Penticton Vees (WHL)
Western Hockey League franchise
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Penticton Vees are a Junior ice hockey franchise that debuted in the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the 2025–26 WHL season as an expansion team. The team plays its home games in the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton as part of the B.C. Division of the Western Conference.
| Penticton Vees | |
|---|---|
| |
| City | Penticton, British Columbia |
| League | Western Hockey League |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | B.C. |
| Founded | 2025 |
| Home arena | South Okanagan Events Centre |
| Colours | Black, navy blue, mountain blue and white |
| Owners | Graham Fraser Mark Scheifele Mike Richter Joe Walters Gord Kovacik |
| General manager | Fred Harbinson |
| Head coach | Fred Harbinson |
| Captain | Nolan Stevenson |
| Website | chl.ca/whl-vees |
| Current uniform | |
 | |
Organization
The franchise is operated by part-owner Graham Fraser, who also is the majority owner of the BCHL Penticton Vees since June 2008. The other ownership partners are Mark Scheifele, Mike Richter, Joe Walters and Gord Kovacik.[1] The team planned to have the same operations staff as the BCHL franchise, including head coach and general manager Fred Harbinson.[2]
The team employs a staff of 11 scouts assigned to specific regions in Western Canada and the United States, including: Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Southern Alberta, Mainland British Columbia, Vancouver Island, Minnesota and California.[3]
Arena
The South Okanagan Events Centre is a 95,000-square-foot multi-purpose facility with 3 ice rinks, 5,000 seats and 27 luxury seats.[4] It opened in 2008 and is owned by the City of Penticton and managed by Oak View Group.[4]
History
The team traces its history to 1961 when the Penticton Jr. Vees were a founding member of the Okanagan-Mainline Junior "A" Hockey League (OMJHL).[5] Before joining the WHL as an expansion team in 2025, the Penticton Vees had been the name of a British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) franchise from 2004 to 2025.[2] With the establishment of the WHL franchise, the BCHL franchise was expected to relocate to another city.[6] The name "Vees" is a reference to the Victory, Valiant, and Vidette varieties of peaches grown in the Okanagan Valley.[7]
