“Where Tradition Inspires Excellence.”
Burnaby Winter Club (BWC) is a semi-private non-profit hockey club located in Burnaby, British Columbia. Serving over two hundred members, the Club owns and operates year-round ice rink facilities, consisting of three ice surfaces, including one regulation size NHL rink. The Club also owns and operates the BWC Minor Hockey Association (MHA), consisting of approximately twenty teams in five divisions, where Members are eligible to play.
The Club has a long and proud history of successful hockey stories and is the home of several prominent NHLers who all played their minor hockey out of BWC. Some of our alumni include names such as Jack McIlhargey, Cliff Ronning, Paul Kariya, Chris Joseph, Glenn Anderson, Mike Santorelli, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and 2018 NHL Rookie of the Year Mat Barzal. Many of these alumni come back to the club and enroll their children in our program, bringing high level skills and knowledge with them that gives meaning to our motto, “Where tradition inspires excellence.”
As a non-profit, BWC relies on the support of its countless volunteers. Members and Academy players pay a small premium to belong to the Club and are expected to contribute personal time when and wherever possible. This allows the Club to provide a high standard of service in line with the Hockey Canada Development Model and attract quality coaches committed to maintaining our reputation for excellence in hockey development and winning tradition.
Burnaby Winter Club was founded on May 29, 1956, as the Burnaby Curling Club and was incorporated under the Societies Act of the Province of British Columbia. On April 18, 1958, the Club changed its name to reflect the multi-sport activities it grew to encompass and became the Burnaby Winter Club, with its constitution amended to include hockey and figure skating.
Over time, and with the recent success of the Vancouver Canucks, hockey became the most predominant sport of the Club and its facilities renovated to accommodate an increasingly popular and robust hockey program. In 2013, the Club partnered with Burnaby Central Secondary School and added an accredited Academy program, consisting of five teams (U15 Varsity, U15 Prep, U16 Prep, U17 Prep, and U18 Prep) that play in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL).