The Martlet

Resting ever so subtly amidst the backdrop of Oak Bay High School sits a stone monument slight enough in stature that it’s barely discernible from the surfeit of scenery on the drive down Cadboro Bay Road.

But even though this monument doesn’t shimmer in the sunlight and may be invisible to most passing eyes, it stands as a testament to a glorious past. During the 1925 Stanley Cup final, the stage was set for an inter-league showdown between the WCHL (Western Canada Hockey League) champion Victoria Cougars and the NHL (National Hockey League) champion Montreal Canadiens to decide which team would claim hockey’s most coveted crown jewel.

The Cougars, a dominant team propelled by the likes of Frank Fredrickson and Hap Holmes, defeated the Canadiens 3-1 in a best-of-five series that concluded with a convincing 6-1 victory at the old Patrick Arena across the street from what is now Oak Bay High.

And while the win solidified Victoria as a legitimate hockey market at the time, it was their coach Lester Patrick, along with his brother Frank, who would be immortalized as pioneers of the game and who’ve become synonymous with the city’s hockey history.

“They invented so many things that we see today like the blue-line, the forward pass, changing on the fly, the playoff system — everything was invented by the Patricks,” says Cleve Dheensaw, long-time sports writer for the Times Colonist. “Lester Patrick here in Victoria and his brother (Frank) over in Vancouver, they sort of revolutionized the sport not only in Victoria but everywhere.”

After the dissolution of the old Cougars at the end of the 1925-26 season, and a 45-year competitive hockey hiatus, a new team returned at the major junior level when the WHL (Western Hockey League) Cougars took over the Victoria Memorial Arena in 1971 — the beginning of an era that certainly endured its fair share of ups and downs.

“I would describe it as a rollercoaster,” says Dheensaw. “From going to the Memorial Cup to having the five-win season about a decade later, all in the span of 23 years. The 60 wins is still the best ever in Major Junior in Canada — that’s the best ever team regular season.”

Geoff Courtnall, perhaps best known as a key member of the fabled 1994 Vancouver Canucks, played for the 1980-81 powerhouse Cougars and helped them reach their incredible 60-win pinnacle after joining the team from the Cowichan Valley Capitals.

“It was a great team,” says Courtnall. “I just came up in the last half of the season from the B.C. junior league and they had a lot of really good players — Grant Fuhr was unbelievable. I think that it was exciting, there was a lot of fan support, I know that in the playoffs the rink was always full and it was an interesting old barn to play in.”

The WHL Cougars would eventually relocate to Prince George in 1994 after financial difficulties piled on top a five-season playoff drought--a move that while difficult seemed to be the only viable option at the time.

“The Cougars had a lot of disappointing seasons in a row, fan support was way down,” says Courtnall. “I think it was difficult to see the team leave but at the same time I knew financially that they had to make a move. It was unfortunate to see a franchise leave and then it take so long to get another team here.”

In the summer of 2011, following a 17-year Major Junior absence and seven years of ECHL hockey with the Victoria Salmon Kings, it was announced the Chilliwack Bruins franchise of the WHL would move to the provincial capital, and the team was subsequently named the Victoria Royals shortly afterwards.

“First of all, it’s great to see the building full of people to watch an exciting brand of hockey and it’s basically the success of the future,” says Courtnall. “I think that there’s a lot of great young players who’ll come through that league and come through that team and I think that if they want to be able to watch great hockey and great young players before they go into the NHL, it’s an excellent opportunity.”

During an Oct. 28 match-up against the Seattle Thunderbirds a strange spiritual aura was flowing through the cold air of the arena.

Prior to the start of the game, the players talk and laugh amongst each other like any other group of boys aged 15 to 20. But as soon as the puck drops for the opening face-off the difference between them and all the other boys their age surfaces.

They become fully focused and completely consumed by the unfolding events on the ice. At that moment it’s apparent that the 1925 Stanley Cup champion Cougars and the old Patrick Arena on Cadboro Bay Road never really left — they were simply reborn.