The Prince George Spruce Kings started playing in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) with the 1996-97 season. The BCHL offers young players a chance to enhance their skills while also providing a great deal of exposure to US College Scouts. The BCHL has an impressive record at the National level and is viewed as one of the premier Junior "A" leagues by US College Recruiters and is gaining exposure with the National Hockey League. The other clubs in the league include: Alberni Valley Bulldogs, Burnaby Express, Cowichan Valley Capitals, Langley Chiefs, Merritt Centennials, Nanaimo Clippers, Penticton Vees, Powell River Kings, Quesnel Millionaires, Salmon Arm Silverbacks, Surrey Eagles, Trail Smoke Eaters, Vernon Vipers, Victoria Grizzlies, Westside Warriros and Williams Lake Timberwolves.

The Spruce Kings Executive work hard year-round to ensure Junior "A" Hockey exists and thrives in BC's Northern Capital. The Hockey Club is financed through gate receipts, corporate sponsorship, a pro shop, a summer hockey school and gaming.

When hockey fans refer to success stories in Junior Hockey, the Prince George Spruce Kings often appear on the same page. The Spruce Kings have been a flagship franchise in every league the club has played in, capturing ten play-off titles in 20 years. The Spruce Kings were formed in 1972, the same year the World Hockey Association was launched. The Prince George Spruce Kings have had a winning tradition since 1972, appearing in the Mowat Cup Provincial Championship nine times. For most of its history the club has operated as a nonprofit society with a volunteer board of directors made up of knowledgeable business and hockey people from throughout the community. The Spruce Kings Junior "A" Hockey Club has been an integral part of the Prince George sports scene since the club's inception in the early 1970's.

The original Spruce Kings were formed largely on the effort of Lionel Garand. The idea of forming a Junior team and providing local athletes a place to play was his dream. The determined hockey fan went out and found eight other people willing to invest their time and money. The original investors included Ed Berry, Carl Bueckert, George Halsey, Warren Hicks, Dennis Houg, LJ (Mac) MacDonald, Laurie Pennington, Bill Wright and of course Lionel Garand. As a limited company they had to rely on gate receipts and advertising revenue to keep things going.

Eventually it became too much of a financial challenge and the investors had to walk away. That's when the Prince George Minor Hockey Association got involved. Association President, Bev Christensen stepped in realizing there was a need to keep the junior club going so as to give young athletes from around the region a place to aspire to without having to leave familiar surroundings. The Spruce Kings found new life and the foundation was laid for a prosperous future both on and off the ice.

The team's name came as a result of a public contest won by Terry Eastholm who received two season passes by coming up with the name "Spruce Kings". The first two home games for the Spruce Kings were exhibition games against the Bellingham Blazers of the BCJHL. In the first game, the first ever Spruce Kings goal was scored by Ken Turner on a nice feed from Mark Hasbon. It brought close to a 1,000 fans to their feet although the celebration was short lived as the Spruce Kings fell 7-4. The next night more than 1,000 were on hand to watch the Spruce Kings drop a hard fought 10-9 decision to the Blazers who scored with less than two minutes to go.

That season the Spruce Kings played in the Pacific Northwest Hockey League which included both Junior and Intermediate teams from the northwest. Playing a modest 28 game schedule, the Spruce Kings finished second in the four team east division. Three players finished in the top ten in scoring; Fenton Gale, Glen Johnson and Butch Stewart. In the playoffs the Spruce Kings won their first round series but then lost to the Smithers Junior Nats in the Division Final.

In 1975-76 the Peace Cariboo Junior Hockey League was formed as a Junior "B" circuit and the Prince George Juniors won the inaugural league title. The jump to Junior "A" prior to the 1980-81 season sparked a lot of hockey interest in Prince George and throughout the north. The Spruce Kings once again enjoyed a lot of success winning the league championship and challenging the Penticton Knights in the first ever Mowat Cup. After battling Grande Prairie in a tough seven game series, the Spruce Kings traveled to Penticton and lost both games to the Knights 3-0 and 5-1.

One of the most exciting play-off series Prince George hockey fans remember was in 1982-83 when the Spruce Kings captured the league championship and hosted the Langley Eagles in the Mowat Cup. It was standing room only in game one with more than 2,200 fans treated to a fast, hard hitting contest. Lance Carlson was fantastic between the pipes for Prince George and the contest was tied at 2 after more than 80 minutes of hockey, Then in double overtime Langley found an opening and pulled out the 3-2 win.

The next night it was much the same thing. Another great battle ended with the BCJHL champs prevailing 3-2, winning the series in two straight but despite losing the Spruce Kings earned a great deal of respect.

Perhaps one of the most successful seasons for the Spruce Kings was in 1985 when the team which featured players including Tony Twist who is now with St. Louis Blues, posted a 44-6 record. The impressive record was the second best among Junior A teams in the country. Prince George prevailed in the league championship but once again fell short against the Penticton Knights who eventually won the national championship.

When the PCJHL expanded in 1991-92 and changed to the RMJHL the Spruce Kings led the way initiating expansion talks and even coming up with a new name for the league that fit with the geographic locations of the franchises. In the inaugural year of the RMJHL the Spruce Kings were also once again involved in the league championship. After losing the first two games of the best of five series against the Trail Smoke Eaters, the Spruce Kings returned home to win the next three. All three games in Prince George were played before standing room only crowds of around 2,300. After coming from behind to beat Trail the Spruce Kings hosted Vernon in the Mowat Cup. Prince George lost to the Lakers who went on to win the national championship.

Since then the Spruce Kings have finished first in their division a number of times and captured their second RMJHL Title in 1995-96 beating the Fernie Ghostriders in the Championship. The Spruce Kings lost the Mowat Cup to the Vernon Vipers who went on to win the Canadian Junior "A" title.

1995 was a season of challenge for one of the oldest Junior "A" hockey franchises in British Columbia, but despite being bumped from the front pages and from a building they had called home for almost twenty-five years, the Prince George Spruce Kings turned adversity into success. Despite the emotional setback of the City choosing someone else to operate the major junior franchise and news the Spruce Kings would be relegated to a smaller facility with seating for just over 500, the Spruce Kings organization took the change in stride. The first thing the Spruce Kings did was organize their solid core of volunteers. The club built a new dressing room, new offices, and souvenir booth as well as working with the City of Prince George to expand the seating in the Spruce Kings new home to close to 600.

As September rolled around, the new Prince George Cougars attracted thousands of hockey fans to the Prince George Coliseum and at the same time the Spruce Kings did what many said would not be possible, they maintained their popularity, averaging more than 600 fans in their 600 seat facility. The club's commitment to family oriented entertainment shone through and in the process the Spruce Kings climbed the ladder of success until they were ranked among the top five Junior "A" clubs in the country.

In 1996 the Spruce Kings purchased the New West Outlaws BCHL franchise and received approval from the league Governors to operate the franchise out of Prince George. The Spruce Kings would compete in the Interior Division of the BCHL. In their first season in the BCHL, the Spruce Kings finished a respectable fourth in the Interior Division but then lost to Merritt two games to one in the first round of the playoffs.

The 1997-98 BCHL Season was a roller coaster ride for the Spruce Kings. They improved their goals for and against record but had trouble hitting the win column finishing fifth in the regular season. The Spruce Kings defeated Merritt in the first round of the playoffs and then lost in six games to Penticton in the Division Semi Final. During the season the Spruce Kings hosted the 28th Annual BCHL All Star Game which attracted more than 3,000 fans to the Prince George Multiplex.

In 2005, a community group submitted their second application to host the RBC Royal Bank Cup in Prince George and were successful. The bid gave the Spruce Kings an automatic entry in the tournament as one of five teams from across Canada that would participate as the host team in the 2007 National Tournament. The Spruce Kings entered the tournament as the decided underdogs after being eliminated from the BCHL post-season by the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in the first round; that did not deter the team and they would finish third after round robin play and come away from the tournament with a hard fought silver medal effort.

In the semi-final game against the Camrose Kodiaks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, the Spruce Kings defeated the Doyle Cup Champions in an epic battle that started on a Satruday evening and ended just after 1:00am Sunday morning. The game was tied at 2 after regulation time and a full four overtime periods did nothing to settle the outcome with both teams having excellent opportunities. In the early stages of the fifth overtime, a Camrose penalty gave the Spruce Kings their tenth powerplay opportunity of the game and resulted in the eventual game winning goal after 146:01 of playing time.

Tyler Helfrich, who was acquired from the Fort McMurray Oil Barons at the trade deadline, spotted Jason Yuel, another player acquired at the trade deadline from the Winnipeg Saints, skating through the top of the right faceoff circle; with a quick flick of the wrist, Helfrich fed Yuel the puck. 3,800 fans held their breath as Yuel deflected the puck up and over the Camrose netminder to turn on the red light and end the six hour marathon game. The game set the record for the longest game in RBC Royal Bank Cup history, but would ultimately be the demise of the Spruce Kings in the Championship game just 18 hours later.

