The Cranbrook Bucks Hockey Club has gone through tremendous change since it was incorporated into the B.C Hockey League five years ago, but it has managed to put down roots and has plans to grow.
"We love the community. We love the geography. We're very fortunate to have the community that we have here. It's such a nice size and the East Kootenay as a whole has been a good fit for us," said owner and president Nathan Lieuwen.
"We don't have any plans of going anywhere else. Hopefully we can continue to grow this thing into something even bigger than it is today."
The Cranbrook Bucks hold their fifth training camp this weekend, Friday, Aug. 30, and pre-season immediately follows. The 2024-25 season is incorporating five teams formerly of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, who joined the BCHL following that league's separation from the Hockey Canada umbrella.
The Bucks will play in a new division with these Alberta teams.
Lieuwen is a former Kootenay Ice hockey player, who moved from Abbottsford to Cranbrook at age 16 to play with the Bucks. He met his wife here and the two later left the area so Lieuwen could pursue a career with the National Hockey League. When his dream was cut short due to injuries, the couple continued to spend their summers in the area and eventually returned to live locally.
When Kootenay Ice announced it was moving to Winnipeg in 2019, Lieuwen partnered with Scott Niedermayer, Adam Cracknell, Craig Shostak and Steve King to establish the Cranbrook Bucks under B.C Hockey League.
"My partners and I really believe that Cranbrook is a hockey town and that there are true hockey fans here that really care about their community. We found ourselves in the unique position to bring a club here, so we went to work immediately," said Lieuwen.
The club had a rocky start. The pandemic hit right after the League secured funding to sign up players and hire a head coach and general manager.
"I watched our first official game in a pod season in Penticton," Lieuwen recalled. "It was special, but also super bizarre. Obviously our bread and butter is having people come together and watch, which is something they couldn't do efficiently for quite a long time."
But by the next season, they had crowds were filling the stadium once again.
"It has been such a long time coming, and extended because of everything that was happening in the world. But it was very special moment and it was great to see Cranbrook rally around this team."
Lieuwen said the club has received generous support, which has allowed the League to successfully integrate into the community. It offers a hockey school to help younger talent find success on the ice and recently started a hockey academy for youth ages 15 to 17. The club also runs food and beverage facilities at Western Financial Place.
"We've become quite diverse," said Lieuwen.
With files from Columbia Basin Trust
