The Western Hockey League announced today that the Winnipeg ICE franchise has been sold and relocated to Wenatchee, Washington, and will operate under the new ownership of David White of the California-based Shoot the Puck Foundation.
The sale and relocation of the Winnipeg franchise has received the approval of the WHL Board of Governors and is effective immediately. Wenatchee becomes the sixth U.S.-based WHL team and will join the WHL’s U.S. Division and Western Conference for the 2023-24 season. The relocation to Wenatchee will allow the WHL to balance its Western and Eastern Conferences with 11 member Clubs in each Conference starting next season.
Unfortunately, multiple attempts by the ICE ownership to construct an arena facility of acceptable WHL standards in Winnipeg, based on the agreed upon timeframes, were unsuccessful, leading to the relocation to Wenatchee.
The Western Hockey League would like to thank the Winnipeg ICE fans for their support and the ICE organization for building a highly successful hockey program that we expect will have a great future in Washington State.
