PRINCE GEORGE – “Junior Hockey is back in Prince George, and it’s here to stay,” those were the first words written following the Prince George Spruce Kings first-ever exhibition games in the city.
Looking back at those words after 50 years, they were right.
The Spruce Kings played their first exhibition game back on October 21, 1972, and over 18,250 later the Kings will pay homage to their roots with retro 70’s jerseys and recognize some of the stars of the seventies for the club as they celebrate their 50th anniversary.
“I mean who would’ve dreamt that this organization would prevail and go 50 years,” said Rick ‘Grizzly’ Adams who played for the Spruce Kings for their first five seasons from 1972 until 1976. “It’s great for the city, it’s great for all the young people in the city growing up that are like us, like Glen said, this is a place to move on in hockey and grow in hockey without leaving home.”
Glen Johnson who was also part of the first-ever Spruce Kings team said he was proud to wear the crest and looked forward to reconnecting with other stars from the seventies at the game on Friday.
The Prince George Spruce Kings have had a winning tradition ever since they started playing back in 1972.
The early days of the kings featured a very tough brand of hockey for a roster mainly filled with players born and raised here in Prince George just like Johnson and Grizz.
Their first season, the Spruce Kings played in the Pacific Northwest Hockey League which included both Junior and Senior teams from the northwest part of the province.
That first season was only a 28 game schedule but led to the Spruce Kings finishing second in the four-team East division. Three players finished in the top ten in scoring; Fenton Gale, Butch Stewart, and the one and only Glen Johnson who scored 50 goals that season.
In 1975-76 the Peace Cariboo Junior Hockey League was formed as a Junior “B” circuit and the Prince George juniors won the inaugural league title.
As for what you should be thinking about tonight, both Johnson and Adams ask fans to try and remember and appreciate how deep Spruce Kings history runs in Prince George.
