A centennial celebration could bring the Stanley Cup back to Victoria in 2025 to commemorate the last time a team from B.C. hoisted hockey's greatest prize.
The Western Canada Hockey League's Victoria Cougars claimed the cup after beating the NHL's Montreal Canadiens in a best-of-four series in 1925.
The Victoria Hockey League Society is planning on hosting a Stanley Cup parade through the region in late March, 2025, and will hold three days of activities in Oak Bay and other local municipalities. The group said it's still working to get the cup for the event.
The Stanley Cup made several appearances around Greater Victoria in the winter when B.C.'s capital city and the Victoria Hockey League Society hosted Hockey Day in Canada.
"This a great local event for the Victoria Hockey Legacy Society to get behind and we look forward to a new generation of fans celebrating and learning about our region’s hockey history,” the society's chair John Wilson said in a news release.
He said the group also hopes to soon make an announcement about another international hockey event coming to the region. That's likely hinting at the 2025 World U17 Hockey Challenge as Victoria council on July 4 will consider supporting the society's bid to host the tournament.
Victoria will decide whether it wants to provide in-kind support of up to $100,000 to bolster the region's chances of being awarded the tournament. A motion put forward by Mayor Marianne Alto in support of the bid says the event could generate between $5 and $6 million for the local economy.
Victoria provided similar in-kind support, like the use of city-owned facilities and materials, for Hockey Day in Canada and those harbourfront festivities brought an estimated $4-million boost to the local economy, according to the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce.
The six-team U17 challenge is set to take place in the fall of 2025 and would use the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre and the Q-Centre.
The Victoria Cougars were the second B.C. team to win the Stanley Cup after the Vancouver Millionaires captured the trophy in 1915, according to the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame.
During the 1925 cup final, Victoria beat Montreal in the opener at Oak Bay's Patrick Arena before the Canadiens tied the series at Vancouver's Denman Arena. The Cougars triumphed back in Oak Bay in games three and four to secure B.C.'s last Stanley Cup victory.
