# 2008–09 Victoria Salmon Kings season

The 2008–09 Victoria Salmon Kings season is the Salmon Kings' 5th season in the ECHL. The season started with the Salmon Kings raising their West Division Championship banner above the arena floor, and continued towards the All Star break with the team establishing a 15-game winning streak between December 8, 2008 and January 10, 2009, which was second all time in ECHL history. With a 26-9-1-2 record at the end of the streak, and well in first place in their division, another banner seemed well within reach. However, the team went 12-19-0-4 afterwards and dropped to third place, which ensured a Kelly Cup playoff first round match-up against the Idaho Steelheads. In the playoffs, the Salmon Kings swept their first ever series by eliminating the Steelheads in round one in four straight games. Unfortunately in the second round, the Salmon Kings were eliminated from the playoffs by their arch rivals, the Alaska Aces in five games. Their lone win was a 4-0 shutout on home ice, their second shutout of the playoffs. Despite their second straight second round elimination, the '08–'09 season saw a number of team records. Dylan Yeo became the first Salmon King player to win a league award, as he was awarded the Defenseman of the Year. Also, team captain Wes Goldie set a new team record with 48 goals, while also becoming the first Salmon King to collect 200 points with the team. Finally, the team broke their previous attendance record with 4,923 fans, up from 4,871 the previous year and 4,248 in '06–'07.

## Standings

| West Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | GF | GA |
| Alaska Aces (STL) | 72 | 45 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 93 | 232 | 181 |
| Idaho Steelheads (DAL) | 72 | 44 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 92 | 224 | 186 |
| Victoria Salmon Kings (VAN) | 72 | 38 | 27 | 2 | 5 | 83 | 232 | 200 |
| Utah Grizzlies (NYI) | 72 | 28 | 28 | 6 | 10 | 72 | 220 | 246 |
| Phoenix RoadRunners (SJS) | 72 | 30 | 37 | 2 | 3 | 65 | 200 | 246 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2008–09 Game log :

### Playoffs

2009 Kelly Cup playoffs :

## Player stats
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| Wes Goldie | 72 | 48 | 18 | 66 | -7 | 62 |
| Chris St. Jacques | 70 | 17 | 42 | 59 | +16 | 36 |
| Olivier Filion | 69 | 12 | 40 | 52 | -12 | 89 |
| Matt Kelly | 62 | 10 | 36 | 46 | +4 | 91 |
| Dylan Yeo | 52 | 10 | 33 | 43 | +15 | 30 |
| Curtis Billsten$^†$ | 60 | 11 | 28 | 39 | +18 | 30 |
| Dan Gendur | 52 | 9 | 29 | 38 | 0 | 97 |
| Darryl Lloyd | 72 | 18 | 18 | 36 | +10 | 141 |
| Olivier Labelle | 56 | 16 | 19 | 35 | +1 | 128 |
| Shaun Landolt | 67 | 12 | 20 | 32 | -3 | 46 |
| Sean D. O'Connor | 60 | 19 | 8 | 27 | -3 | 68 |
| Scott Howes | 39 | 10 | 12 | 22 | +9 | 15 |
| Patrick Coulombe | 56 | 6 | 16 | 22 | +20 | 36 |
| Tim Wedderburn | 70 | 2 | 19 | 21 | +17 | 44 |
| Gary Gladue | 55 | 0 | 20 | 20 | +13 | 12 |
| Adam Taylor | 27 | 9 | 6 | 15 | +1 | 4 |
| Brady Leavold | 31 | 10 | 4 | 14 | +2 | 49 |
| Jacob Dietrich $^‡$ | 35 | 7 | 6 | 13 | +6 | 14 |
| Jordie Benn | 55 | 1 | 11 | 12 | -7 | 26 |
| Aaron Brocklehurst$^†$ | 23 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -5 | 14 |
| Travis Ramsey | 26 | 0 | 4 | 4 | +1 | 45 |
| Jeremy Swanson $^‡$ | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 12 |
| Marc Fulton | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Milan Gajic $^‡$ | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -5 | 0 |
| Devon Lang | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Mike Nesdill $^‡$ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
| Jeremy Schenderling | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| Olivier Labelle | 9 | 4 | 3 | 7 | +2 | 32 |
| Olivier Filion | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | -2 | 14 |
| Wes Goldie | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | -2 | 2 |
| Chris St. Jacques | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | +2 | 6 |
| Matt Kelly | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | +7 | 4 |
| Aaron Brocklehurst | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -1 | 10 |
| Shaun Landolt | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | +2 | 4 |
| Sean D. O'Connor | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | +1 | 21 |
| Patrick Coulombe | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 6 |
| Gary Gladue | 8 | 0 | 5 | 5 | -1 | 4 |
| Scott Howes | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | +1 | 19 |
| Adam Taylor | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +2 | 8 |
| Brady Leavold | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 8 |
| Daryl Lloyd | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | +1 | 31 |
| Dan Gendur | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Wedderburn | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +2 | 0 |
| Curtis Billsten | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Jordie Benn | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
| Dylan Yeo | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals against; GAA= Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO= Shutouts
Regular season :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | OT | SOL | GA | GAA | Sv% | SO |
| Jonathan Boutin$^‡$ | 16 | 936 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 37 | 2.37 | .921 | 2 |
| Todd Ford | 35 | 2019 | 17 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 89 | 2.64 | .915 | 4 |
| Julien Ellis | 23 | 1398 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 63 | 2.70 | .915 | 1 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | GA | GAA | Sv% | SO |
| Todd Ford | 7 | 413 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 2.47 | .920 | 1 |
| Julien Ellis | 3 | 139 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3.45 | .882 | 1 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Victoria. Stats reflect time with the Salmon Kings only. $^‡$Denotes player no longer with the team. Stats reflect time with Salmon Kings only.

