A minor programming note: Los Angeles pre-season game on Sunday, October 2 against the Edmonton Oilers as part of the Kraft Hockeyville series has been moved from Lumby (RIP, Lumby) to Vernon, British Columbia. It will now be played at the 3,006-seat Kal Tire Place, home of the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers, who boast former Kings Tiger Williams and Sandy Moger as alums and are coached by inaugural Mighty Duck and former Long Beach Ice Dog Mark Ferner. The photo above depicts signage prior to the corporate tie-in.
A city of roughly 40,000, Vernon is four and a half hours northeast of Vancouver and an hour north of Kelowna in the North Okanagans. By comparison, Lumby’s population is just shy of 2,000. The $100,000 donated by Kraft for winning the Kraft Hockeyville title will still be directed to Pat Duke Memorial Arena in Lumby for upgrades.
Because the Kings are also scheduled to play in Anaheim on the same night, the team will take a split-squad roster to B.C.
Vernon will become the 94th city that the Kings have ever played in. Santa Clara was the 93rd city, while Brooklyn, which is a borough, is not counted.
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