2008–09 Victoria Salmon Kings season
Introduction The '''2008–09 Victoria Salmon Kings season''' is the Salmon Kings' 5th season in the ECHL. The season started with the Salmon Kings raising their West Division Championship banner above the arena floor, and continued towards the All Star break with the team establishing a 15-game winning streak between December 8, 2008 and January 10, 2009, which was second all time in ECHL history. With a 26-9-1-2 record at the end of the streak, and well in first place in their division, another banner seemed well within reach. However, the team went 12-19-0-4 afterwards and dropped to third place, which ensured a Kelly Cup playoff first round match-up against the Idaho Steelheads. In the playoffs, the Salmon Kings swept their first ever series by eliminating the Steelheads in round one in four straight games. Unfortunately in the second round, the Salmon Kings were eliminated from the playoffs by their arch rivals, the Alaska Aces in five games. Their lone win was a 4-0 shutout on home ice, their second shutout of the playoffs. Despite their second straight second round elimination, the '08–'09 season saw a number of team records. Dylan Yeo became the first Salmon King player to win a league award, as he was awarded the Defenseman of the Year. Also, team captain Wes Goldie set a new team record with 48 goals, while also becoming the first Salmon King to collect 200 points with the team. Finally, the team broke their previous attendance record with 4,923 fans, up from 4,871 the previous year and 4,248 in '06–'07.
Standings  West Division GP W L OTL SOL PTS GF GA Alaska Aces (STL) 72452412'''93'''232181 Idaho Steelheads (DAL) 72442422'''92'''224186 Victoria Salmon Kings (VAN) 72382725'''83'''232200 Utah Grizzlies (NYI) 722828610'''72'''220246 Phoenix RoadRunners (SJS) 72303723'''65'''200246
Schedule and results ===Regular season=== 2008–09 Game log October: 3–5–0–0 (Home: 2–3–0–0 ; Road: 1–2–0–0) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 1  October 17  Victoria  1–7  Phoenix     Boutin  4,434  0–1–0–0  0 2  October 18  Victoria  1–2  Phoenix     Ford  3,356  0–2–0–0  0 3  October 19  Victoria  4–2  Phoenix    Ford  2,762  1–2–0–0  2 4  October 24  Stockton  5–2  Victoria    Ford  6,602  1–3–0–0  2 5  October 25  Stockton  2–5  Victoria     Boutin  4,192  2–3–0–0  4 6  October 26  Stockton  3–1  Victoria     Ford  3,733  2–4–0–0  4 7  October 29  Utah  3–4  Victoria     Boutin  4,021  3–4–0–0  6 8  October 31  Utah  3–2  Victoria     Ford  3,151  3–5–0–0  6 November: 8–2–1–1 (Home: 3–2–1–0 ; Road: 5–0–0–1) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 9  November 1  Utah  4–3  Victoria    Boutin  4,354  3–6–0–0  6 10  November 5  Victoria  3–0  Bakersfield    Boutin  8,008  4–6–0–0  8 11  November 7  Victoria  2–3  Stockton  SO  Boutin  8,027  4–6–0–1  9 12  November 8  Victoria  3–1  Stockton    Ford  9,737  5–6–0–1  11 13  November 14  Phoenix  1–4  Victoria    Boutin  4,590  6–6–0–1  13 14  November 15  Phoenix  0–9  Victoria    Boutin  4,340  7–6–0–1  15 15  November 19  Alaska  6–3  Victoria    Boutin  4,168  7–7–0–1  15 16  November 21  Alaska  1–4  Victoria    Boutin  4,429  8–7–0–1  17 17  November 22  Alaska  4–3  Victoria  OT  Boutin  4,661  8–7–1–1  18 18  November 26  Victoria  4–2  Utah    Ford  2,637  9–7–1–1  20 19  November 28  Victoria  3–2  Utah  OT  Ford  2,969  10–7–1–1  22 20  November 29  Victoria  2–1  Utah    Ellis  3,949  11–7–1–1  24 December: 10–2–0–0 (Home: 6–0–0–0 ; Road: 4–2–0–0) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 21  December 3  Victoria  2–3  Ontario    Ellis  3,566  11–8–1–1  24 22  December 5  Victoria  2–3  Fresno    Ford  2,492  11–9–1–1  24 23  December 6  Victoria  5–1  Fresno    Ellis  3,075  12–9–1–1  26 24  December 7  Victoria  3–2  Ontario    Ford  4,447  13–9–1–1  28 25  December 9  Bakersfield  0–2  Victoria    Ellis  4,565  14–9–1–1  30 26  December 12  Phoenix  0–7  Victoria    