REGINA -- As the old saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and the Western Hockey League rumour mill is currently throwing the heaviest clouds imaginable when it comes to the Penticton Vees.
Word from multiple sources with contacts in the Western Conference have said a deal is all but signed and done to make the BCHL super-franchise the WHL’s 23rd team, and that rumour was further confirmed by WHL insider Jon Keen on The SportsCage.
Keen -- the Kamloops Blazers play-by-play announcer and host of WHL This Week -- said for “all intents and purposes” that the deal is signed, and it’s just a matter of time before things become official.
“I think the ink has to dry and we're just sort of waiting for an announcement at some point,” Keen said. “There were a ton of things happening behind the scenes for a while and there were people around the league all knowing this was coming down the pipe, they all vote on it. So it was slowly coming out, but not to the point now where dollar figures are being talked about, expansion scenarios with an expansion draft, things like that.”
Adding Penticton is anything but a stretch for the WHL, as the Vees are one of the most successful and prosperous franchises in the BCHL and were one of the driving forces behind the league leaving the Hockey Canada umbrella.
The Vees also come with a WHL-ready arena, the 5,000 seat South Okanagan Events Centre, and would be ready to play in time for the 2025-2026 season.
“They have been the most successful BCHL franchise by a mile,” Keen said in describing what makes Penticton so attractive.
Of course, none of this would likely be happening if not for the NCAA eligibility changes, which last year saw Canadian Hockey League players allowed to join their ranks.
“That whole Junior A structure where players were going that route to protect their eligibility is no longer something you have to do,” Keen explained. “The best players, whether you're college bound or professional hockey bound or what have you, are all going to be in major junior hockey. So I think this was probably Penticton saying this is probably our best path moving forward. We've lost sort of our recruiting edge.”
One huge positive for the rest of the league is the franchise fee Penticton will pay to join the ranks in the WHL. Word has it the number might be as high as $15 million, most of which will be distributed to the league’s other 22 teams.
Needless to say, adding an extra $650,000 plus to the coffers of small-market teams like Moose Jaw, Prince Albert and Swift Current could be of huge benefit to those franchises.
“It’s like it's some sort of a windfall, it really is,” Keen said. “And that's what they've signed up for. They're part of the WHL brand. I think it would be best if these teams reinvest that money back into the organization to make sure that their standards are being upheld and that they can play in what's a changing landscape here in the WHL as far as it comes to some of these top markets now entering the league.”
For their part, the WHL has told various media outlets that no deal has been finalized, with similar messages coming from the Vees and the BCHL.
Be sure to keep checking SportsCage.com for the latest updates on this developing story.
