It’s official, the Langley Rivermen will hit the ice next season.
The B.C. Hockey League announced the sale of the junior A hockey Chiefs on Wednesday.
The new owners are John and Roy Henderson, and they take over from the Chiefs ownership group, which included Moray Keith, Heinz Hasselmen, Harvey Smyl and Jim Bond.
John Henderson, 65, is a chartered accountant, while Roy, 61, has a background in hockey scouting and is president of Global Sports Scouting Services Inc.
Roy Henderson used to scout for the Philadelphia Flyers.
“We have a hockey background and the reason we got involved is it’s another challenge in our lives,” he said.
“We really believe in the mission of the BCHL to send players on to the college level.”
As part of the sale agreement, the former ownership group retains the right to the Chiefs name. Speculation is that the BCHL will return to Chilliwack, as the town lost its Western Hockey League team to Victoria.
The Chiefs played in Chilliwack from 1990 to 2006 before moving to Langley.
Roy Henderson said they chose the name Rivermen because of the importance of the Fraser River to Langley.
“It fits the demographic of Langley,” he said. “Without the Fraser River, there probably wouldn’t be Fort Langley and Langley.
“We wanted something that Langley could call its own and it is part of the heritage.”
The new ownership group is looking at a couple of logos.
They officially take control of the franchise on June 1.
In the meantime, the brothers are meeting with as many people associated with the team as possible, such as the billets, volunteers and sponsors.
