last season and three times in 59 games this season. Now, he has three goals in nine playoff games. . . . The Winterhawks hold a 3-2 lead as the series goes back to Kelowna for Game 6 on Sunday. . . . Kelowna won the first game, with Portland winning the next three. . . . F Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan gave Kelowna a 1-0 lead at 4:38 of the second period via the PP. . . . Portland F Nino Niederreiter, on the PP, tied it at 15:09 of the second. . . . Callahan has five goals; Niederreiter has seven. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 36 shots. . . . Attendance in the Rose Garden was 8,505. . . . The Rockets lost D Colton Jobke to a boarding major and game misconduct at 16:34 of the first period. The play will be reviewed by the WHL office and he could be suspended. . . . Portland had F Brad Ross back in the lineup after he served a three-game suspension. He picked up two minor penalties, one of them coincidental, the other resulting in a Kelowna PP. . . . Kelowna F Zach Franko, who was hit by Ross in Game 1, didn’t play.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
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A tip of the cap to Taylor Piller, a 20-year-old forward with the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves. From Saskatoon, Piller has played four seasons in the SJHL — two with the Humboldt Broncos and two with the Ice Wolves. Remarkably, he has won four SJHL championships.
Darren Zary of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has that story right here.

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Taking Note on Twitter

Thursday . . .

Goaltender Eric Comrie, looking rather comfortable at GM Bob Tory's
desk, signs with the WHL's Tri-City Americans on Thursday.
(Photo courtesy Tri-CIty Americans)

THE CHILLIWACK-TO-VICTORIA SAGA, Part 17:
The sale of the Chilliwack Bruins to Vancouver-based RG Properties “is 100 per cent done,” a source informed me late Thursday.
Furthermore, the ownership transfer has been set for April 17, with moving vans expected to show up shortly thereafter. (The WHL has an official realtor — hello, there, RE/MAX — but is there an official mover?)
The same source has told me that “staff has been given walking papers.”
On top of which, the desks in the Bruins’ office are being cleared out and computers are being cleaned. Right now.
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The ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings are involved in a best-of-five first-round playoff series with the Bakersfield Condors. The teams split two games in Victoria earlier in the week. Game 3 is to be played tonight in Bakersfield, which also will be the site of Game 4 on Saturday and, if needed, a fifth game on Monday.
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Patrick King of Sportsnet offers up his take on the Chilliwack situation right here.
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OK.
We know, don’t we, that the Chilliwack Bruins have been sold and will be moving to Victoria before another season gets here.
And we know, thanks to Brian Burke, who owned 25 per cent of the Bruins, that the WHL “is in the process of negotiating the movement of another WHL team to Chilliwack.” That was included in a letter from Burke, via lawyers, to Jim Mullin, the sports director at Vancouver radio station CKNW earlier in the week.
But . . .
Earlier this week, Jeff Chynoweth, the governor and president of the Kootenay Ice, told me, via text, that his club “definitely” wasn’t moving from Cranbrook to Chilliwack.
And now I’ve been told rather definitively, at least so far as I’m concerned, that the Prince George Cougars aren’t packing up and heading south. The Cougars, I’ve been told, “are not in play.”
Which brings us to the Regina Pats.
In years past, the Pats have had some rather noisy lease negotiations with Evraz Place, which operates the Brandt Centre, the building in which Regina plays.
Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that the Pats, whose lease expires in May, have received a proposal from Evraz Place.
“We’ve obviously been waiting for this for quite some time,” Pats president Brent Parker told Harder. “We’ve left ourselves up against a deadline that we didn’t need to leave ourselves up against but we’re anxious to go through it and go from there. At least it gives us a starting point again and we can get back to work on it and get back to the table, which is where we need to be to get things done.”
Parker also told Harder that “we want to be here. We want to be in the building. But that has to be both ways. There has already been one major event that has been run out of the building in the last month (the Royal Red Horse Show). Maybe they’re trying to make it two.”
Harder’s complete story is right here.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors won 40 games this season but that wasn’t enough to allow head coach Dave Hunchak to keep his job.
The Warriors revealed Wednesday that they won’t renew the contract of Hunchak, who had been the head coach through four seasons.
This is no surprise. After all, Hunchak already was in place when Alan Millar, an OHL veteran, was hired as director of hockey operations prior to this season. Millar has four years left on his contract; Hunchak’s contract was to expire in June.
Millar also ended up with a job for which Hunchak also had applied, so that very well may have been another strike against the head coach.
It also seems that Millar and Hunchak, 37, perhaps didn’t see eye-to-eye. That became obvious late in February when the two engaged in a morning yelling match deep in the bowels of the Crushed Can that was overheard by a handful of folks. Millar apparently was dissatisfied with the level of motivation of the players. The Warriors were locked into fifth place in the Eastern Conference at that point.
And what does it say when a team wins 40 games, despite not having an opportunity to move up the standings, and still can’t finish better than fifth?
The Warriors made three playoff appearances in Hunchak’s four seasons, but weren’t able to get out of the first round. Of course, the Warriors have only been past the second round once in their 27 seasons in Moose Jaw. That was in the spring of 2006 when they got lost the WHL final to the Vancouver Giants.
Assistant coach Trevor Weisgerber was told a while ago that he wouldn’t be back and that it would fine for him to start looking for another job. There is a chance he could end up as head coach of the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins.
Mike Vandenberghe, the other assistant coach, joined the Warriors late in December. His contract also is up and he isn’t expected to return.
Hunchak, the third coach in Warriors history to win 40 games in one season, won 37, 19, 33 and 40 games over his four regular seasons.
And let’s not forget that this is Moose Jaw. That always seems to factor into it, doesn’t it? Hunchak can take at least some solace in the fact that this is the organization that once dumped Mike Babcock, not to mention Lorne Molleken.
What this means, of course, is that the Warriors will have a new head coach when they move into their new building next season.
Which leads me to this question . . . whatever happened to Gerry James?

