Origins The original
Spokane Chiefs were a senior team that played in the
Western International Hockey League (WIHL) from 1982 to 1985, the last of several Spokane teams to play in the league dating back to the 1940s. In their final year, the Chiefs were the regular season and playoff WIHL champions. In 1982,
Kelowna,
British Columbia, was awarded an expansion team in the junior Western Hockey League; the
Kelowna Wings played three seasons before the team relocated to Spokane in 1985 and took up the Chiefs name. The Chiefs became the second WHL team in Spokane after the short-lived
Flyers, a team that stemmed from the WHL-charter member
Flin Flon Bombers and operated from 1980 to 1982, when the team folded. The team began playing in the
Spokane Coliseum, which had been hosting hockey since the 1950s.
First title and the 1990s The Chiefs found relatively early success in Spokane, missing the playoffs only once in the team's first thirteen seasons. In their sixth season, led by
Pat Falloon and
Ray Whitney—both of whom would be drafted that summer by the
National Hockey League's expansion
San Jose Sharks—the team secured its WHL championship. The title helped to save the team, which was struggling financially; in 1990, the team was sold to new ownership, and hired two figures who had played roles in the
Medicine Hat Tigers' 1987 Memorial Cup title in coach
Bryan Maxwell and 32-year old general manager Tim Speltz. The 1990–91 season saw Whitney lead the league with 67 goals and 185 points, with Falloon trailing just behind with 64 goals and 138 points; meanwhile, the team saw what started the season as a half-full arena for home games start to sell-out. In the playoffs, the Chiefs avenged a loss from the previous year against the defending champion
Kamloops Blazers before dispatching the
Lethbridge Hurricanes in the league final in four straight games. The team went on to secure the 1991 Memorial Cup, defeating the
Drummondville Voltigeurs 5–1 in the championship game to become the second American team after the
Portland Winter Hawks to win the title. Later that year, the Chiefs moved to the new Spokane Arena. In 2016, Whitney became the first player to have his number retired by the organization. There, they defeated the
Kitchener Rangers in the final by a score of 4–1; Tokarski's 53 saves in the final led to him being named the tournament's most valuable player. During the team's celebration with the trophy, its cup famously separated from its base, leaving the replica of the storied trophy in two pieces. Spokane native Johnson would go on to a successful career with the Chiefs, and in 2022 he became the second alumnus to have his jersey number retired by the club. After their second Memorial Cup title, the Chiefs remained competitive for several seasons. In 2010, the Chiefs lost a playoff series to Portland four games to three; it was the first series in league history in which the home team did not win a game. The team entered a rebuilding phase in the late 2010s, a period disrupted by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Outdoor game and fan support in the WHL's first outdoor game at Avista Stadium in Spokane. The Chiefs won the game 11–2. Spokane hosted the Western Hockey League's first ever outdoor game on January 15, 2011 against the rival
Kootenay Ice. The game, dubbed the "Outdoor Hockey Classic", was played at
Avista Stadium in front of a sell-out crowd of 7,075. The Chiefs won the game by a score of 11–2. Spokane has developed a reputation for strong support for the Chiefs, drawing large crowds recognized for their local traditions, like clapping in unison to celebrate goals. Attendance was especially strong coming off of the team's first championship in 1991, jumping thirty percent the following season, and helping the team commit to plans to build a new, larger arena. The team has since consistently ranked near the top of the WHL for attendance—for instance, in 2022–23, despite failing to qualify for the playoffs, the Chiefs were ranked second in the league for average attendance. ==Season-by-season record==