It may be the first full season for the new ownership group of the West Kelowna Warriors.
However, what should be an exciting fresh start feels anything but normal.
When Rod Hume and John Murphy took over the BCHL Junior A franchise in November of 2019, they had high expectations of turning the franchise around – both on and off the ice.
The Warriors had won the Royal Bank Cup just a few short years ago, in 2016, but have struggled to translate that success into profit.
In their first move, Hume and Murphy brought in Chris Laurie to run the front office.
“Right from the get go, we tried to come in and just change the course of the organization as a whole – on and off the ice. We thought there was a lot of room for improvement in both areas,” said Laurie, team president. “At the time, we were in last place in the standings, and wanted to turn that around as quickly as possible. We were pretty active with transactions, and were pleased with how the season finished."
Laurie was raised in West Kelowna, and after earning a Bachelor's degree in Sports Management at the University of Alberta, he was the first hire of the Westside Warriors as Marketing Director in the inaugural season of 2006.
Now he’s back for a second go, and looking to improve the team’s fortunes.
“Off the ice and in the community, we tried right away to engage different groups and non profits, and leverage our game nights to really offer a fun experience for those who came back out, or haven’t been before,” said Laurie. “We tried to spice up our games and really put a lot of effort into the entertainment value.
“We wanted to change the culture, and feel we accomplished that. We had some really good crowds down the stretch.
The Warriors snuck into the playoffs, eventually falling to the Penticton Vees in five games in the opening round.
For West Kelowna, the first round exit meant an early start to recruiting players for the following season and allowed the franchise to kick off its marketing campaign.
But within a week, all that work was halted.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to cancel the rest of the playoffs March 13, putting every team in the same precarious situation – an extended off-season and no guarantee of hockey in 2020-21.
“When COVID hit, we had to take a step back and say, there’s a lot you can’t control. At the time we thought, okay, we have to help out our fellow businesses in our community. This is the time everybody needs support,” explained Laurie. “So we did some pretty significant community initiatives, helping non profits, and restaurants, and the food bank and kids sports.
“We really took the time to play a prominent role in our community.”
Laurie believes that community involvement will pay dividends down the road when hockey gets back to normal.
“We’ll have to be a bit innovative and find ways to offer value to our corporate partners that may be beyond game nights,” said Laurie. “And for the most part, our fans and season ticket holders have been supportive.
“We still need their support as much as they need ours.”
During the off season, the team introduced a Community Impact Fund to track annual contributions. The Warriors have donated over $15,000 to West Kelowna non-profit beneficiaries during the pandemic.
“The feedback has been very positive in terms of what we’ve accomplished in a short period of time. Our focus is on the community, and I think they can see that we’re working really hard to ice a competitive team that can compete for a championship again,” said Laurie. “From a fan standpoint, and even, a West Kelowna resident standpoint, we’re hearing that we’re doing a good job. We’ll do everything we can from a digital marketing standpoint and social media, to keep our fans engaged.
“I personally can’t wait until we can pack the place again.”
The Warriors will kick off the BCHL exhibition season Friday at Royal LePage Place against Vernon. Face-off is at 7 pm.
No fans are allowed to attend the game, but Chase Johnston will broadcast the game live on HockeyTV.
