BCHL’s 17th Franchise

The BCHL made it official announcing it’s newest franchise to the already 16 team league, making them team number 17, playing out of Wenatchee Washington.

The Wenatchee Wild were approached a few years back to join the rival WHA League owned and run by President Ricky Smith, but that was put on the back-burner, due to pressure from  USA Hockey.

The BCHL continues to grow and it’s not cheap to run any franchise and this one will be no different, especially with the travel they have to endure.

“The BCHL is gaining a strong franchise in the Wenatchee Wild and we value the passion and professionalism they bring to our league,” BCHL commissioner John Grisdale said in a press release. “The Wild will quickly develop rivalries with our existing franchises and I believe they will be a big draw in opposing buildings.”

The Wenatchee Wild had been a member of the North American Hockey League since the 2008-09 season.

The central Washington franchise will be the first U.S.-based team in the BCHL since the Bellingham Ice Hawks, who operated from 1990-1995.

The Wild (due to regulations) will be allowed to dress a maximum of only four Canadian players, so it’s important for them to have a strong training camp.

The league has not made it official as to which division the Wild will play in, but one would assume they should join the BCHL’s Mainland Division.

The closest BCHL cities to Wenatchee are still about a four hour drive and they are Surrey, Langley, Coquitlam and Chilliwack, so the players will have to understand this as it will all depends on the border wait times.

The other Mainland team is Prince George and this is a 12-hour drive from Wenatchee, but it’s not like they are not used to the travel.

While that may seem like a grind, it’s actually a short hop compared to some of the Wild’s road trips in the NAHL, where the Wild competed in the South Division with six teams in Texas.

So if you look at cost alone, this move should have been in the works for a while, albeit they won’t tell you that!!

Their closest divisional rival was 2,750 kilometres away in Topeka, Kansas.

The logo (sort of) reminds me of the North Van Wolf Pack in one way or another

Congats to the BCHL on the newest member and welcome aboard.