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The WHL’s easternmost entry is heading west.
The WHL announced Friday the Winnipeg Ice franchise had been sold and will be relocating to Wenatchee, Wash. David White, of the California-based Shoot the Puck Foundation, is the team’s new owner.
The league said the move had been approved by the WHL’s board of governors and was effective immediately.
Wenatchee becomes the sixth WHL team currently based in the United States, joining the Everett Silvertips, Portland Winterhawks, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans. The WHL will have 11 teams in each of the Western and Eastern conferences next season.
Greg Fettes, the Ice’s chairman and governor, said in a tweet that the franchise had made Winnipeg a solid destination for WHL players, on and off the ice.
“However, despite our success in building the organization, we were unable to confirm our ability to build a new facility in Winnipeg that met the WHL standards on a timeline that was acceptable to the WHL,” Fettes wrote.
“Unfortunately, we were just never able to get the project on solid footing due to the changing landscape (during and post pandemic). Simply put, we ran out of time.”
— Winnipeg ICE (@WHLWpgICE) June 16, 2023
The WHL’s statement about the franchise’s relocation offered a similar take.
“Unfortunately, multiple attempts by the Ice ownership to construct an arena facility of acceptable WHL standards in Winnipeg, based on the agreed upon timeframes, were unsuccessful, leading to the relocation to Wenatchee,” the statement said.
The Ice began its life as an expansion franchise in Edmonton in 1996. The team moved to Cranbrook, B.C., in 1998 to become the Kootenay Ice, and won three WHL titles and one Memorial Cup during its time in that community.
The franchise moved to Winnipeg in 2019. While in the Manitoba capital, the Ice compiled a 166-49-8 record.
With the Ice’s departure, Brandon is once again the WHL’s most easterly outpost — and the Wheat Kings made that clear in a tweet Friday.
The Ice may have melted in our capital city, but the Wheat Kings are here to stay. #ManitobasTeam pic.twitter.com/tHROPQixRp
— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) June 16, 2023