Published 11:30 am Monday, January 19, 2026
By Roger Knox
The Vernon Vipers of 2008-09 celebrate winning the BC Hockey League’s Fred Page Cup on home ice over the Powell River Kings. The team went on to win its fifth Royal Bank Cup national championship in Victoria. The squad is being inducted this summer into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in Penticton. (Contributed)
The Vernon Vipers celebrate their second consecutive Royal Bank Cup championship in 2010 in Dauphin, Man., and the franchise’s sixth national Junior A hockey title. The team is being inducted this summer into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in Penticton. (Contributed)
Former Kelowna Rockets Memorial Cup-winning captain Josh Gorges, a hometown boy who went on to a stellar National Hockey League career, will be inducted into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame in Penticton July 11. (Contributed)
Castlegar’s Travis Green, shown playing in the NHL for the New York Islanders, is the current head coach of the league’s Ottawa Senators. And, he’s also a member of the Class of 2026 that will be inducted into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame July 11 in Penticton. (Photo by B Bennett/Getty Images)
Prince George native Daryl Reaugh, a former NHL goalie and longtime broadcaster with the Dallas Stars, is among the Class of 2026 to be inducted into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame. (Contributed)
Longtime NHL referee Malcolm Ashford (left) is part of the 2026 induction class into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame. (Contributed)
They were powerhouses.
They were champions.
And now, they will be hall of famers.
The Vernon Vipers’ teams of 2009 and 2010 will be inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in Penticton on July 11.
Joining the Snakes as Class of 2026 inductees are Stanley Cup champion Andrew Ladd, current National Hockey League (NHL) Ottawa Senators head coach Travis Green, former Montreal Canadiens defenceman Josh Gorges, former NHL goalie-turned-TV-commentator Daryl Reaugh, and longtime on-ice official Malcolm Ashford.
The 2009 and 2010 Vipers are BC Hockey League and Royal Bank Cup national champions. The 2009 team had a remarkable season, finishing the BCHL regular season 42-14-1-3, defeating the Powell River Kings 4-2 in the BCHL’s Fred Page Cup championship.
They qualified for the RBC Cup Canadian championship tournament in Victoria, defeating the Humboldt Broncos of Saskatchewan 2-0 in the final.
Defenceman Kyle Bigos earned tournament MVP and Top Defenceman. Connor Jones was the tourney’s Top Forward, and Ryan Santana won the event’s Sportsmanship award.
Of the 22 RBC players on the Vipers’ roster, 18 advanced to the NCAA Div. 1 colleges, while goalie Andrew Hammond and forward Kellen Jones reached the NHL.
The 2010 Vipers capped an extraordinary season with a 51-6-0-3 regular-season record, earning 105 points, but were taken to seven games by the Kings in the Fred Page Cup series, which Vernon won.
The Snakes earned another trip to the RBC Cup tourney, this time in Dauphin, Man., and pounded the host Kings 8-1 in the championship.
Mark Ferner was named Coach of the Year, and goalies Graham Gordon and Blake Voth teamed up to win the BCHL’s Wally Forslund Trophy as the top goalie duo.
Ferner said it’s “a tremendous honour” to have both teams inducted.
“The way that those two groups kind of meshed, we were fortunate enough to be able to keep a majority of them together,” he said. “It’s just a terrific honour, not only for the players themselves, but the organization and the late Dr. Duncan Wray, the owner.”
Ladd, from Maple Ridge, was selected fourth overall by the Hurricanes in the 2004 NHL Draft. Two years later he became a Stanley Cup champion with the Hurricanes (2005-06) and won his second with the Chicago Blackhawks (2009-10). Ladd played in 1,001 NHL regular season games and had 256 goals, 294 assists for 550 points. He played in 65 career playoff games and registered nine goals and 18 points.
His induction is giving him a chance to pause and reflect on the people and journey that shaped his career.
“It really gives you a chance to stop and reflect on the other impactful people who are in the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame, and to be included in that group is a real honour,” said Ladd, who retired from the NHL in 2023 following 16 NHL seasons. “Sometimes you just speed past what you’ve accomplished, so it’s nice to slow down and take pride in it.”
Green, a Castlegar native, was drafted by the New York Islanders in 1989 in the second round, 23rd overall. He played in 970 career NHL regular season games and had 193 goals, 262 assists for 455 career points for the Islanders, Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins. In the playoffs, Green played in 56 games and had 10 goals and 21 points. He enjoyed his deepest playoff run with the Maple Leafs in 2001-02 playing 20 games.
“I don’t know if I could put it into words. The magnitude of being honoured like this – I don’t even know if it’s still sunk in. It’s such a great honour. I’m thrilled,” said Green.
Gorges played four seasons for his hometown Kelowna Rockets in the WHL, and signed with the San Jose Sharks as an undrafted free agent in 2002. In 783 career NHL games, Gorges had 124 points with the Sharks, Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres. He played in 68 career NHL playoff games and had nine points.
With the Rockets, he helped them win the WHL championship in 2003 and advance to the Memorial Cup. The following season, he won the Memorial Cup and was named the tournament’s most sportsmanlike player, capturing the George Parsons Memorial Trophy.
“It’s just a special honour,” said Gorges. “When you’re a kid, even a teenager, you go to be an adult while you’re still playing this game — you don’t think about these things. It’s not something you aspire to achieve. Then, you get the call and you’re just filled with gratitude.”
Reaugh, from Prince George, was named the 2025 recipient of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Foster Hewitt Memorial Award. Known as “Razor,” he began his broadcasting career in 1995-96 and says his induction as a media member is an incredible surprise and “obviously an honour.”
“I got a bit of a heads up from Rob Shick when we were in Anaheim, and he said to expect a call. I was like, really? Just expect a call. It was a wonderful, truly delightful call to get,” said Reaugh. “It’s just not something that I expected in any way. I was joking with someone, maybe I should fabricate my playing career a little bit too and see if I can get both categories.”
He has been working on the Dallas Stars’ broadcast as a colour analyst on radio and television for the past 29 seasons.
Ashford, born in Middlesbrough, England, served as an NHL official from 1969 to 1979, refereeing an impressive 947 regular-season games and 10 playoff contests.
“It was pretty special and a bit of a shock,” said Ashford of his induction. “To be recognized after almost 40 or 50 years in hockey officiating it’s a gift. It’s humbling.”
Tickets for the induction ceremony are available through the SOEC box office and through Valleyfirsttix.com.
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