## Transactions
### Trades

| November 21, 2008 | To Victoria Salmon KingsFree Trade | To Phoenix RoadRunnersJeremy Swanson |
| January 27, 2009 | To Victoria Salmon KingsFree Trade | To South Carolina StingraysJonathan Boutin |
| January 31, 2009 | To Victoria Salmon KingsFree Trade | To Cincinnati CyclonesJacob Dietrich |
| February 10, 2009 | To Victoria Salmon KingsAaron Brocklehurst | To Florida EverbladesMilan Gajic |

### Free agents acquired

| Player | Former team |
| Olivier Filion | Alaska Aces |
| Olivier Labelle | Utah Grizzlies |
| Shaun Landolt | Sterzing (Italy) |
| Sean D. O'Connor | Phoenix RoadRunners |
| Scott Howes | Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL) |
| Adam Taylor | Florida Everblades |
| Brady Leavold | Norfolk Admirals (AHL) |
| Jordie Benn | Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL) |
| Travis Ramsey | University of Maine (NCAA) |
| Marc Fulton | Texas Wildcatters |
| Devon Lang | Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL) |
| Jordan Foote | Michigan Tech (NCAA) |
| Todd Ford | Columbia Inferno |
| Jonathan Boutin | Norfolk Admirals (AHL) |
| Mike Nesdill | Bowling Green State University (NCAA) |
| Jeremy Schenderling | Columbia Inferno |

### Free agents lost

| Player | New team |
| Ash Goldie | Herlev Hornets (Denmark) |
| Derek Krestanovich | |
| Ryan Wade | Retired |
| Jordan Krestanovich | Cortina SG (Italy) |
| Marc-Andre Bernier | |
| Kevin Estrada | Kassel Huskies (DEL) |
| Kiel McLeod | Cortina SG (Italy) |
| Paul Ballantyne | |
| Darren Deschamps | |
| Simon Lambert | Oklahoma City Blazers (CHL) |
| Brad Zanon | Florida Everblades |
| Billy Thompson | Tilburg Trappers (Hlnd) |

## Professional affiliations
### Vancouver Canucks

The Salmon Kings' NHL affiliate based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

### Manitoba Moose

The Salmon Kings' AHL affiliate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.