The newly re-named Saanich Predators beat a couple of prominent pro teams out of the gate. While the former Eskimos remain Edmonton Football Team and former Redskins the Washington Football Team, the former Saanich Braves are now the Predators.
The 91原创 Island Junior Hockey League team announced its new moniker Tuesday as part of a wave of change across North American sports trending away from team names thought to be disrespectful to First Nations.
Squid and Defenders were the club鈥檚 second and third choices, said club co-owner Norm Kelly. The team conducted a public in-put process that called for submissions via social media.
鈥淲e got all kinds of crazy names sent in,鈥� said Kelly. He said he liked the name chosen because Victoria Predators was the name of a spring league rep team for 12- and 13-year-olds that Kelly and Ed Geric operated in the early 2000s. Both are now co-owners of the Saanich VIJHL team.
鈥淲e have very fond memories of managing the Victoria Predators prior to this team,鈥� said Kelly.
鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled with the name. We can鈥檛 wait to see our new logo [yet to be unveiled] on our new jerseys.鈥�
The team鈥檚 new colours, also yet to be unveiled, will change from the old black, red and white.
The Saanich team鈥檚 former name was less flagrant than most associated with First Nations. Braves in popular culture is thought to mean young warriors much in the way Vikings is used as a team name denoting Norse warriors. Kelly said he had consulted several times previously with Island First Nations leaders about the Braves name and none he talked to were against its use. But he and Geric believe the 鈥渢imes are very different now.鈥�
Kelly admitted there was a notable contingent of submissions in the club鈥檚 rename-the-team entries that wanted the Braves name retained.
鈥淪everal wanted it left as it is. But that鈥檚 not an option,鈥� said Kelly.
The Saanich VIJHL team 鈥� whose alumni includes NHLers Matt Irwin and Adam Cracknell 鈥� had been named the Braves since 1967, when Pearkes Arena opened. The team announced it would drop the Braves name in July. (The wider Saanich Minor Hockey Association also used the name Braves before amalgamating with the Victoria Minor Hockey Association last year under the Admirals name).
The issue became part of a larger conversation across North American sports with pro team names such as the Eskimos and Redskins dropped and the extant Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves being challenged. Locally, it follows the change several years ago of Belmont High School鈥檚 team names from Braves to Bulldogs.
Meanwhile, indications are the nine-team VIJHL 鈥� whose alumni list of NHLers includes Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn 鈥� hopes to start the 2020-21 season amid the pandemic on Oct 2. 鈥淲e have been meeting every Monday for the last two months and circumstances have changed so many times,鈥� said Kelly.
鈥淲e are sticking with the public health guidelines.鈥�
The provincial Phase 3 of the return to sports allows for team-versus-team league play on a regional basis in cohorts of up to four teams. Two-week quarantine breaks are required before the teams can rotate into new cohorts of up to four teams.