Goodbye, Newman: Royals forward from Kamloops to play last regular season WHL game in hometown

Both teams are in precarious post-season position, Kamloops (26-22-7-5) in sixth place and Victoria (26-25-5-3) tied for seventh in the Western Conference, with the top eight clubs qualifying for the playoffs.

Newman said his most memorable WHL game in Kamloops was the first one, a 7-1 loss to the Blazers on Oct. 29, 2021.

“It was so cool,” Newman said. “There were so many people in the building that I knew. We were a bit short-staffed that game, so I got to play a lot of minutes. I know we lost the game, but it was still a really fun experience.”

Losing was common during his rookie and sophomore campaigns, the Royals winning 40 of 136 games and missing the playoffs in both seasons.

“It was obviously really tough,” Newman said. “I was young – 16 and 17 – and we were not winning many games, but I think just soaking in all the experiences and being able to play quite a bit in those years was so good for me in my later years.”

The Royals reached the playoffs in Newman’s 18-year-old campaign before bowing out in Round 1, swept by the Portland Winterhawks.

“We had a lot of returning guys,” Newman said. “We just had a lot of fun that year. (Head coach) James Patrick came in halfway through the year. He definitely put a little bit of a different style into this team. From there, it’s only gone up.”

In 2024-2025, Victoria won the B.C. Division after posting 91 points in the regular season and won a playoff round before falling to Spokane in Round 2.

“A huge weight off your shoulders, a huge relief,” Newman said of the Round 1 triumph over the Tri-City Americans. ”We wish we could have swept them, but five games is pretty good. We had a lot of really good players that year. That was definitely a really successful season.”

Newman, a reliable leader, said it was an honour to be named Royals’ captain prior to the 2025-2026 season.

The 6-foot-2, 207-pound right shot is on pace to play 290 WHL regular season games, all with the Royals, a mark that would leave him fourth on the club’s all-time-games-played list.

His most recent goal, an empty-net marker in a 7-3 win over visiting Portland last weekend, was his 150th WHL point.

Newman toiled in the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association ranks until his second bantam season, when he made the jump to Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford.

While there, he played alongside Jordan Keller and Ryan Michael (Newman lived with Michael in Langley for one season), graduating Blazers who will play against him on Friday in his regular season Kamloops swan song.

“It’s definitely going to be pretty cool,” Newman said. “There are going to be something like 40 people coming, my parents told me. There’s going to be a lot of energy in the building. The whole team is really excited. This such a big game for us, so the whole team is going to be ready to go.”

Newman is committed to play next season for the Ferris State Bulldogs of Big Rapids Michigan, but said he is open to pro hockey opportunities.

by Marty Hastings

Goodbye, Newman: Royals forward from Kamloops to play last regular season WHL game in hometown

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