After failing to get off to an early start with a couple of glorious scoring opportunities, it became evident that the Spruce Kings had run out of gas. The  Aurora Tigers would go on to establish a 3-0 lead and would eventually win the game 3-1. At the seconds ticked down in the third people, a very appreciative crowd rose to their feet in the CN Centre and applauded non-stop for the efforts that they witnessed from the 2007 National Silver Medalist Prince George Spruce Kings.

The Spruce Kings are a high profile sports club in the City and are often asked to take part in various functions. Players have participated in events like the Skate for Literacy, Minor Hockey practices, Civic Centre Christmas Tree Light-Up and more. In addition players go to elementary schools for volleyball or floor hockey and work with School District 57 and the Prince George Public Library to promote positive lifestyles and the importance of education..

As role models for the thousands of youth in the City and surrounding region, players must conduct themselves in a respectable manner at all times.

The Spruce Kings place a high priority on a player's education and are committed to providing him the opportunity to gain graduation from public school and an opportunity to gain a post-secondary education through his hockey career. We work closely with School District counsellors to ensure graduation requirements are completed and that the player attends his classes.

The Spruce Kings provide the opportunity to players to attend the two post-secondary education institutions in Prince George, the College of New Caledonia or the University of Northern British Columbia. The College of New Caledonia provides education opportunities in the university transfer, technical and vocational programs. The University of Northern BC opened in 1994 and provides degree programs in several areas. Calendars for both institutions are available from the Spruce King's office.

A player's university or college registration, tuition and books are paid for by the Spruce Kings Hockey Club based on the successful completion of each course or program.

Name	Final Year	College/University or Other Hockey Team
Bryan Adams	1995	Michigan State, NCAA
Sean Ambrosie	2009	University of Connecticut, NCAA
Scott Burt	1993	Toledeo, ECHL
Wade Burt	1996	Kootenay Ice, WHL
Brandon Busse	2009	University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, NCAA Division III
Brett Butterwick	2005	University of Lethbridge, CIS
Jordy Christian	2008	St. Cloud State University, NCAA
Bill Collins	2001	Wayne State University, NCAA
Paul Dainton	2006	University of Massachusetts at Amherst, NCAA
Zach Davies	2009	Quinnipiac University, NCAA
Ryan DeVries	2008	UBC, CIS
Derek Dinelle	2000	UBC, CIS
Jeff Earnest	2010	University of Alaska-Fairbanks, NCAA
Dylan Exton	2007	Wayne State University, NCAA; New England College, NCAA Division III
Brad Fast	1999	Michigan State, NCAA
Paul Fisher	2000	Iona College, NCAA
Jesse Fratkin	2007	Brown University, NCAA
Leath Gare	2005	Concordia, CIS
Shaun Gendron	1997	Prince George Cougars, WHL
Kevin Genoe	2009	Michigan Tech, NCAA
Victor Gervais	1986	Hampton Roads, ECHL
Alex Goodship	2009	Dartmouth College, NCAA
Quinn Hancock	1993	Prince George Cougars, WHL
Devan Hartigan	2007	Northern Michigan University, NCAA
Josh Hechter	2003	Saint Anselm, NCAA
Tyler Helfrich	2007	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NCAA
Brad Herman	2005	St. Norbert Green Knights, NCAA Division III
Jeff Herman	2005	Wisconsin-Superior, NCAA Division III
Brandon Highton	2005	University of Lethbridge, CIS
Bobby Hineman	2007	Adrian College, NCAA Division III
Casey Hogue	2004	Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), CIS
John Hopson	2001	University of Alaska-Anchorage, NCAA
Keenan Hopson	2004	University of Maine, NCAA
Ryan Howse	2007	Chilliwack Bruins, WHL
Darcy Huisman	2006	Kamloops Blazers, WHL
Jordan Inglis	2007	Wayne State University, NCAA; UBC, CIS
Geoff Irwin	2005	Minnesota State University, NCAA
Alain Joanette	2007	St. Norbert Green Knights, NCAA Division III
Steve Jordan	2003	Genesco State NYC, NCAA
Damien Ketlo	2008	Regina Pats, WHL
David Keough	2000	University of Alaska-Fairbanks, NCAA
David Kozier	1998	Cornell University, NCAA
Denis Ladouceur	1998	Cornell University, NCAA
Mike Lalonde	2001	Michigan State, NCAA
Adam Loncan	1997	University of Alberta
Tyler Loney	2005	Laredo Bucks, CHL
Stewart Malgunas	1988	Detroit Vipers, IHL
Brandon Manning	2008	Chilliwack Bruins, WHL
Derek May	2005	Northern Michigan University, NCAA
Wes McLeod	2010	University of Alaska-Anchorage, NCAA
Marty Mjelleli	2002	St. Cloud State University, NCAA
John Morlang	2001	University of Alaska-Fairbanks, NCAA
Sam Muchalla	2010	Northern Michigan University, NCAA
Vinny Muchalla	2009	Wentworth Institute of Technology, NCAA Division III
Mark Nelson	2002	Quinnipiac University, NCAA
Jeff Oddleifson	2004	Wainwright College, NCAA
Jody Pederson	2004	Princeton University, NCAA
Rod Pelley	2002	Ohio State, NCAA
Kevin Petovello	2005	University of Alaska-Fairbanks, NCAA
Rob Pritchard	2005	Dartmouth College, NCAA
Nicholas Rioux	2007	St. Cloud State University, NCAA
Brooks Robinson	2010	Quinnipiac University, NCAA
Joe Rodwell	2007	UBC, CIS
Chris Rowland	2000	UBC, CIS
Tyler Scofield	2004	Bemidji State University, NCAA
Matt Shuya	2006	University of Alaska Fairbanks, NCAA
Chris Stevens	2005	Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL
Mike Stutzel	1999	Northern Michigan, NCAA
Michael-Lee Teslak	2005	Michigan Tech, NCAA
Brad Thiessen	2006	Northeastern University, NCAA
Garrett Thiessen	2006	Pirnce George Cougars, WHL
Mark Tom	1993	UBC, CIS
Grant Toulmin	2008	Swift Current Broncos, WHL
Tony Twist	1986	St. Louis Blues, NHL
Steve Wiljeto	1996	Prince Albert Raiders, WHL
Derek Wood	1992	Columbus Chill, ECHL
Alex Wright	2009	Prince George Cougars, WHL
Jason Yuel	2007	Curry College, NCAA Division III

