The Wenatchee Wild’s inaugural season in the WHL in 2023-24 was certainly an intriguing affair in both on- and off-ice matters. The franchise’s origins lie in the NAHL and subsequently the BCHL, with their WHL chapter having started with the acquisition of the Winnipeg Ice by Wenatchee owners David and Lisa White. Upon this acquisition, the Ice were approved for relocation to Wenatchee, with the Wild branding being applied. Subsequently, the Junior A team ceased operations and a new chapter began. Perhaps fittingly given this somewhat bizarre and controversial origin story, their first season in the Dub was tumultuous from the start. Let us take steps through the events that went down in this very intriguing campaign.

Initially, the head coach steering the ship was one that had an impressive CV, but was carrying a lot of baggage with him. Perhaps not unexpectedly, this eventually yielded consequences. In the 1990s and 2000s, Kevin Constantine accrued a considerable amount of experience behind the bench in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins, in addition to a partial season with the New Jersey Devils. Since then, he had success in the WHL as the first-ever head coach of the Everett Silvertips, in addition to coaching in a multitude of locations in Europe and even in South Korea. However, he was not without darker parts of his career. One can easily point to an incident during his first stint in the WHL for which he was suspended for four games and fined $5,000 for “inappropriate behavior.” This incident involved Constantine forcing the Silvertips players to eat their post-game meal and ride the bus home while still wearing their equipment after losing an exhibition game against the Tri-City Americans by a score of 5-0. Correspondingly, this time around in the Dub, Constantine would come under investigation for alleged use of a racial slur. He was suspended indefinitely by the WHL (reinstatement eligible 2025) on October 4th and terminated by the Wild the next day. Proceedings had only been under way for a matter of less than two weeks before a coaching change had to be made under ignominious circumstances. His replacement would come in the form of Roy Sommer, who had significant success in the AHL with the San Jose Sharks organization.

The team remained competitive despite the tumult; however, the franchise also had to face the reality that they lacked many options for future success and had minimal draft stock. As such, the decision was made on January 4th to move on from their two most high profile talents. In two separate trades, Wenatchee moved C Matthew Savoie (Buffalo Sabres) to the Moose Jaw Warriors and C Conor Geekie (Arizona Coyotes) to the Swift Current Broncos. As is standard for big name CHL trades, these moves both netted impressive returns. Moose Jaw surrendered seven draft picks, including 2024 and 2027 first rounders, for Savoie. Meanwhile, Swift Current relinquished D Josh Fluker, D Sam Ward, LW Maddix McCagherty, and four picks including 2025 and 2026 firsts. While it hurt to give up such star power, the lack of draft stock prior to these deals was a massive blemish on the org’s potential trajectory, and within one day, the whole picture changed.

However, this had no bearing on the team’s competitiveness for the remainder of the season. Led by leading point scorer LW Kenta Isogai and a more than capable defenseman in Colorado Avalanche draft pick Graham Sward (who ended up as the recipient of the U.S. Division’s Defenseman of the Year award for the 2023-24 season), Wenatchee finished the regular season with a record of 34-30-4 and the fourth seed in the WHL’s Western Conference. They would eventually succumb to Tij Iginla and the Kelowna Rockets in six games in the Western Conference quarterfinals, but they remained tenacious until the very end. One has to wonder what lies ahead for this franchise. Many players on this past season’s roster are eligible to return next year and we may get another look at this existing group’s capabilities under Roy Sommer, who appears to be the right man for the job. More importantly, however, there will soon enough be many great talents to look forward to in the future thanks to the accrual of selections via the Savoie and Geekie trades. This should be a junior team worth watching in the coming years, as I will not be surprised if they turn into a developmental powerhouse.