The junior hockey world famously underestimated the Victoria Royals last season. Nobody is making that mistake again. The defending Scotty Munro Trophy holders, as defending Western Hockey League regular-season champions, begin the 2016-17 season as the eighth-ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League pre-season top-10 poll.
The Royals open with back-to-back games Friday and Saturday nights against the Prince George Cougars at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
On Friday, the 2015-16 WHL and Western Conference regular-season championship banners will be raised. On Saturday, there will be a pre-game tribute to the Island’s out-sized contribution to the Canadian effort at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
Heading into the new season, the top-ranked WHL team in the CHL pre-season top-10 poll is the defending playoff champion Brandon Wheat Kings at No. 3. The Seattle Thunderbirds, bested by the Wheat Kings in the 2016 WHL playoff final, are No. 4.
The WHL’s Western Conference is expected to come down to the Thunderbirds, Royals and Kelowna Rockets, which received an honourable mention in the CHL poll.
The other WHL team cited was the Regina Pats at No. 10.
“You can put Kamloops in the [B.C. Division] mix and let’s not forget about Prince George. Plus, Vancouver has made improvements,” said a guarded Victoria head coach Dave Lowry.
“Parity is what we are going to see.”
The defending Memorial Cup national champion London Knights, of the Ontario Hockey League, are ranked No. 1 in the CHL pre-season poll. The Saint John Sea Dogs from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League are ranked No. 2.
“We’re not sneaking up on anybody this year and other teams will not be taking us lightly,” said Victoria defenceman Ralph Jarratt, who has returned from the NHL training camp of the New Jersey Devils.
“That’s a good challenge for us.”
Here is a look at the Royals on the eve of the 2016-17 season:
• Last season: 50-16-6, first in the WHL, lost in Western Conference semifinal to Kelowna Rockets in seven games.
• General manager: Cam Hope (fifth season).
• Head coach: Dave Lowry (fifth season). Assistants: Dan Price (first season), Doug Bodger (first season).
• Key losses: Graduated over-agers Logan Fisher, Alex Forsberg and goaltender Coleman Vollrath, all gone to the Canadian university CIS. Also, breakout 2015-16 forward and 19-year-old Toronto Maple Leafs draft-pick Vladimir Bobylev signed with Moscow Spartak of the KHL in his native Russia; two-time Canadian world junior championships player, 20-year-old defenceman Joe Hicketts, is expected to stick in the Detroit Red Wings’ pro system.
• The 20-year-olds: Steady defenceman Ryan Gagnon, versatile forward Jack Walker and recently acquired depth forward Carter Folk from the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
• The imports: The Royals are allowed two, but improving blueliner Marsel Ibragimov from Russia remains Victoria’s lone import following Bobylev’s bolting to pro hockey in the KHL.
• Key returnees: Four of them are in NHL camps -- forward Jack Walker with the Maple Leafs, forward Tyler Soy with the Anaheim Ducks, forward and 2015-16 WHL rookie of the year Matthew Phillips with the Calgary Flames and rearguard Chaz Reddekopp with the Los Angeles Kings, while defenceman Ralph Jarratt has returned from the Devils.
Undersized but darting third-year Royals forward Dante Hannoun will again make an impact on offence and fifth-year Royals defenceman Ryan Gagnon’s presence will again be understated but vital.
• New faces: The fleet 2015 first-round bantam pick, forward Eric Florchuk, fits directly into Victoria’s fast and furious pressure game.
• Watch for: Sophomores, defenceman Scott Walford and goaltender Griffen Outhouse, to continue making significant strides in their progress.
• Goalkeeping: Outhouse will be backed up by promising rookie Dylan Myskiw.
“Those two have a competitive spirit,” said coach Dave Lowry.
“They have an air about them, which we like. They think they are good. Now they have to prove it.”
• Defence: This is an experienced and deep group with Gagnon, Reddekopp, Jarratt, Walford and Ibragimov.
“We have experience, size and skill sets on our blueline,” said Lowry.
• Offence: It will again be non-stop pace and pressure from the talented Soy, Walker, Phillips, Hannoun and Florchuk. The pressure remains unrelenting through all four lines, with hard-driving veterans Ethan Price, Ryan Peckford, Jared Dmytriw and Regan Nagy providing ample support.
Blake Barger and the six-foot-two Folk, veterans acquired in trades for bantam draft picks, will provide back-up grit.
“We have speed and dynamic skill up front,” said Lowry.
“Now we’ve gotten bigger [Folk] and greasier [Barger].”
• Prognosis: Nobody draws the most out of mid-level and lower-end roster players like Lowry, making the Royals deep and very tough to play against. With much of the roster returning from last season’s surprise run to the Scotty Munro Trophy, the Royals are strong contenders to repeat as WHL regular-season champions. But the Wheat Kings, Thunderbirds, Pats and Rockets will have something to say about that.
