page_title: Victoria, British Columbia
section_title: Sports teams
hierarchical_section_title: Victoria, British Columbia / Recreation / Sports teams
caption_attribution_description: Exterior shot of the Save on Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, BC.
context_page_description: Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 85,792, and the Greater Victoria Area has a population of 367,770. Victoria is the 7th most densely populated city in Canada with 4,405.8 people per square kilometre.
  Victoria is the southernmost major city in Western Canada, and is about 100 km from British Columbia's largest city of Vancouver on the mainland. The city is about 100 km from Seattle by airplane, ferry, or the Victoria Clipper passenger-only ferry which operates daily, year round between Seattle and Victoria, and 40 km from Port Angeles, Washington, by ferry Coho across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
  Named for Queen Victoria, the city is one of the oldest in the Pacific Northwest, with British settlement beginning in 1843. The city has retained a large number of its historic buildings, in particular its two most famous landmarks, Parliament Buildings and the Empress hotel. The city's Chinatown is the second oldest in North America after San Francisco's.
context_section_description: The city has also been home to numerous high-profile sports teams in its history. The Victoria Cougars are perhaps the most famous sports franchise the city has known, existing as members of several professional leagues from 1911–1926, and again from 1949–1961.  The Cougars won the Stanley Cup as members of the WCHL in 1925 after defeating the Montreal Canadiens three games to one in a best-of-five final.  The Cougars were reincarnated in 1971 as a major junior hockey team in the Western Hockey League, before they moved to Prince George to become the Prince George Cougars. Today, the Cougars name and legacy continue in the form of the Junior 'B' team that plays in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League.  Minor professional hockey returned to Victoria in the form of the Victoria Salmon Kings, which played in the ECHL from 2004 to 2011, and were a minor league affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. In baseball, Victoria was once home of the Victoria Athletics of the Western International League, a Class 'A' minor league baseball affiliate of the New York Yankees. Victoria's newest sports team is Pacific FC of the Canadian Premier League. Pacific FC play their home matches at Westhills Stadium.
  Victoria has been home to many accomplished athletes that have participated in professional sports or the Olympics. Notable professional athletes include basketball Hall-of-Famer Steve Nash, twice Most Valuable Player in the National Basketball Association, who grew up in Victoria and played youth basketball at St. Michael's University School and Mount Douglas Secondary School. Furthermore, there are several current NHL hockey players from Greater Victoria, including brothers Jamie Benn and Jordie Benn of the Dallas Stars and Vancouver Canucks, respectively; Tyson Barrie of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Matt Irwin of the Nashville Predators. Current Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Nick Pivetta was born in Victoria and played summer collegiate baseball for the Victoria HarbourCats. Former professional racing cyclist and 2012 Giro d'Italia winner, Ryder Hesjedal was born in Victoria and still calls the city home. Victoria has also been home to many Olympic Games athletes, including multi-time medalists such as Silken Laumann, Ryan Cochrane, and Simon Whitfield.
  Sports teams presently operating in Victoria include:
  Notable defunct teams that operated in Victoria include:
  Victoria Capitals (Canadian Baseball League)
  Victoria Cougars (Western Hockey League)
  Victoria Vistas (Canadian Soccer League)
  Victoria Seals (Golden Baseball League)
  Victoria Salmon Kings (ECHL)
  Victoria United FC (Pacific Coast Soccer League)
caption: Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre is an indoor ice hockey arena in Victoria. It is the home arena for the WHL's Victoria Royals.
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