———

Eric Comrie
(Tri-City Americans photo)

The Tri-City Americans have signed G Eric Comrie, the 13th pick in the 2010 bantam draft.
The Americans made a draft-day deal with the Vancouver Giants in order to move up six spots and select Comrie, a native of Edmonton who lives in Newport Beach, Calif. He is the son of Bill Comrie, a former owner of the CFL’s B.C. Lions and the owner of The Brick.
Eric, who played in the Los Angeles Selects program, is a younger brother to NHLer Mike Comrie and Paul Comrie, who starred with the Denver University Pioneers before having his professional career cut short by post-concussion syndrome.
Bob Tory, the Americans’ general manager, was the GM of the Kootenay Ice in 2000-01 when Mike Comrie left the U of Michigan to play in the WHL.
Eric actually visited DU in January, leading to speculation that he might go the NCAA route. He chose, instead, to sign with the Americans.
A native of Edmonton, Comrie lives in Newport Beach, Calif. With the Selects U16 midget team, he was 16-2-0, with a 1.34 GAA, a .940 save percentage and five shutouts. The Selects reached the national semifinals, with Comrie putting up a 1.41 GAA and .929 save percentage, leading the tournament in both categories.
He has already joined the Americans and will stay with them through the WHL playoffs.
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
Nothing regarding former WHLers, but a neat note . . .
F Steve Moria, who played for the BCHL’s Richmond Sockeyes (1979-82 before moving on to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, has signed a one-year contract extension as player-head coach with the Basingstoke Bisons (English Premier League). Moria, who turned 50 in February, had 26 goals and 46 assists in 54 games for the Bisons this season to finish 15th in league scoring. He told the Basingstoke Gazette: “I am going to give it one last year as I want to go out on a high.” Basingstoke lost in the league quarterfinals last weekend to Milton Keynes Lightning.
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JUST NOTES: D Brett Ponich, who had knee surgery, is back on skates and could rejoin the Portland Winterhawks before this season is over, should the team get deeper into the playoffs. Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune reports that Ponich could return should the Winterhawks get to the WHL final in May. . . . The QMJHL has awarded the 2012 Memorial Cup to Shawinigan, Que. The other finalists were Saint John, N.B., Cape Breton and Halifax. Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports takes a look at the QMJHL’s decision right here. . . . F Shayne Wiebe, who played two-plus seasons with the Kamloops Blazers before being dealt to the Brandon Wheat Kings, has signed an amateur tryout agreement with the Connecticut Whale, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers. Wiebe, 20, finished this regular season with 65 points, including 45 goals, in 72 games with the Wheat Kings. He added eight points in six games as they lost a first-round series to the Medicine Hat Tigers. Wiebe was never selected in the NHL draft. . . . F Jordan Eberle has been named the Sask Sport 2010 Saskatchewan athlete of the year. Eberle, who now is with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, completed his WHL career with the Regina Pats in 2009-10. In 2010, Eberle starred for Canada at the World Junior Championship and also was named the CHL’s player of the year. Eberle beat out Olympic curler Ben Herbert and Olympic speed skater Lucas Makowsky for the honour.
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MEANWHILE, ON THE ICE . . .
In Portland, F Shane McColgan scored three goals and set up another to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 5-1 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . It was Game 1 in a best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal. Game 2 is Sunday in Portland. . . . McColgan, who has six goals, now leads the WHL with 14 points in five playoff games, two more than Medicine Hat Tigers F Linden Vey. . . . The Rockets lost F Zach Franko in the first period after he was hit by Portland F Brad Ross. Franko left the game and didn’t return. He has a suspected concussion. . . . Ross was given a charging major and game misconduct. . . . Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska has said Franko isn’t likely to play Sunday. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 45 shots, 14 more than Portland’s Mac Carruth.
———
THURSDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One minor:
Kelowna F Colton Heffley.

