Coquitlam Express
CityCoquitlam, British Columbia
LeagueBritish Columbia Hockey League
DivisionCoastal
Founded2001
Home arenaPoirier Sport & Leisure Complex
ColoursBlack, gold, white
     
General managerTali Campbell
Head coachPatrick Sexton
Websitewww.coquitlamexpress.ca
Franchise history
2001–2005Coquitlam Express
2005–2010Burnaby Express
2010–presentCoquitlam Express
Coquitlam Express hockey at the Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex

The Coquitlam Express are a Junior "A" ice hockey team based in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Coastal Conference of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at the Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex.

Although the team had played in the neighbouring city of Burnaby for the previous five years, on 14 January 2010 it was announced that the BCHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the relocation of the franchise back to Coquitlam for the 2010–11 season.[1][2][3]

History

The Coquitlam Express began play as a new franchise in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) for the 2001–02 hockey season, and played in the city for four seasons at the Coquitlam Sports Centre. Due to unsatisfactory conditions at the Sports Centre, specifically a reduction of parking due to the construction of a new aquatic complex next door, the team relocated to Burnaby for the 2005–06 season.

Burnaby originally had a junior "A" team by the name of the Burnaby Bulldogs, which played in that city for four seasons (1998–2001). That team relocated to the city of Port Alberni, on Vancouver Island for the start of the 2002–03 season and was renamed the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.

The 2005–06 season saw the Express win the league championship (Fred Page Cup) and the Mowat Cup by defeating the Langley Hornets in four games, the Chilliwack Chiefs in 5 games, the Victoria Salsa in 5 games, and the Penticton Vees in six games. The team then defeated the Fort McMurray Oil Barons in six games for the Doyle Cup and entered the National Championship as Pacific Region winners.

The Express won the Royal Bank Cup 2006 (National Championship) by defeating the Yorkton Terries by a score of 8–2. In the Semi-Final against the Fort William Northstars, they scored the tying goal with 12 seconds left in the third period then went on to win 3–2 in overtime. During the round-robin they had a record of 3–1, which seeded them 2nd in the Tournament, behind the hometown hosts Streetsville Derbys.

In 2006–07 the Express were highly touted as a top team in the Canadian Junior Hockey League, with players like Kyle Turris and Tyler McNeely. In the first round of the BCHL playoffs, the team beat the Langley Chiefs in seven games before losing to the eventual BCHL league champions Nanaimo Clippers in seven games during the second round.

The 2007 off-season saw a coaching change from Rick Lanz, a scout for the Colorado Avalanche, to Dave McLellan. The team was not very well-supported since the move from Coquitlam and struggled in attendance for the third straight year.

By 17 October 2009, the Burnaby Express were averaging just 548 fans per game, which was the second lowest attendance of the 17 teams in the BCHL at the time. This was half the attendance the team averaged in their final season in Coquitlam (1,091 fans per game).[4][5] With the team in last place in the Coastal Conference, on 16 January 2010 the Express announced the firing of coach Dave McLellan. General manager Darcy Rota took over during the interim, with Bill Zaharia and Tyler Kuntz named as assistants for the remainder of the 2009–10 season.[6] On 13 April 2010, the Express named Jon Calvano as their next head coach.[7]

The 2010–11 season marked the Express' return to Coquitlam. They played their first game back at the newly renovated and renamed Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex on 24 September 2010, where they defeated the Surrey Eagles 4–2. Coquitlam made the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, losing in the first round to the Eagles in four games. The following year, they would again be eliminated in the first round, this time to the Powell River Kings in six games. Following the 2011–12 season, the Express named Jon Calvano as general manager on top of his existing coaching duties.

