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The valley community of Wenatchee, WA is home to a BCHL hockey franchise with the Wenatchee Wild who arrived in the Fall of 2008. With the growth and success of the Wild program, a Development Teams program operated by WAHA (Wenatchee Amateur Hockey Association) has blossomed to four teams, ranging from 14UAAA to 18UAAA along with a 16UAAA and 16UAA, and will expand even further in 2021-22 with the addition of a 13U Showcase team, as well as 14U Girls and 12U youth Showcase teams. The 16UAA Warriors will not operate in the coming season. 

With the challenges presented by the pandemic over the last 14 months, it’s been a tremendous accomplishment for all four teams to successfully navigate a schedule that included a lot of air travel and a host of safety precautions. Over the weekend of April 23-25, the final games were played at an ECEL tournament in Connecticut bringing the 2020-21 season to an end.

Development Teams Hockey Director and Head Coach for the 18U and 16UAAA teams Ryan McKelvie looks back on the season with a sense of accomplishment. “Our players showed a lot of integrity and character getting through the ups and downs of all the delays and stoppages to the season early on. In the end, all of our teams were able to have full and successful seasons, with a lot of really great accomplishments and program highlights. The players on all of our teams represented the program well, and our staff is grateful for their effort and attitude all year.”

18UAAA Wenatchee Wolves

The Wolves opened their season in Dallas, and would see action in Phoenix, Provo UT, Omaha, and Ohio before getting the opportunity to skate on home ice in mid-March where they claimed 3 of 4 points against the Northwest Stars. They had a rematch with the Stars as the teams competed for a State Championship in a best-of-three, but after Wenatchee won Game 1, the remainder of the series was scrubbed out of caution, as both teams had already qualified for Pacific Districts. After a 2-0-2 showing at a Florida tourney, the Wolves went 2-1-2 at Districts, falling in overtime in the Championship Game and narrowly missing out on a chance at a National title. The Wolves did close out the campaign with a perfect 5-0 run to claim the Championship at the ECEL Tournament of Champions. They went an impressive 13-1-4 in their final 18 games.

Coach Jordan McTaggart: “With a lot of the season early on being up in the air with the rinks being closed and games canceled, we are really happy with how the players handled the situation and kept moving forward. They came every day to get better and compete. Not a lot of teams can say they won the last game of the season and they did that with a championship.” 

16UAAA Wenatchee Wilderness

Like their U18 counterparts, the Wilderness opened their season in Dallas, coming up just short in the championship game of their first tournament of the year. The schedule took the team to Phoenix, Coeur d’Alene, Omaha, and Ohio. The Wilderness had the opportunity to host a three-game set with the Seattle SnoKing Jr. Thunderbirds, claiming 3 of 6 possible points. Wenatchee went 3-0-0 in the State Championship Tournament before falling in the final. After winning of three at Pacific Regionals, the Wilderness advanced to the SemiFinals in the ECEL Tournament of Champions before closing out their season, one which saw them post an overall record of 19-16-3.

Coach Kyle Brodie: “Due to various circumstances and obstacles that the Wilderness faced the entire season, it gave the opportunity for more players to step up and take on bigger roles. Our guys handled the controversy very well, and they all took on more responsibilities and more ice time without any complaints. I’m very proud of this group and the way they all matured throughout the season.”

16UAA Wenatchee Warriors

The Warriors battled through some adversity throughout the season, and their record isn’t indicative of the growth experience for the players. Games were played entirely on the road for the Warriors, including Couer d’Alene, Phoenix, Florida, and Connecticut. The Warriors played 4 games in a 24 hour span at the ECEL Tournament and fought hard to the very end.

Coach Kyle Brodie on the Warriors season: “Their last showcase was the best they’ve played all season, even with 4 games in 24 hours. They almost pulled off the upset in the semis against a skilled Mercer Chiefs team, to whom they had lost 8-0 the day before. They went 1-2-1 in their last games of the year, turning some heads in the process.”

14UAAA Wenatchee Wolverines

The Wolverines had a solid season, kicking it off with a 4-1-0 record at an event in Utah. There were trips to Dallas (twice) and Phoenix, and then the State Championship tournament where the 14UAAA’s racked up a perfect 4-0-0 record to take the crown. Wenatchee went 1-2-0 in the Pacific Districts but overall the season was deemed a great success. Wenatchee also sported an unblemished 7-0-0 record against the other Tier I teams in the state.

The Wolverines closed out their season with a 10-2-0 record down the stretch. Coach McKelvie notes, “We are proud of our 14U team and the season they had. The players came to the rink with a good attitude all season, worked hard every day, improved both individually and as a team, and had a great finish to the season. It was exciting for the team to have so much success during the stretch run, and to see the players rewarded for all their hard work.” 

Given the multitude of successes even in an unprecedented and challenging year, the future for the Wenatchee Development Teams looks to be rock solid and gaining strength.