COWICHAN COMMUNITY CENTRE

 

ADDRESS

2867 James Street

Duncan, BC V9L 2X5

 

ARENA WEBSITE 

 

YEAR BUILT - 1978

 

CAPACITY - 2,040 (1,350 seats and 690 for standing room).

 

DESCRIPTION

 

Cowichan Community Centre in Duncan, BC is the home of the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). The complex includes an ice rink, pool, theatre and a gymnasium.

 

In 2008, Island Savings Credit Union signed a ten-year, one million dollar naming rights deal with the Cowichan Valley Regional District. The arena was known as the Island Savings Centre until the contract expired and the name reverted back to the Cowichan Community Centre in 2019.

 

Cowichan Valley Capitals

 

In September 1980, the Cowichan Valley Capitals made their debut. That inaugural team featured three future NHL players – Geoff Courtnall, Dean Evason and Dan Hodgson. Courtnall started the year with Cowichan and joined the Victoria Cougars for their playoff run on their way to the WHL championship.

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After four years in Cowichan, the Capitals relocated to Sidney in 1984. Over the next ten years, the franchise struggled to find a permanent home, moving five times between Cowichan and Greater Victoria. During this period, they went nine straight years without a winning record. The club returned permanently to the Cowichan Valley in 1993.

 

1980-1984 – Cowichan Valley Capitals

1984-1986 – Sidney Capitals

1986-1988 – Juan De Fuca Whalers

1988-1989 – Cowichan Valley Whalers

1989-1990 – Cowichan Valley Warriors 

1990-1993 – Victoria Warriors

1993 – present – Cowichan Valley Capitals

 

The Capitals have won the Island Division twice but have never captured the BCHL Championship.

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Capitals Alumni

 

The Capitals have one jersey retired – number 10 for Matt Ellison. He played three years for the Cowichan (1990-2002) and was a fourth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2002. He appeared in 43 NHL games with Chicago and Philadelphia and had a ten-year career in the Kontinental Hockey League.

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Glenn Kulka enjoyed a fascinating career spanning multiple sports. In 1980-81, Kulka was a defenseman on the Capitals, but quit hockey after the 1982-83 season. He switched to football, enrolled in Bakersfield college and went on to an eleven-year career in the Canadian Football League. During the 1993 CFL offseason, Kulka returned to hockey for a short nine-game stint in the ECHL with the John Brophy coached Hampton Road Admirals. After retiring from the CFL, he became a professional wrestler under contract to the WWF, fought in three MMA fights and later hosted a sports radio talk show.

 

Western Hockey League (WHL)

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On March 15, 1981, the Cowichan Sports Centre hosted a regular-season WHL game between the Victoria Cougars and the New Westminster Bruins. Queens Park Arena, New Westminster’s home rink, was unavailable due to a labour strike so the Bruins played in different venues around British Columbia. Victoria won the game 7-1 with Geoff Courtnall scoring his first WHL goal for Cougars.

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Vancouver Canucks

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Beginning in 1980, the Vancouver Canucks held their training camp in Duncan eight times over nine years (1980-84 and 1985-88)

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During this period, the Canucks played seven preseason games at the Cowichan Sports Centre. On September 20, 1981, the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Canucks 6-3. In that game, the future of Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk scored his first NHL goal for the Jets. The Canucks and the Los Angeles Kings faced each other in 1982, with the two teams meeting annually from 1984 to 1988.

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World’s Largest Hockey Stick

 

Mounted on the outside arena wall facing the Trans Canada Highway is the World's Largest Hockey Stick and Puck. At 205 feet, the stick was declared the Largest Stick by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1986.

 

The stick was constructed for Expo '86 in Vancouver BC and was located outside the Canada Pavilion. It was modelled after the stick of Vancouver Canucks forward Tony Tanti.

 

After Expo 86, a society in Duncan raised funds to move the stick to Cowichan. It was transported to Vancouver Island using a barge and three flatbed trucks. Two years after Expo 86 ended, the World’s Largest Hockey Stick and Puck was unveiled on May 21, 1988,