He wasn’t Ryan O’Neal and it wasn’t that Love Story. But Brad Kwong of Calgary fashioned his own Ivy League script and a love for hockey at Harvard as captain of the NCAA Div. 1 Crimson in the 1980s. That was part of Kwong’s long journey through the sport, on and off the ice, which has now brought him to the Island as the new owner of the Nanaimo Clippers of the B.C. Hockey League.
Kwong, son of the late legendary Canadian Football League running-back and former Alberta Lt. Gov. Normie Kwong, joins his cousin Graham Lee as an Island junior hockey club owner. Lee is the owner of the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League.
The BCHL board of governors unanimously approved the sale of the Clippers, from former owner Wes Mussio, to Northern Lights Hockey Canada. Northern Lights Hockey Canada is listed as an investment group headed by Kwong, who is described by the BCHL as an “investment professional with a long history in the sport of hockey as a player, executive and team owner.”
Kwong is also the lead of the group that owns the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the U.S. Hockey League and is the former chairman of the USHL board of governors. He is involved in a different development path than his cousin Lee with the major-junior WHL model.
“My partners have a distinct interest and passion for the sport of hockey, especially at this level and with the NCAA pathway for development,” Kwong said in a statement.
Both the BCHL and USHL have the goal to sending players on to NCAA Div. 1 hockey.
“The BCHL is a leader in junior hockey and we have been very impressed with the strategic plan the league and board members have in place,” added Kwong, 59.
“As a Calgarian who spent his summers in B.C., I’m excited to spend a great deal of time on the Island. But I’m more excited about the opportunity to establish the Nanaimo Clippers as one of the preeminent junior hockey franchises in North America. We have a proven track record in Dubuque, implementing a strategy that brings major-league processes to the junior ranks.”
Kwong has owned the Fighting Saints since 2010-11 and the club has made the Clark Cup final three times in that span, winning twice in 2011 and 2013. Dubuque is on a run of 11 consecutive playoff appearances.
The Clippers had 13 players committed to NCAA Div. 1 teams this past season.
Nanaimo is among four Island teams in the BCHL with the Victoria Grizzlies, Cowichan Valley Capitals and Alberni Valley Bulldogs. The Clippers were third in the Coastal Conference this season at 33-17-4 before going on a 12-0 run in the post-season to dispatch the Surrey Eagles, Chilliwack Chiefs and Langley Rivermen to reach the Fred Page Cup BCHL final, where the Clips met their match in being swept by the Penticton Vees.
Nanaimo reached the league final for the ninth time in its five-decade franchise history. The Clippers have won five BCHL championships, the last in 2007.
The Clippers overcame a season of turmoil to reach the final. Former head coach Darren Naylor was ordered off the Nanaimo bench in February for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs on league-mandated administrative leave for allegedly breaching the BCHL coaches code of conduct, although the league has offered precious few details about the situation or the investigation. Clippers assistant coach Colin Birkas was also on league-ordered administrative leave until allowed to return to the team late in the regular season. Birkas, who led the Clippers on their playoff run, has been signed to a multi-season contract as Nanaimo head coach and GM. Naylor, meanwhile, was signed last week as GM/head coach of the OCN Blizzard of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
