558 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Source of photo: www.sportslogos.net

If Jonny's sleuth work turns out to be accurate, the new WHL team in Victoria could very well be dubbed as the "Royals."

I'll start this thread to discuss the team itself, regardless of the name (which we can always change) as the WHL vs ECHL thread may no longer apply to the discussion taking place.

[Number Six]

The Victoria WHL franchise just removed a post (and several comments) from their Facebook page that contained a link to the name and logo ... if that isn't confirmation then nothing is.

I plan on buying a pair of season tickets but to be honest I'm not too impressed by their marketing efforts to date. Censoring social media comments isn't too cool either.

Let's hope they can raise their level of off-ice play.

[Number Six]

CHEK News *just* reported that the name will be Royals and they showed the logo linked to in the other thread. They are not claiming its official but they seem pretty confident.

[Mike K.]

There we have it.

[Mike K.]

We have confirmation now that the name will indeed be the Victoria Royals. Official announcement had been planned for late June 23.

[AllseeingEye]

Kind of a bland, unimaginative name IMO, but whatever. I think if they insist on playing up the connection to Olde Blighty perhaps Victoria Monarchs might have been an improvement. "Royals" is rather dull. Wasn't that also the monicker once upon a time for one of the Victoria fast pitch softball teams, in the post Victoria Bate Construction era? Yeesh I am dating myself with that one....

[Mike K.]

I hope for the sake of hockey in Victoria that the Victoria Royals actually stick around for more than a few years.

I think the reason why I am so indifferent to professional sports in Victoria is because not a single team that I may have rooted for as a kid is still around. When I was a boy the Cougars were our team. Then came the Salsa. Then came the Salmon Kings. Now we have the Royals. I won't even get into other sports teams.

Team support is built over multiple generations. People don't care for a team if they think it'll be gone in under a decade and I think that's one of the major reasons why more locals didn't care much for the Salmon Kings.

[VicHockeyFan]

I plan on buying a pair of season tickets but to be honest I'm not too impressed by their marketing efforts to date. Censoring social media comments isn't too cool either.

Let's hope they can raise their level of off-ice play.

Ya, they could just stick to "not confirming OR denying" any rumour. Then get someone else to plant another one, and do the same. Oh, well.

[yodsaker]

Kind of a bland, unimaginative name IMO, but whatever. I think if they insist on playing up the connection to Olde Blighty perhaps Victoria Monarchs might have been an improvement. "Royals" is rather dull. Wasn't that also the monicker once upon a time for one of the Victoria fast pitch softball teams, in the post Victoria Bate Construction era? Yeesh I am dating myself with that one....

I'm happy with the name, makes me think of Montreal and my youth.
Montreal Royals baseball team with Jackie Robinson, Don Drysdale and others; they were the Dodgers' chief farm team.
Montreal Royals QHL hockey team with Doug Harvey and Dickie Moore among their alumni.

[AllseeingEye]

I suppose that's partially why I am somewhat indifferent to it: its been done before.

There were as you point out not only the Montreal Royals hockey and baseball clubs but there is also the Kansas City Royals MLB team. It just would have been nice to come up with something new for a change, ideally something that evoked an image of this area.

I think one of the best names in any sport for cities on the West Coast was the old Seattle Totems - a perfect monicker for a team from this region, and something that required a bit of thought and imagination.

[Sparky]

^^ I was researching the Montreal Royals after your post and I learned something tonight. My favourite Royal turned Hab was Bernie (Boom Boom) Geffrion.

Another Royal was Howie Morenz, who as a Montreal Canadian was the only NHL player to die as a result of an injury during a game.

An opposing player skated into the boards and got his skate stuck in the wood. Howie skated across his leg and broke his. (or the other way around) Complications lead to his death.

Decades later when Bernie's number was retired, they lowered both Howie's and Bernie's sweaters from the rafters at the same time......and then rose them back up again.

Bernie had past away that same day that the team retired his sweater ....from cancer.

He had promised his wife Marlene that his sweater would someday hang from the rafters with Howie's.

Howie was Marlene's father.

[jonny]

CHEK News *just* reported that the name will be Royals and they showed the logo linked to in the other thread. They are not claiming its official but they seem pretty confident.

Good to know that CHEK News is reading Vibrant Victoria

[yodsaker]

^^ I was researching the Montreal Royals after your post and I learned something tonight. My favourite Royal turned Hab was Bernie (Boom Boom) Geffrion.

Another Royal was Howie Morenz, who as a Montreal Canadian was the only NHL player to die as a result of an injury during a game.

An opposing player skated into the boards and got his skate stuck in the wood. Howie skated across his leg and broke his. (or the other way around) Complications lead to his death.

Decades later when Bernie's number was retired, they lowered both Howie's and Bernie's sweaters from the rafters at the same time......and then rose them back up again.

Bernie had past away that same day that the team retired his sweater ....from cancer.

He had promised his wife Marlene that his sweater would someday hang from the rafters with Howie's.

Howie was Marlene's father.

Blake Geoffrion of the Nashville Preds was the 4th generation of his family to play in the NHL. What a bloodline!
Not to be a nitpicker but some of the info above is incorrect. Howie Morenz died about seven weeks after his injury. He never played for the Royals, he was signed directly by the Habs and played his first game in 1923. Montreal Royals were formed in 1933.

Bill Masterton died as a direct result of a head injury two days after it happened: On January 13, 1968, four minutes into a game against the Oakland Seals at the Met Center, Masterton was carrying the puck into the Seals' zone. Shortly after completing a pass to teammate Wayne Connelly, he was checked by Oakland's Larry Cahan and Ron Harris and fell backwards onto the ice head-first. The force of the back of his head hitting the ice caused blood to gush from his mouth and nose. Before Masterton lost consciousness, a teammate who rushed to his aid heard him murmur, "Never again. Never again."[2]

Masterton sustained a massive brain hemorrhage that damaged the pons. The injury was so severe that doctors were unable to perform surgery, and Masterton died two days later.[3] - Wikipedia

There is a trophy named in his honour and because of this incident the NHL made helmets mandatory.

[Sparky]

^ You appear to be correct about Howie not playing for the Royals.

Here is a good bio of him.

http://www.legendsof...bio&list=#photo

[Number Six]

A fan on their Facebook page has said the official "Victoria Royals" press conference will take place on Monday June 20th.

[VicHockeyFan]

It's official:

[bicycles]

that jersey + logo combination isn't very good. blue on blue?

[VicHockeyFan]

that jersey + logo combination isn't very good. blue on blue?

The crest doesn't usually change. Presumably the other jersey will be white.

Colours are the Tampa Bay Lightning third jersey:

[Hotel Mike]

Is that a lion? What, king of the jungle? You'd think they would have come up with something that has a local connection. And yes, I know the Canucks already have our orca.

[Mike K.]

Royal Bank might be wondering what's up with that logo/name combo.