A Look At All 18 BCHL Jerseys:

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A look at all 18 BCHL jerseys

Written by Eric Clarke on February 15, 2020

The BCHL has a rich history of some pretty awesome jerseys over the years, as well as some not so great jerseys. I’m going to take a look at each current team’s primary jersey and give my take on what they could change or don’t need to change. I’ll also look at the Cranbrook Bucks and give my take on their proposed jersey.

Interior Division

Merritt Centennials

Merritt’s jerseys are red with black and white accent colors. Their logo is a revamped version of the team’s logo from the 1970s of a red “C” shape with a stick and puck almost like a turntable. I think the team should come up with a new main logo, but keep the same “C” idea almost like either a Montreal Canadiens or Calgary Flames where the “C” is more recognizable as the letter.

Trail Smoke Eaters

Trail probably has one of the most unique names in hockey, stemming from the smelters in the area as well as sticking with a name from the 1920s. Trail’s jerseys are one of the teams that don’t need to do much. My suggestion would be to let go of the off-color name bar for a matching name bar of the jersey and to revamp their very nice classic jerseys from their past.

Wenatchee Wild

The Wild doesn’t have much of a BCHL jersey history, but struck gold with their current jersey. They have a black jersey with a white stripe in the middle with blue accents. Wenatchee also traded the shoulder patch from the first season to the main logo. The only change I would have is on the Wild’s white jersey to do away with the two blue lines in the middle of the jersey and go with either a solid black like the black jersey or just flat white – almost like a Minnesota Wild jersey combo.

Penticton Vees

Penticton, like Trail, has a very rich history of jerseys which the Vees have displayed over the last few seasons with their third jerseys. Their primary Jerseys don’t need any changes at all as they are a very clean, sharp jersey with the good use of the blue, black, and white. If I were to change anything, it would be to remove the shoulder piping.

Vernon Vipers

Vernon has a very well done jersey after adding yellow back into the fold after moving away from it in mid-2000s. The only change would be to remove the circle around the logo and stick with the logo the Snakes wore for five national championships.

Salmon Arm Silverbacks

The Silverbacks have followed the LA Kings jerseys since they came into the league in the early 2000s. Usually whenever LA changed its jersey, Salmon Arm followed suit. I would keep the purple they reintroduced last season and go with a white and purple jersey with the gorilla head from the bottom of their current logo as the main logo.

West Kelowna Warriors

West-K has changed its logo a few times from a gladiator to a shield with a dragon. The Warriors should go back to a black road and white home with no shoulder colors. I like the idea of maroon and white stripes with the shield logo and the dragon shoulder patch.

Cranbrook Bucks

The BCHL is getting an 18th team and they have released their logo and color scheme. The Bucks logo is sharp and well done, the colours are very similar to the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. I would say is to go with traditional Boston Bruins-style striping with the jersey and don’t add the name to the main logo – just let that fantastic buck head steal the show. I also hope the shoulder patch represents the community of Cranbrook somehow.

Mainland Division

Chilliwack Chiefs

The Chiefs have had some well done jerseys throughout their years, only changing color schemes twice. In recent years the jerseys have been a bit lackluster. My changes would be to go away from gold and adopt black as their primary road jerseys. They should rock a Chicago Blackhawks style jersey as well, and change the logo headdress “C” to white.

Langley Rivermen

The Rivermen have not changed their jersey through almost 10 years in the BCHL. The only change I would suggest is to do away with the circle around the fur trapper’s head – similar to Vernon – and just use the head like their barber pole third jersey from a couple years ago.

Coquitlam Express

The Express has had two color changes from blue and black to red and white to black and yellow. I would just make their home white jersey match their road black similar to the Boston Bruins style.

Prince George Spruce Kings

PG had probably one of the best logos of the 1990s with their spruce tree hockey player with a saw blade behind it. I think it should make a return to the front of their current New York Rangers style jersey and move the crown to the shoulder.

Surrey Eagles

There isn’t much to change with Surrey’s jersey other than maybe doing the same as Coquitlam and have matching jerseys instead of two different styles. The Eagles should maintain the retro Seattle Thunderbirds style shoulder patch or even replace it with just a feather arrangement.

Island Division

Powell River Kings

Powell River, like Penticton and Trail, has a very nice jersey that is super simple, the colors work very well together and both jerseys mirror each other. The only thing is just a small little add of the lion wearing a crown logo from the 1990s as a shoulder patch – it’s simple and effective. Like Merritt’s and Trail’s, the Kings logo is a nod to the past and it works well. It really shouldn’t be changed unless they do as the Chiefs have done in the past and just invert the colors on the dark jersey.

Cowichan Valley Capitals

Like many junior teams, the Capitals follow the NHL equivalent in their jersey designs. I would love to see the return of their bird “CV” logo to the front of the jersey and use the current logo only as a word make for merchandise and helmets. For the jerseys, I would go with a blue dark jersey instead of red and make it pop with the red accents. It would look good with a Philadelphia Flyers-style jersey from the late 1990s or early 2000s before the RBK Edge jerseys came along. Something similar to what the Vancouver Giants wear in the WHL.

Alberni Valley Bulldogs

The Bulldogs are one of the five teams that have not really changed their main logo. For the most part, their logo goes back to when the team was in Burnaby. However, the Dogs have used a newer logo for their promotions department and social media accounts. I think they should keep the current logo on the jersey, do away with the Ottawa Senators-style jersey and go with a more traditional style jersey so they can incorporate the striping used in the new logo as well as their third jersey from a couple years ago. If I were to suggest a specific jersey style, it would be either a Buffalo Sabres or New York Rangers white Jersey with the striping on the shoulders.

Nanaimo Clippers

The Clippers have had similar jerseys and logos for decades. I like what they have done with their jerseys. Their current orange one with the striping is nice and slick, the only change I’d like to see is to go back to the black from their big years in the early 2000s and use their shoulder patch as the main logo.

Victoria Grizzlies

Victoria, since changing their name from the Salsa, had some very nice first jerseys with the bear claws scraping down the sleeves and bottom that I thought looked sharp and unique. They kinda lost touch with the yellow with the not-so-great all-black practice jersey style jerseys until recently. Their current jersey I would not touch at all, incorporating the grey and adding more yellow has made these jerseys one of the best in the league. The only thing – just like a few other teams – is to do away with the circle and name, they should just use the bear as the logo.

Final Thoughts

My final take of all 17 current team’s jerseys is unless it’s done well like Trail and Wenatchee, teams should do away with making their logos smaller and adding the team name around it in a circle. Like c’mon,  everyone buying tickets knows what the team is called. The other suggestion is to have mirroring jerseys for the primary home and away jerseys and save the other design for a third or special event night. If the BCHL decides to have all teams wear a jersey from the past in honor of a league anniversary or some other special occasion, you can expect to see some fantastic throwbacks that will catch the eye of a lot of people.