Just over 70 years since the team put the city on the map, the Penticton Vees will mark the end of another era as they play their last regular season game in the BC Hockey League.
Not only are the Vees going to be joining the Western Hockey League as an expansion team for the 2025-26, but they're going to start it off in grand fashion with a home game in September against the 麻豆精选 Rockets.
The commissioner of the WHL, Vees ownership, and Penticton's mayor made the news official on March 24 from the BC Hockey Hall of Fame at the South Okanagan Events Centre, which will remain the team's home in the future.
"Penticton has a long history of hockey excellence, you can see it on Vees Drive with the statue that commemorates the winning the 1955 World Championship. You can see it by the banners that hang here in the SOEC celebrating the achievements of teams over the decades," said Mayor Julius Bloomfield. "Just as importantly, you can feel it when you go to any rink and people are lacing up the skates. Hockey flows through this community."
The genesis of the move was the late 2024 decision to allow players who joined the WHL to remain eligible for NCAA scholarships and university-level teams.
That sparked conversations between the Vees owners and the WHL on what the possibilities might be for bringing the team to the league.
After early rumours escaped some of those meetings, the news was finally announced officially in Penticton before a crowd of dedicated fans and supporters.
In addition to majority owner Graham Fraser, who visibly choked up with emotion during his speech at the announcement, the team will be bringing on additional owners including Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele and former New York Rangers goaltender Mike Richter.
"I sat down with my boys and my wife and said, 'What do you guys think?' because it's a family decision. The boys just said 'Let's do it'," said Fraser. "They played hockey their whole life, they grew up in this community. They were fully vested. And my wife, she's the Vees' biggest fan and she protects the players, anyone who hurts them, she's screaming at the other players and she's the one who wanted to do this even more than I wanted to do this."
Fraser said that the foundation that had been built over the years by Fred Harbison for the Vees is what is allowing them to go forward with the WHL.
Coach, president and GM, Harbison will retain his positions, while scouting will go to a new position under the WHL's rules and guidelines.
He also said that many of the current Vees rosters are free agents who will be given the opportunity to join the team's new WHL edition in the fall, while others would require more discussions first.
"There are other players that are already owned by other Western Hockey League teams that we have the opportunity to negotiate their rights," said Harbison.
The BCHL team that was the Vees will stay with its owners, who are planning to relocate elsewhere in the province.
Exact details for how the change in league will impact the fans haven't been made public yet, but there has been planning on ways to ensure there is affordable access.
In one example, Harbison stated that the support from Peter Bros. Paving in Penticton will continue and thanked them for providing free tickets for fans 12 and under.
Under the WHL, the Vees will play 14 more games over the 2025-26 regular season than they did in the BCHL. That number is likely to change further, as the WHL is set to make another announcement in Chilliwack on March 25 for steps to expanding with a team in that community.
