Victoria Royals Mailbag: The journey to playoffs begins

Folks, the 2025 WHL playoffs are fast approaching as the regular season winds down.

As it stands, the Victoria Royals are firmly in the playoff picture after clinching a spot in mid-February—much earlier than in recent years.

While the exact spot the Royals will occupy is still to be determined, Victoria and the Prince George Cougars are battling for the top spot in the BC division, a race that will likely be decided in the final games.

As we await what the next few days—and games—will bring, let’s dive into the mailbag!

1. What is the key element for the Royals’ playoff success?

The key element for the Victoria Royals is consistency and compete. In the month of February, the Royals held a 9-1-0-1 record through 11 games. However, late comebacks from teams have made a handful of games closer than necessary.

For the Royals to have playoff success, they will need to focus on consistency and playing their high compete style without dropping off late in games.

2. What was the key difference between the past few years’ Royals and the 2024/25 team that led to the significant improvement in the standings?

The Royals finished the 2022-23 season with a 17-43-6-2 record and missed the playoffs by 16 points. That rendition of the team finished third from the bottom in the WHL.

A team going froma 17-win season to sitting atop the BC Division and second in the Western Conference doesn’t happen overnight.

While some of the Royals key players now, including Justin Kipkie, Nate Misskey and Teydon Trembecky developed on that team, a lot of the team has since turned over.

When you have consistently down years, roster turnover is important to develop a winning culture.

After the 2022-23 season, and over the course of the current season, Royals General Manager Jake Heisinger acquired players including Brandon Lisowsky, Hayden Moore, Kenta Isogai, Cosmo Wilson and Johnny Hicks, each of which have played key roles, in addition to general roster turnover and bringing up new young prospects.

3. What is the scouting staff prioritizing for the 2025 draft?

The Royals scouting staff under Jake Heisinger has been seen to prioritize skill and skating over the course of the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft as well as through the Royals acquisitions.

Jacob Schwartz, Ludovic Perreault and Eli McKamey being the Royals first three picks in the most recent draft exemplifies the scouts’ emphasis on skill and speed.

In acquisitions such as Brandon Lisowsky, Kenta Isogai and Brayden Boehm during the 2024-25 season, the same traits can be seen as carrying high value to Heisinger’s group.

4. What would be considered a successful year for the team this season?  Is the goal getting past a certain round of the playoffs, what would management see as a failure this season?

The last time the Royals won the BC Division was the 2015-16 season, nine years ago.

Right now, the Royals and Cougars are tied in total points. However, the Cougars hold the tiebreaker for the BC Division title, though the Royals have two games in hand.

While the season is far from over, the degree of regular season success that the team is having for the first time after a handful of down years close to the basement of the league, should be seen a success.

While playoff success is ultimately what matters, the progress turning the program around and making it a desirable place to play should be seen positively.

The final home game of the season for the Royals is this Friday, March 14th. It will be fan appreciation night, featuring plenty of deals, including on tickets.

Additionally, reach out to the Victoria Royals today to secure your playoff tickets.