Release the Kraken!
The Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League is expanding to Lake Cowichan for the 2021-22 season, and its newest franchise will share a name with the newest addition to the NHL.
Word leaked out on social media on Tuesday, May 25 that the Lake Cowichan Kraken will begin play in the junior B circuit this fall.
Few details were available at press time, but a green logo, evocative of the Seattle Kraken’s sea monster, complete with glowing eye, was posted to the club’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
The first head coach and general manager of the Lake Cowichan Kraken is Ray Tremblay, who played his junior B hockey in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League with the Sicamous Eagles and Beaver Valley NiteHawks between 2004 and 2007, then played NCAA Div. III hockey, followed by a professional career in the Federal Hockey league and France’s third division. Tremblay was the head coach of the Federal Prospects Hockey League in 2019-20, guiding the club to a 26-18-3 record before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Kraken will become the 10th team in the VIJHL. They will have an instant rivalry with Mill Bay’s Kerry Park Islanders.
