Whatcha Gonna Do (When I'm Gone)

In the long history of Canadian music, Chilliwack has to rank near the top for a number of hits they put out over their music-making days. They had two signficant hits that earned them Platinum status on their albums "Wanna Be a Star" and "Opus X", but the Vancouver-based band was recognized for their importance to Canadian music when they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2019. I don't usually write about music on HBIC unless it's musicians wearing hockey jerseys, but it seems Chilliwack - the town in BC, that is - has landed in the middle of one of the bigger hockey news stories this summer involving NHL owners, the WHL, an arena, and a team that may be moving west to the town. The title of this article? One of Chilliwack's biggest hits and the question facing one WHL city as they may see their team move.

According to ChekTV's Rick Dhaliwal, Francesco Aquilini, owner of the Vancouver Canucks, is reportedly interested in purchasing the WHL's Winnipeg Ice and moving them west to Chilliwack, BC where they'd play out of the Chilliwack Coliseum. It was also reported by Dhaliwal that Aquilini would purchase the arena from the Chiefs Development Group in order to have the Ice play out of the facility.

As reported on this blog back in February, the Winnipeg Ice faced some alleged stiff penalties for failing to follow-through on promises of building a WHL-ready arena when they negotiated the move of the Kootenay Ice to Winnipeg. Because they still haven't put a shovel in the ground regarding a new arena in or near Winnipeg, the likelihood of the Ice moving again seems high.

Chilliwack once was a WHL town thanks to the Bruins franchise that called it home in 2005, but they were moved and became the Victoria Royals in 2011. In five seasons, the Bruins had multiple offers from different groups and people who wanted to buy the franchise and keep it in Chilliwack, but the WHL wanted into the Victoria, BC market without expanding which, in their words, would have been "diluting the talent level and keep the WHL competitive with the Ontario (OHL) and Quebec (QMJHL) leagues". As a result, the Bruins were on the move.

At the end of the press conference in 2011, though, WHL commissioner Ron Robison did leave the door open for Chilliwack to be back in the WHL game, stating, "We believe that under the right conditions Chilliwack can be a viable WHL market. We intend to give full consideration to returning should relocation occur in the future."

Well, it seems that time is now with the Winnipeg Ice not meeting the WHL requirements for arenas while playing out of the 1600-seat Wayne Fleming Arena. With the Chilliwack Coliseum having a 5000-seat capacity, this potential move seems almost elementary when it comes to generating money. And if Francesco Aquilini wants to own both, that'll be his responsibility as opposed to a WHL franchise owner fighting with an arena owner over leases and other commodities such as concessions and parking monies.

The BCHL's Chilliwack Chiefs are still the main tenant in the Chilliwack Coliseum as it stands, so there would need to be some review of them co-existing with the Ice if they were to move there. The ideal situation would be for Aquilini to buy the Ice, buy the rink, move the Chiefs out, and move the Ice in. As reported by Daniel Wagner on Vancouver Is Awesome, "the Bruins averaged 1,000-2,000 more fans during their five seasons in Chilliwack" than the current average of 2258 fans that the Chiefs see. If that fanbase were to return, the WHL could easily justify the move away from Winnipeg.

Of course, this could just all be speculation from one British Columbia-based sports talking head. Francesco Aquilini may want no part of this since he already has a team in Abbotsford with the AHL Canucks - a mere 30 minutes west of Chilliwack - and would risk missing out on attracting fans to come and watch his AHL franchise. Of course, he could try to double-down with two franchises attracting slightly more of the market, but one has to wonder if that's wise considering the investment one makes into an AHL franchise.

All in all, it would appear that the market for a WHL franchise relocation may be heating up if the Winnipeg Ice can't solve their arena issues. With them seemingly making no effort to resolve that problem, it may only be a matter of time before real discussions happen as to where the Ice will play in the future. Chilliwack seemingly was promised a relocated franchise if one came available by WHL commissioner Ron Robison, but the conditions would need to be right to make that move.

It's been 12 years since the Bruins last played in Chilliwack, and, to some WHL fans, that franchise needs to return as its been "Gone gone gone, she's been gone so long, she's been gone gone gone so long". Their return, though, might be closer than it seems.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!