Practices are held five days a week for one and a half hours per day. The availability of ice time is essential to a player's development and improvement. Practice is scheduled so that school classes are not interrupted. The Spruce Kings also have an extensive off-ice training program developed by Prince George 24 Hour Fitness, the club's official fitness centre.

The BCHL regular season is a 60 game schedule. Games are played mainly on weekends, the few mid-week encounters involve teams who are geographically nearby. When the Spruce Kings are on the road they use a first class bus operated and cared for by a professional driver. A player's traveling costs, meals and accommodations are paid for by the Prince George Spruce Kings.

Over the past few years the Spruce Kings have played host to many different clubs, such as the Soviet Junior Nationals and teams from the Alberta Junior Hockey League. It's the Spruce Kings philosophy that players be given the opportunity to compete at as many levels of hockey as is possible. The Spruce Kings play the majority of their games in the 2,000 seat Prince George Coliseum; special event and playoff games have also been played at the 6,000 seat CN Centre.

All out-of-town players are provided with room and board. Players are placed in carefully selected homes and these families are generally involved in some aspect of our Club. They take great interest in the player on and off the ice.

The general health and well being of each player is a major concern with the Spruce Kings staff. Each player's health is monitored by our professional training staff and other health care professionals. The Club is insured through the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. Medical expenses due to hockey not covered by BC Medical will be paid by our coverage. Arrangements are made with local doctors to take out-of-town players as their patients. In addition to our training staff we have a health care professional in attendance at all of our home games. Any prescriptions are paid by the Hockey Club.

The Spruce Kings cover many of the expenses incurred while you play junior hockey. The Club provides equipment and supplies such as helmet, pants, gloves, sweater and socks as well as the sticks and tape you require.

The Spruce Kings have a couple of ventures which provide players with employment opportunities. During winter months many local businesses assist players with part-time jobs that fit within the other time demands of practice, school and road/home games. The Spruce Kings also run a Summer Hockey School for 3 weeks in August which can provide employment and ice-time prior to training camp.

Prince George is one of the largest cities in the province and is the service centre for northern British Columbia. With more than 81,000 residents, Prince George is a modern metropolis which is the commercial, economic and social centre for the region. The city provides excellent facilities for the many activities that residents are involved in. In addition, there are vibrant shopping areas and a central business district. The area offers outdoor activities during each of our four distinct seasons. With the development of the University of Northern BC, The College of New Caledonia, Civic Centre, CN Centre and Aquatic Centre, Prince George is well positioned to maintain it's standing as BC's northern capital.

Prince George is home to the Cougars of the Western Hockey League, who relocated from Victoria B.C. to the city in 1994. This provides excellent opportunities to players in our organization to advance to the Western Hockey League as well as providing greater exposure to National Hockey League Scouts.