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Taking Note on Twitter

WHL confirms sale. but that's all

By GREGG DRINNAN

Daily News Sports Editor

The WHL has confirmed that the Chilliwack Bruins have been sold.
In a terse two-paragraph news release issued Tuesday afternoon, the league announced that “it has granted conditional approval to a request from ownership of the Chilliwack Bruins for the sale of their WHL franchise.”
Furthermore, the release stated, “Until such time (as) all of the conditions related to the sale have been satisfied the WHL is not in a position to make any further statement on this transaction.”
The announcement arrived one day before Bruins fans had scheduled a rally for the front entrance to the team’s home arena, Prospera Place. That rally is to take place this evening at the front entrance to the arena.
It is believed that the Bruins’ majority owners — Darryl Porter, Brian Burke and Glen Sather each owns 25 per cent — have sold the franchise to RG Properties, a Vancouver-based real estate development and operating company that manages the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria and Prospera Place in Kelowna.
The arena in Victoria is home to the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings, a franchise that is owned by RG Properties. The City of Victoria has a contract with RG Properties to manage the arena. That deal is to expire in 2036 and the City has told RG Properties that the contract will be extended to 2046 if it is able to attract a WHL franchise.
At present, the Salmon Kings are involved in the ECHL playoffs, playing a best-of-five first-round series with the Bakersfield Condors. Once the Salmon King’s season is over, an announcement is expected on the transfer of the Bruins.
Early in March, as speculation on the sale of the franchise heated up, WHL commissioner Ron Robison told the Chilliwack Times: “It’s clearly our desire to keep them where they are. From time to time we have to review relocation but that’s been very rare. There hasn’t been a relocation in our league for many, many years.”
The last franchise to pick up and move was the Edmonton Ice, which relocated to Cranbrook after the 1997-98 season.
Moray Keith and Jim Bond own the remaining 25 per cent of the Chilliwack franchise; Keith also holds the management contract on Prospera Centre, the home to the Bruins for the past five seasons.
Keith and Bond attempted to purchase the Bruins from their partners, reportedly for $7.75 million, but the offer was rebuffed.
Keith later confirmed to Jim Mullin, the sports director at Vancouver radio station CKNW, that the Bruins had been sold.
Meanwhile, Burke, in a letter through his lawyers to Mullin earlier this week, claimed that the WHL had “promised” a franchise to Graham Lee, the chief executive officer and president of RG Properties.
Burke also wrote that it was “. . . the WHL’s and Mr. Lee’s desire to have an established team in Victoria rather than an expansion team. This will not leave Chilliwack without a WHL team. The WHL is in the process of negotiating the movement of another WHL team to Chilliwack.”
The league has since placed a gag order on all WHL and team officials, an order that carried with it the threat of a heavy fine should anyone discuss the situation with the media.
Victoria last was in the WHL in 1993-94, after which the Cougars packed up and moved to Prince George. The Cougars had been in Victoria since 1971-72.
At this point, it isn’t known which WHL franchise, if any, might relocate to Chilliwack.
Dallas Thompson, the general manager of the Cougars, told the Prince George Citizen earlier this week that that franchsie isn’t going anywhere.
“This team is not for sale, and we’ve made that abundantly clear about a hundred times,” Thompson told the Citizen. “We’re exploring a way to make our business work here and relocation is something we don’t want to have happen and it’s not an option.
“We want to make this thing work in Prince George and that’s what we’re trying to do. Chilliwack is not an option. We can’t comment about anything that’s going on there.”
The Cranbrook-based Kootenay Ice is another team that has been rumoured as perhaps being interested in moving.
However, Jeff Chynoweth, the Ice’s president and GM, told The Daily News last night, via text, that the club is “definitely not going to Chilliwack.”