The 2012–13 season saw a great start for the Express until the team lost players to multiple injuries within a short period, including New Jersey Devils draftee Alexander Kerfoot. The team struggled for most of the latter half of the season and failed to reach the postseason for the third time in five years. Calvano was fired at the end of the season.[8]

Barry Wolff became the team's next head coach on 22 April 2013[9] and in the following season led the Express to their second Fred Page Cup championship, and their first and only appearance in the Western Canada Cup, where they finished fourth following a 5–3 loss in the semifinal to the AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints. Wolff was named the 2014 coach of the year by the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame and the team earned team of the year honours.[10]

The team achieved mixed success for the next couple of seasons, finishing fourth in the mainland division and eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in two consecutive seasons. The 2016–17 season again had the Express sustain many player injuries, resulting in a franchise worst 11–44–2–1 (25 points) record and finishing last in nearly every statistic. The following season continued the trend and after recording only three wins and eight points in the first half of the season, Wolff was fired and replaced with former OJHL's Toronto Patriots head coach Jason Fortier.[11] The team turned around under Fortier until the 2019–20 season where the Express posted a franchise-best 47–9–1–1 (96 points) and won the Ron Boileau Memorial Trophy for the first time as regular season champions. Their performance over the regular season was enough to earn Fortier Coach of the Year honors for the 2019–20 season. Unfortunately, after winning their first round matchup with the Langley Rivermen, Hockey Canada cancelled the remainder of the Junior A season nationally due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, ending their run for a third league title.[12]

Fortier would leave the team in the off-season, with Dan Cioffi, coach of the BCMML's Valley West Giants, named as his replacement.[13] He, however, would resign after the league's extended pre-season was paused by the Provincial Health Officer. [14] Adam Nugent-Hopkins, older brother of Edmonton Oiler Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, took his place for the rest of the season alongside new GM Tali Campbell.[15] He would coach the team to a 6-11-3 record in a 20 game pod season played against the Surrey Eagles and Powell River Kings.

Brandon Shaw, previously assistant coach of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, would be named head coach for the team's first full season since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] After a rough start, he would rally the team to a 22-26-6 record to bring the team back up to 7th in the Coastal Conference. The Express would be eliminated by the Chiefs in the first round but not without taking the series to a full seven games. Shaw would move up to become an assistant coach with the OHL's Niagara Icedogs, leaving the team to find their fourth head coach in three seasons. Not only was it announced that Vees assistant coach Patrick Sexton would become the new bench boss for the 2022-23 season,[17] but on 17 August 2022 it was announced that a newly-retired Kyle Turris would be returning to the Express as a special advisor to GM Campbell and as a player development coach.[18]

During a game against the Langley Rivermen on 2 November 2022, the Express set a new all-time attendance record of 2209 fans at the Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex.[19][20]

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

SeasonGPWLTOTLGFGAPtsPIMFinishPlayoffs
2001–02602032—8230305484th, MainlandLost Conf. Quarterfinals, 1–4 (Chiefs)
2002–0360242916228270554th, MainlandLost Conf. Quarterfinals, 3–4 (Chiefs)
2003–04603226112542126623123rd, MainlandLost Conf. Quarterfinals, 3–4 (Chiefs)
2004–05602531132112585414213rd, MainlandLost Conf. Quarterfinals, 3–4 (Chiefs)
2005–0660342015231202745892nd, MainlandFred Page Cup Champions
Mowat Cup Champions
Doyle Cup Champions
Royal Bank Cup Champions
2006–07603425012601986912324th, CoastalLost Conf. Semifinals, 3–4 (Clippers)
2007–0860332403218219699224th, CoastalLost Conf. Quarterfinals, 2–3 (Grizzlies)
2008–0960183516170245438294th, Mainlanddid not qualify
2009–1060183606175256428788th, Coastaldid not qualify
2010–1160222819218253545947th, CoastalLost Conf. Quarterfinals, 0–4 (Eagles)
2011–1260361932245204776264th, CoastalLost Conf. Semifinals, 2–4 (Kings)
2012–1356243110161210495295th, Mainlanddid not qualify
2013–1458272623226226596923rd, MainlandFred Page Cup Champions
Mowat Cup Champions
4th in Western Canada Cup
2014–1558252814218238556424th, MainlandLost Div. Semifinals, 1–4 (Chiefs)
2015–1658222916185247517944th, Mainland
14th, BCHL		Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–4 (Chiefs)
2016–1758114421121305257636th, Mainland
17th, BCHL		did not qualify
2017–1858153841138210346775th of 5, Mainland
16th of 17, BCHL		Lost Div. Quarterfinals, 0–4 (Vees)[lower-alpha 1]
2018–19582824—6209198626403rd of 5, Mainland
9th of 17, BCHL		Lost First Round, 1–4 (Spruce Kings)
2019–205847902227127968341st of 5, Mainland
1st of 17, BCHL		Won First Round, 4–0 (Langley Rivermen)
Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–2120611036493152983rd of 3, Coquitlam
14th of 16, BCHL		Not contested
2021–22542226—6177221506707th of 9, Coastal
14th of 18, BCHL		Lost First Round, 3–4 (Chiefs)
2022–235422819—7191186635634th of 9, Coastal
6th of 18, BCHL		Lost first round, 1-4 (Chiefs)
  1. ↑ cross-over to Interior Division playoff as wildcard