Ford  4,249  15–9–1–1  32 27  December 14  Phoenix  2–6  Victoria    Ellis  4,339  16–9–1–1  34 28  December 17  Alaska  2–4  Victoria    Ford  4,162  17–9–1–1  36 29  December 19  Alaska  0–4  Victoria    Ford  4,772  18–9–1–1  38 30  December 20  Alaska  3–5  Victoria    Ford  4,627  19–9–1–1  40 31  December 27  Victoria  4–1  Stockton    Boutin  6,968  20–9–1–1  42 32  December 28  Victoria  5–2  Stockton    Ford  5,534  21–9–1–1  44 January: 8–3–0–2 (Home: 6–1–0–0 ; Road: 2–2–0–2) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 33  January 2  Bakersfield  2–5  Victoria    Ford  4,664  22–9–1–1  46 34  January 3  Bakersfield  1–2  Victoria    Boutin  4,633  23–9–1–1  48 35  January 4  Bakersfield  1–6  Victoria    Boutin  4,475  24–9–1–1  50 36  January 9  Ontario  2–5  Victoria    Boutin  5,573  25–9–1–1  52 37  January 10  Ontario  2–5  Victoria    Ellis  6,083  26–9–1–1  54 38  January 14  Victoria  2–3  Alaska  SO  Ellis  3,827  26–9–1–2  55 39  January 16  Victoria  3–5  Alaska    Boutin  4,497  26–10–1–2  55 40  January 17  Victoria  0–1  Alaska  SO  Ford  5,117  26–10–1–3  56 41  January 23  Victoria  2–1  Las Vegas  SO  Ford  5,108  27–10–1–3  58 42  January 24  Victoria  4–2  Las Vegas    Ford  7,232  28–10–1–3  60 43  January 25  Victoria  2–6  Las Vegas    Ellis  3,593  28–11–1–3  60 44  January 27  Stockton  3–7  Victoria    Ford  5,075  29–11–1–3  62 45  January 28  Stockton  2–0  Victoria    Ellis  5,102  29–12–1–3  62 February: 2–8–1–1 (Home: 0–3–1–0 ; Road: 2–5–0–1) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 46  February 4  Las Vegas  4–2  Victoria    Ford  4,652  29–13–1–3  62 47  February 6  Las Vegas  4–2  Victoria    Ford  6,263  29–14–1–3  62 48  February 7  Las Vegas  2–1  Victoria    Ellis  6,470  29–15–1–3  62 49  February 8  Las Vegas  1–0  Victoria  OT  Ellis  5,835  29–15–2–3  63 50  February 11  Victoria  3–4  Alaska    Ford  3,563  29–16–2–3  63 51  February 13  Victoria  2–1  Alaska    Ellis  5,355  30–16–2–3  65 52  February 14  Victoria  2–3  Alaska  SO  Ellis  5,574  30–16–2–4  66 53  February 15  Victoria  2–5  Alaska    Ford  4,187  30–17–2–4  66 54  February 18  Victoria  3–5  Ontario    Ellis  4,582  30–18–2–4  66 55  February 21  Victoria  4–3  Bakersfield  SO  Ford  5,178  31–18–2–4  68 56  February 22  Victoria  2–5  Bakersfield    Ford  4,155  31–19–2–4  68 57  February 23  Victoria  2–5  Ontario    Ellis  4,876  31–20–2–4  68 March: 7–7–0–1 (Home: 4–3–0–1 ; Road: 3–4–0–0) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 58  March 4  Victoria  2–3  Idaho    Ford  3,230  31–21–2–4  68 59  March 6  Victoria  5–6  Idaho    Ford  4,669  31–22–2–4  68 60  March 7  Victoria  1–4  Idaho    Ellis  4,170  31–23–2–4  68 61  March 11  Ontario  4–9  Victoria    Ellis  4,997  32–23–2–4  70 62  March 13  Ontario  4–3  Victoria    Ford  4,629  32–24–2–4  70 63  March 14  Ontario  3–4  Victoria  SO  Ellis  5,632  33–24–2–4  72 64  March 15  Ontario  1–3  Victoria    Ellis  5,547  34–24–2–4  74 65  March 18  Idaho  4–3  Victoria  SO  Ellis  5,296  34–24–2–5  75 66  March 20  Idaho  0–2  Victoria    Ford  5,601  35–24–2–5  77 67  March 21  Idaho  7–1  Victoria    Ellis  6,314  35–25–2–5  77 68  March 22  Idaho  4–2  Victoria    Ford  5,448  35–26–2–5  77 69  March 24  Victoria  5–2  Stockton    Ford  3,819  36–26–2–5  79 70  March 25  Victoria  5–3  Bakersfield    Ellis  3,861  37–26–2–5  81 71  March 27  Victoria  3–7  Bakersfield    Ford  6,000  37–27–2–5  81 72  March 28  Victoria  5–4  Stockton  OT  Ellis  8,668  38–27–2–5  83'''''Legend''''':===Playoffs=== 2009 Kelly Cup playoffs West Division semi-final vs. (2) Idaho Steelheads: Victoria won series 4–0 #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Series 1  April 11  Victoria  3–1  Idaho    Ford  2,789  1–0 2  April 12  Victoria  2–0  Idaho    Ford  1,978  2–0 3  April 15  Idaho  2–9  Victoria    Ford  4,086  3–0 4  April 17  Idaho  1–2  Victoria  OT  Ford  4,973  4–0 West Division final vs. (1) Alaska Aces: Alaska won series 4–1 #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Series 1  April 24  Victoria  0–3  Alaska    Ford  4,933  0–1 2  April 25  Victoria  3–8  Alaska    Ford  5,533  0–2 3  April 29  Alaska  5–2  Victoria    Ford  4,449  0–3 4  May 1  Alaska  0–4  Victoria    Ellis  4,656  1–3 5  May 2  Alaska  6–4  Victoria    Ellis  2,471  1–4'''''Legend''''':
