Penticton Vees hockey team leaving BCHL to join Western Hockey League
League also hoping to add a team in Chilliwack
The Western Hockey League has awarded an expansion franchise to Penticton, B.C., for the 2025-26 season.
The WHL made the announcement Monday, in addition to initiating a franchise application process for Chilliwack, B.C., to begin play in the 2026-27 campaign.
The expansion increases the number of teams in the league to 24 by 2026-27, with 18 teams in western Canada and six in the United States.
The Penticton Vees will join the B.C. Division in the Western Conference, migrating away from the junior A British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL).
The Vees were founded in 1961 and were founding members of the BCHL. They were league champions in both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 season.
The franchise will be owned and operated by Graham Fraser, who has been the majority owner of the Vees since June 2008.
Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele, former New York Rangers goaltender Mike Richter, and prominent Penticton businessmen Joe Walters and Gord Kovacik will join Fraser as partners.
With files from CBC News