Vancouver Griffins
The Vancouver Griffins were a team from the National Women’s Hockey League. The team was established in January 2000 by local businessman Phillip DeGrandpre. The Griffins were voted in by the NWHL in May 2000. The Griffins would become the first expansion team for the NWHL outside their traditional Ontario and Quebec base. [1] The club played in New Westminster's Queens Park Arena.
Expansion
In 2000-01, the Vancouver Griffins played an exhibition schedule of local, CIAU and NWHL teams. The first head coach of the Griffins was Sylvain Leone. The club’s first roster was selected at a training camp in August 2000 in Abbotsford, B.C. In the 2000-01 season, the only players that were not from British Columbia were goalie Krista Cloutier of Pickardville, Alta., and Norwegian national team forward Julia Berg.
First full season
For the 2001-02 season, the team was owned by B.C. Sports Hall of Fame inductee Diane Nelson. The head coach was Nancy Wilson. Wilson was a certified level IV master coach and former assistant with the national women's under-22 squad. In 2002, the Griffins played their first full season in the National Women's Hockey League. Their first season was also the first year that the NWHL has had a western division. Olympians Nancy Drolet of Canada, Cammi Granato (signed in May 2002 [2]) and Shelley Looney of the US joined the team. The Griffins' roster also included Burnaby's own 18-year-old Natashia Pellatt, a graduate of Moscrop secondary. Other younger players included 15-year-old Courtney Unrah. One of the highlights of the season was a victory over Hayley Wickenheiser and her Edmonton Chimos club by a 7-1 score. Drolet had a hat trick and Granato scored the other four goals against Edmonton.[3]
References
- ^ http://www.canoe.ca/HockeyNWHL/pre_van.html
- ^ http://www.realwomeninsports.com/granato.php
- ^ Dan Hilborn (November 21, 2002). "Olympic stars play for the NWHL Griffins". Burnaby Now. Retrieved 25 June 2010.