Player stats ===Skaters===''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes'' Regular season Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM  72  48  18  66  -7  62  70  17  42  59  +16  36  69  12  40  52  -12  89  62  10  36  46  +4  91  52  10  33  43  +15  30†  60  11  28  39  +18  30  52  9  29  38  0  97  72  18  18  36  +10  141  56  16  19  35  +1  128  67  12  20  32  -3  46  60  19  8  27  -3  68  39  10  12  22  +9  15  56  6  16  22  +20  36  70  2  19  21  +17  44  55  0  20  20  +13  12  27  9  6  15  +1  4  31  10  4  14  +2  49 ‡  35  7  6  13  +6  14  55  1  11  12  -7  26†  23  2  7  9  -5  14  26  0  4  4  +1  45 ‡ 13  0  2  2  -2  12  3  0  1  1  0  6 ‡ 4  0  1  1  -5  0  4  0  1  1  0  5 ‡  2  0  0  0  -2  0  3  0  0  0  1  0 Playoffs Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM  9  4  3  7  +2  32  9  3  4  7  -2  14  9  3  4  7  -2  2  9  2  4  6  +2  6  6  1  5  6  +7  4  9  2  3  5  -1  10  9  2  3  5  +2  4  9  2  3  5  +1  21  9  1  4  5  -1  6  8  0  5  5  -1  4  7  3  1  4  +1  19  9  2  2  4  +2  8  7  1  3  4  -1  8  9  1  3  4  +1  31  2  1  2  3  0  0  9  0  2  2  +2  0  3  0  1  1  0  2  3  0  0  0  -2  0  9  0  0  0  0  8===Goaltenders===''Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals against; GAA= Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO= Shutouts'' Regular season Player GP Min W L OT SOL GA GAA Sv% SO ‡ 16  936  10  4  1  1  37  2.37  .921  2   35  2019  17  15  0  1  89  2.64  .915  4   23  1398  11  8  1  3  63  2.70  .915  1 Playoffs Player GP Min W L GA GAA Sv% SO   7  413  4  3  17  2.47  .920  1   3  139  1  1  8  3.45  .882  1†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Victoria. Stats reflect time with the Salmon Kings only. ‡Denotes player no longer with the team. Stats reflect time with Salmon Kings only.
Transactions ===Trades=== November 21, 2008 To Victoria Salmon KingsFree Trade To Phoenix RoadRunnersJeremy Swanson January 27, 2009 To Victoria Salmon KingsFree Trade To South Carolina StingraysJonathan Boutin January 31, 2009 To Victoria Salmon KingsFree Trade To Cincinnati CyclonesJacob Dietrich February 10, 2009 To Victoria Salmon KingsAaron Brocklehurst To Florida EverbladesMilan Gajic===Free agents acquired=== '''Player'''  '''Former team''' Olivier Filion  Alaska Aces Olivier Labelle  Utah Grizzlies Shaun Landolt  Sterzing (Italy) Sean D. O'Connor  Phoenix RoadRunners Scott Howes  Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL) Adam Taylor  Florida Everblades Brady Leavold  Norfolk Admirals (AHL)Jordie Benn  Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL)Travis Ramsey  University of Maine (NCAA)Marc Fulton  Texas WildcattersDevon Lang  Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL)Jordan Foote  Michigan Tech (NCAA)Todd Ford  Columbia InfernoJonathan Boutin  Norfolk Admirals (AHL)Mike Nesdill  Bowling Green State University (NCAA)Jeremy Schenderling  Columbia Inferno===Free agents lost=== '''Player'''  '''New team'''Ash Goldie  Herlev Hornets (Denmark)Derek Krestanovich Ryan Wade  RetiredJordan Krestanovich  Cortina SG (Italy)Marc-Andre Bernier Kevin Estrada  Kassel Huskies (DEL)Kiel McLeod  Cortina SG (Italy)Paul Ballantyne Darren Deschamps Simon Lambert  Oklahoma City Blazers (CHL)Brad Zanon  Florida EverbladesBilly Thompson  Tilburg Trappers (Hlnd)
Professional affiliations ===Vancouver Canucks===The Salmon Kings' NHL affiliate based in Vancouver, British Columbia.===Manitoba Moose===The Salmon Kings' AHL affiliate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.