The New Westminster Royals was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in New Westminster, British Columbia, first established in 1911 for the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). Though nominally based in New Westminster, the team played its home games at the Denman Arena in nearby Vancouver, as an arena was not available; the team would never play a PCHA home game in New Westminster as a result. They won the inaugural PCHA championship in 1912, though financial difficulties saw the team relocated to Portland, Oregon in 1914 and become the Portland Rosebuds.
History The first team played from 1911–1914 in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) which was established in 1911. The team was notable as it was the inaugural 1911–12 champion of the PCHA. It would be the only league championship the Royals would earn. Their home arena was the Denman Arena in Vancouver.
The name was revived for a club that played in the Pacific Coast Hockey League from 1945 to 1952 and the Western Hockey League from 1952 to 1959. The Royals won the President's Cup in 1949–1950 as PCHL champions.
Junior team The New Westminster Royals name was revived for a junior-level franchise in the Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League (PCJHL) in 1962, winning five-straight PCJHL championships before movingwith league mates Victoria Cougarsinto the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL) for the 1967–68 season. The Royals played on-and-off from 1962 to 1991 in the years when the major junior New Westminster Bruins were not playing. In 1991, the Royals relocated across the Pattullo Bridge to neighbouring Surrey, changing their name to Surrey Eagles.
Season-by-season record +Key of colors and symbolsColor/symbolExplanationLeague championsDivision champions Top record in regular season W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points Senior team Season League Division GP W L T GF GA Pts Finish Playoffs 1912 PCHA – 15 9 6 0 78 77 – 1st n/a 1912–13 PCHA – 15 6 9 0 67 74 – 3rd n/a 1913–14 PCHA – 16 7 9 0 80 67 – 2nd n/a Team relocated to Portland in 1914. Team re-established in 1945 1945–46 PCHL North 58 26 32 0 228 268 52 4th did not qualify 1946–47 PCHL North 60 29 29 2 257 270 60 4th Lost First Round v. Seattle Ironmen (1–3) 1947–48 PCHL North 66 27 38 1 293 322 55 4th Lost First Round v. Seattle Ironmen (2–3) 1948–49 PCHL North 70 39 26 5 285 229 83 1st 1949–50 PCHL North 71 36 19 16 291 233 88 1st 1950–51 PCHL – 70 38 24 8 267 205 84 2nd 1951–52 PCHL – 70 40 19 11 286 200 91 1st Lost First Round v. Victoria Cougars (3–4) 1952–53 WHL – 70 29 33 8 217 254 66 6th Lost First Round v. Saskatoon Quakers (3–4) 1953–54 WHL – 70 28 34 8 218 261 64 6th Lost First Round v. Vancouver Canucks (2–5) 1954–55 WHL – 70 29 32 9 249 299 67 5th did not qualify 1955–56 WHL Coast 70 31 37 2 238 258 64 3rd Lost First Round v. Victoria Cougars (0–4) 1956–57 WHL Coast 70 34 31 5 215 235 73 2nd 1957–58 WHL Coast 70 39 28 3 254 224 81 2nd Lost First Round v. Seattle Americans (1–3) 1958–59 WHL Coast 70 23 45 2 237 301 73 5th did not qualify
Junior team Season League Division GP W L T OTL GF GA Pts Finish Playoffs 1962–63 PCJHL New Westminster Royals PCJHL statistics not available 1963–64 PCJHL 1964–65 PCJHL 1965–66 PCJHL 1966–67 PCJHL1967–68 BCJHL – 40 15 23 2 — 186 234 32 5th did not qualify1968–69 BCJHL – 40 10 23 7 — 158 200 27 5th did not qualify1969–70 BCJHL – 48 2 44 2 — 151 320 6 7th did not qualify1970–71 BCJHL Central 60 25 29 6 — 261 270 56 3rd Lost Quarter-finals v. Centennials (2–4) 1971–72 Dormant during existence of major junior New Westminster Bruins 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 BCJHL Coastal 48 39 9 0 — 362 196 78 1st Lost Final v. Knights (1–4)1982–83 BCJHL Coastal 56 41 14 1 — 363 246 83 2nd Lost Semi-finals v. Flyers (2–4) 1983–84Dormant during second iteration of major junior New Westminster Bruins 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–881988–89 BCJHL Coastal 60 45 14 1 — 458 283 91 1st Lost in Final v. Lakers (1–4)1989–90 BCJHL Coastal 59 52 3 4 — 444 181 108 1st Won Final v. Lakers (4–2)1990–91 BCJHL Coastal 60 38 21 1 — 310 236 77 1stLost in Quarterfinals v. Warriors (1–4) Team relocated to Surrey in 1991.
Head coaches Jimmy Gardner (1911–1913) Pete Muldoon (1913–1914)
Players George Rochon
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