Notable alumni

Original Coquitlam Express logo

Awards and trophies

Royal Bank Cup

  • 2006

Doyle Cup

  • 2006

Mowat Cup

  • 2006
  • 2014

Fred Page Cup

  • 2006
  • 2014

Cliff McNabb Memorial Trophy
Coastal Conference Champions

  • 2006

Mainland Division Champions

  • 2014

Ron Boileau Memorial Trophy
Regular Season Champions

  • 2020

Bob Fenton Trophy
Most Sportsmanlike (Coastal)

Bruce Allison Memorial Trophy
Rookie Of The Year (Coastal)

Brett Hull Trophy
Top Scorer

  • Corey Mackin: 2015
  • Carlo Finucci: 2008

Vern Dye Memorial Trophy
Most Valuable Player (Coastal)

Michael Garteig Trophy
Top Goaltender

  • Clay Stevenson: 2020

Wally Forslund Trophy
Top Goaltending Duo

  • Clay Stevenson & Jack Watson: 2020

Joe Tennant Memorial Trophy
Coach of the Year

  • Jason Fortier: 2020

See also

References

  1. ↑ BCHL: Express return to Coquitlam receives go-ahead by BCHL Governors Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine 14 January 2010
  2. ↑ Tri-City News: BCHL Express returning to Coquitlam from Burnaby 14 January 2010
  3. ↑ Canada.com: BCHL OK's Express' ticket to Coquitlam 15 January 2010
  4. ↑ BCHL: Current Attendance Archived 2009-02-16 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 17 October 2009
  5. ↑ BCAHA: 2004-05 Annual Report Retrieved on 1 March 2009
  6. ↑ Tri-City News: Express axe coach McLellan before they hit Coquitlam 19 January 2010
  7. ↑ Coquitlam Express: Jon Calvano Named Coquitlam Express Head Coach Archived 2011-07-28 at the Wayback Machine 13 April 2010
  8. ↑ Coquitlam Expressions HEAD COACH AND GM CHANGE 21 March 2013
  9. ↑ Coquitlam Express EXPRESS NAME NEW HEAD COACH Archived 2014-04-16 at the Wayback Machine 22 April 2013
  10. ↑ "Express Head Coach, Barry Wolff Named 2014 Coach of the Year". www.coquitlamexpress.ca. Archived from the original on 2013-09-02. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  11. ↑ "COACHING CHANGE FOR THE EXPRESS". www.coquitlamexpress.ca. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  12. ↑ "CJHL Announces Official Cancellation For the Remainder of 2019-20 Season". cjhlhockey.com. 2020-03-31.
  13. ↑ "Express Name Dam Cioffi As Next Head Coach". www.coquitlamexpress.ca. 2020-04-15.
  14. ↑ "Dan Cioffi Steps Down As Head Coach". www.coquitlamexpress.ca. 2021-03-06.
  15. ↑ "Adam Nugent-Hopkins Named Interim Coach". www.coquitlamexpress.ca. 2021-03-07.
  16. ↑ "Express Hire Brandon Shaw as new Head Coach and Assistant GM". 2021-05-12.
  17. ↑ "Express Hire Patrick Sexton As Head Coach". www.coquitlamexpress.com. 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  18. ↑ "Turris Retires, Rejoins BCHL Team As Advisor, Coach". www.tsn.ca. 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  19. ↑ "New Train Station Attendance Record". 2022-11-02.
  20. ↑ "Langley Rivermen vs. Coquitlam Express". 2022-11-02.
  21. ↑ "Tri-City News".
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