The Western Hockey League is headed back to Chilliwack, and the ownership group behind the new franchise includes a familiar name for Canucks fans.
On Wednesday, the WHL awarded an expansion team to Chilliwack, B.C., with the club set to begin play in the 2027-28 season. The group is led by Jeremy Colliton, a former Vancouver Canucks player who went on to build a long coaching résumé, and it also includes former Canuck Mason Raymond.
Colliton’s playing career in the NHL was brief, limited to a handful of games with the New York Islanders. He became far better known behind the bench, where he served as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks for parts of four seasons and spent two seasons leading the Abbotsford Canucks, Vancouver’s AHL affiliate.
Raymond brings a much more direct Canucks connection to the ownership group. Vancouver selected him in the second round of the 2005 NHL Draft, and he went on to spend six seasons with the club. His best stretch came in 2009-10, when he posted career highs with 25 goals and 53 points, before playing an important supporting role on the Presidents’ Trophy-winning 2010-11 team that reached the Stanley Cup Final.
His value went beyond the box score. Raymond’s speed through the neutral zone helped drive Vancouver’s possession game at even strength, and he contributed on both the power play and penalty kill. In all, he played 429 games for the Canucks across the regular season and playoffs before later stopping in with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, and Anaheim Ducks.
Raymond has been out of the hockey spotlight for some time. After his NHL career, he spent the 2017-18 season in Switzerland to make himself eligible for Canada’s Olympic team, then recorded two points in six games at the 2018 Olympics as Canada won bronze. Since then, he has not had any public hockey role and has been back in his hometown of Cochrane, Alta., where he serves as president of a vehicle dealership.
His exact role in the Chilliwack ownership group has not been disclosed. It’s also his first formal connection to the WHL, since he played junior hockey in the Junior-A AJHL in order to preserve his NCAA eligibility.
Colliton, meanwhile, is returning to the league where he spent four seasons as a player with the Prince Albert Raiders. In the new Chilliwack setup, he will wear several hats at once: part-owner, governor, general manager, and head coach.
“I’m honoured to be back in the Western Hockey League, which played such an important role in my development as a player and person,” said Colliton in a press release. “Our family is thrilled to be returning to the Fraser Valley.
We are grateful for the partners we have at the City of Chilliwack, and in the regional business community. We look forward to building a franchise the hockey fans of Chilliwack will be proud of.”
The team will play at the Chilliwack Coliseum, which previously housed the Chilliwack Bruins from 2006 to 2011.
What the WHL arrival means for the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs remains unclear. The Chiefs currently play at the Coliseum and had already indicated that despite the WHL expansion.
In Other News...
Canucks Prospects Are Building Momentum Fans Will Want To Track
A few Canucks prospects are starting to make themselves harder to ignore in the NCAA, and the latest stretch offered a little bit of everything. Caleb Malhotra chipped in with a goal and an assist, Anthony Romani kept adding to his scoring resume, and Niklas Aaram-Olsen reached two notable firsts of his own as the college season continues to give Vancouver a better read on where these young players are headed.
For a front office and fan base trying to track the next wave, the encouraging part is not just the points but the way these players are handling bigger roles and tougher competition. There is still plenty of development ahead, and the jump to the professional level will bring a different kind of test, but this kind of momentum is exactly what the Canucks want to see as these prospects keep building their cases. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Prospect Connor Davis Is Chasing A Bigger Role Fast
Connor Davis is already trying to turn a fresh start at North Dakota into something bigger for the Canucks. The prospect is in his freshman season and leaning on the traits that got him noticed in the first place, using his size and speed as the foundation for a game he wants to sharpen quickly. After attending Vancouvers development camp, hes had a chance to absorb advice from the organization, and the early message has been clear: the next step is learning how to translate those tools into a more complete pro-style game.
The jump from juniors to NCAA hockey has not been a simple one, and Davis has been open about how demanding the transition can be. College hockey brings a different level of physicality, and hes working through that adjustment while trying to play hard without losing the skill that makes him intriguing in the first place. For Vancouver, the appeal is obvious, but the real question is how fast he can turn that raw package into a bigger role before the season gets away from him. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Top-Six Need Could Force A Massive Decision On Core Talent
The Kings are still looking for a way to add more punch to their top six, and that search has a way of pulling the Canucks into the conversation. With Los Angeles trying to solve an offense problem and Vancouver carrying one of the leagues most watched core pieces, the idea of a major trade keeps circling the same names, even if nothing has moved beyond the speculative stage.
Elias Pettersson remains the kind of player who can reshape a roster debate in a hurry, which is exactly why any discussion around him comes with so much caution. Vancouvers side of the equation is complicated by the broader direction of the team and the uncertainty that comes with any blockbuster involving a player of that caliber, while recent changes in management only add another layer to a deal that would be difficult to pull off even if both sides were motivated. [Read more 🡒]