Victoria Cougars

This article is about the professional Victoria Cougars ice hockey team that existed from 1911 to 1926. For other uses, see Victoria Cougars (disambiguation).
Victoria Cougars
CityVictoria, British Columbia
LeaguePCHA (1911–1924)
WCHL (1924–1926)
Operated1911–1926
Home arenaPatrick Arena
ColoursBlue and Yellow
   
Head coachLester Patrick
Franchise history
1911–1913Victoria Senators
1913–1916Victoria Aristocrats
1916–1917Spokane Canaries
1918–1922Victoria Aristocrats
1922–1926Victoria Cougars
Championships
League champions4 (1913, 1914, 1925, 1926)
Stanley Cups1 (1925)

The Victoria Cougars were a major league professional ice hockey team that played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) from 1911 to 1924 under various names, and (after the PCHA's merger with the Western Canada Hockey League) in the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1924 to 1926. The team was based in Victoria, British Columbia, and won the Stanley Cup in 1925, becoming the final non-NHL team to win the Cup.

History

The original Victoria franchise of the PCHA, the Victoria Senators, were formed in 1911, and became the Victoria Aristocrats in 1915.[1] The Aristocrats challenged the Toronto Blueshirts for the Stanley Cup the following year, but lost. In 1916 the team was forced to move to Spokane, Washington, after having their arena (Patrick Arena) commandeered by the Canadian military. The club folded the following year as the Spokane Canaries.[2]

1914–15 Victoria Aristocrats.

A new team was formed in 1918 and again were dubbed the Victoria Aristocrats, with players from the folded Portland Rosebuds. In 1922 they changed their name to the Victoria Cougars. Led by coach Lester Patrick, the Cougars would win the Stanley Cup in 1925 against the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Cougars were the last non-NHL team to hoist the Stanley Cup as well as the last west coast team to win it until the Anaheim Ducks did so in 2007. They would attempt to repeat as champions in 1926 but they were unsuccessful as they lost the final series to the NHL's Montreal Maroons.

The WHL dissolved after the season. That spring, a group of businessmen from Detroit won an NHL expansion franchise and bought the rights to many of the players from the Stanley Cup finalist Cougars. The new NHL franchise would retain the nickname "Cougars" in tribute. The Detroit Cougars would later be renamed the Detroit Falcons, and would ultimately be renamed the Detroit Red Wings.

Among the notable players who played for the Cougars were Hall of Famers Hec Fowler (goaltender), Frank Foyston, Frank Fredrickson, Hap Holmes (goaltender), Clem Loughlin, Harry Meeking and Jack Walker.

Seasons

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against

Season Name League GP W L T GF GA Finish Playoffs
1912 Senators PCHA 16 7 9 0 81 90 3rd -
1912–13 15 10 5 0 68 56 1st -
1913–14 Aristocrats 15 10 5 0 80 67 1st Lost Stanley Cup playoff to Toronto Blueshirts
1914–15 17 4 13 0 64 116 3rd -
1915–16 18 5 13 0 74 102 4th -
1916–17 Canaries 24 8 15 0 89 143 4th -
1917–18 - Team folded after previous season in Spokane.
Victoria arena still in use for war-time military training.
1918–19 Aristocrats 20 7 13 0 44 81 3rd -
1919–20 22 10 12 0 57 71 3rd -
1920–21 24 10 13 1 21 72 3rd -
1921–22 24 11 12 1 61 71 3rd -
1922–23 Cougars 30 16 14 0 94 85 2nd Lost in PCHA playoff
1923–24 30 11 18 1 78 103 3rd -
1924–25 WCHL 28 16 12 0 84 63 3rd Won WCHL, Won Stanley Cup
1925–26 WHL 30 15 11 4 68 53 3rd Won WHL, Lost Stanley Cup Finals

Victoria Cougars: 1925 Stanley Cup champions

Players

  Centres

Coaching and administrative staff

  • Lester Patrick (Owner-President/Manager-Coach)
  • Larry Brunnell (Trainer) - name is missing from the Stanley Cup.

Stanley Cup engraving

  • After the series win, a new angled ring with the words "Won/By/'Cougars' Victoria, B.C. 1925" was added between the original bowl of the Cup and the original first ring of the base. All players and the manager were included on the new ring, but trainer Larry Brunnell was left off.

References

  1. ^ MacLeod 2021, p. 65
  2. ^ MacLeod 2021, p. 97

Bibliography

  • Bowlsby, Craig H. (2012), Empire of Ice: The Rise and Fall of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, 1911–1926, Vancouver: Knights of Winter, ISBN 978-0-9691705-6-3
  • MacLeod, Alan Livingstone (2021), Capitals, Aristocrats, and Cougars: Victoria's Hockey Professionals, 1911–1926, Victoria: Heritage House, ISBN 978-1-77203-373-1
  • Whitehead, Eric (1980), The Patricks: Hockey's Royal Family, New York City: Doubleday, ISBN 0-385-15662-6

See also

Preceded by Stanley Cup Champions
1925 		Succeeded by
Preceded by WCHL Champions
1924–25 		Succeeded by
Preceded by WHL Champions
1925–26 		Succeeded by
–