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Brian Burke weighs in on Victoria

Brian Burke obviously has too much time on his hands.
The man who runs the Toronto Maple Leafs has found time to write a letter to Jim Mullin, the sports director at radio station CKNW in Vancouver.
Actually, the letter came from Burke via his lawyers.
The letter has to do with Burke being unhappy over some comments Mullin made about Burke “seeking vengeance on the Canucks.”
More interesting than that, at least for WHL fans, are a couple of Burke comments pertaining to the impending move of the Chilliwack Bruins to Victoria.
If you came late to this story, Burke owns 25 per cent of the Bruins. He, Glen Sather and Darryl Porter, each of whom owns 25 per cent, have a deal to sell the franchise, but not to minority owners Moray Keith and Jim Bond, who own the other 25 per cent.
Rather, they will sell to Graham Lee’s RG Properties, which holds the management contract for the Save-On Food Memorial Centre in Victoria, the home of the ECHL’s Salmon Kings.
In his letter to Mullin, who has been on top of this story from the get-go, Burke writes:
“Graham Lee has been promised a WHL franchise in that city.”
Unfortunately, Burke doesn’t explain why Lee “has been promised” a team for Victoria. Of course, Dave Dakers, who is president of RG Properties sports and entertainment and also operates their ECHL franchise, is tight -- they are fishing pals -- with Bruce Hamilton, the president of the Kelowna Rockets and the chairman of the WHL’s board of governors. Maybe that has something to do with it.
Remember, too, that the City of Victoria, which owns the arena there, has told RG Properties that it will extend its management contract through 2046 if it is able to land a WHL franchise. That contract now is to expire in 2036.
But wait . . . there’s more.
Later, Burke writes that it was “. . . the WHL’s and Mr. Lee’s desire to have an established team in Victoria rather than an expansion team. This will not leave Chilliwack without a WHL team. The WHL is in the process of negotiating the movement of another WHL team to Chilliwack.”
So let’s really upset the apple cart, why don’t we?
Not only do fans of the Bruins have reason to be up in arms, but now fans in Prince George, Cranbrook, Swift Current, Lethbridge, Prince Albert and anywhere else where people might be feeling at all paranoid about the future of their WHL franchise are dragged into the fray.
What this letter from Burke does do is erase all doubt, if there was any remaining, about the fate of the Bruins. While no one in any official capacity with the league or the Bruins or RG Properties has been up front and transparent about any of this -- hey, there may have been tickets to sell to a Game 6 in Chilliwack between the Bruins and Spokane Chiefs -- Burke at least has come clean about part of this mess.
Now if only someone would explain why a franchise that was in its fifth year of existence and was showing signs of becoming competitive for the first time is being sold and moved on down the road.
And, by the way, is there a guarantee somewhere that says the WHL in Victoria will be a rip-roaring success? What if the team struggles for the better part of five years, as have the Bruins?
Mullin’s complete report is right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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