In Photos: the Surrey Knights, a junior hockey team that hasn’t won a game in nearly two years
The Surrey Knights, in last place in the Pacific Junior Hockey League, are mired in an unprecedented losing skid that today stands at 84 games. It was more than two years ago, September, 2015, when it started to go backward for the Knights. The team was losing to the Mission City Outlaws when the Outlaws went after a younger Knights player. A bench-clearing brawl ensued. Even the coaches got involved. John Craighead, the Knights coach, co-owner, and former minor-league tough guy, went to the Mission bench, intending to quell the fighting. As the coaches jostled, an Outlaws player not in uniform intervened. Craighead is alleged to have hit the player. The RCMP investigated but no charges were laid. BC Hockey, however, levied a suspension of six years. Under a pall – an exiled coach who'd once played a few games for the Toronto Maple Leafs – the Knights roster suffered defections and new players were reluctant to join the team. The on-ice product suffered. The last game the Knights won was Nov. 19, 2015.
Surrey Knights players sit in the dressing room before a PJHL hockey game against the Aldergrove Kodiaks in Surrey, B.C.Darryl Dyck/The Globe and Mail
Surrey Knights players skate onto the ice for the second period against the North Vancouver Wolf Pack in Surrey, B.C.Darryl Dyck/The Globe and Mail
Surrey Knights' head coaches Scott McHaffie, front, his twin brother Spencer McHaffie and assistant coach Spencer Asch-Jones, watch from the bench during the second period against the Aldergrove Kodiaks in Surrey, B.C.Darryl Dyck/The Globe and Mail
Surrey Knights' goalie Zakery Babin, centre, Jordan Robinson (5), Kalem Burns (4) and Kurtis Kapitza (8) look on as North Vancouver Wolf Pack's Kyle Hoover (8) and Justin Lee (91) celebrate a goal by Nathan Haaksma during the third period in Surrey, B.C.Darryl Dyck/The Globe and Mail
Surrey Knights' Ethan Koskelainem holds a towel to his head as trainer John Chwyl checks on him after he was cut above the eye and injured his wrist when he was checked from behind into the boards by Aldergrove Kodiaks' Dayton Spink during a game in Surrey, B.C. Koskelainem stayed to watch the end of the game before going to a hospital where he received five stitches and was diagnosed with a hyperextended wrist.Darryl Dyck/The Globe and Mail
Surrey Knights' co-owners Amar Gill, left, and John Craighead, right, sit with consultant Laurence Gilman, centre, as the Knights play the Aldergrove Kodiaks during a game in Surrey, B.C.Darryl Dyck/The Globe and Mail
Surrey Knights' Jordan Robinson (5) attempts to clear the puck past Aldergrove Kodiaks' Evan Cusmano against the Aldergrove Kodiaks in Surrey, B.C.Darryl Dyck/The Globe and Mail
Surrey Knights' Jackson Kallweit, back left, and Carmine Sorace walk to the dressing room after losing to the Aldergrove Kodiaks 5-3, their 79th consecutive loss in Surrey, B.C.Darryl Dyck/The Globe and Mail
Surrey Knights' Carmine Sorace, back left, and Jackson Kallweit, front, sit in the dressing room before playing against the North Vancouver Wolf Pack in Surrey, B.C.,Darryl Dyck/The Globe and Mail
Surrey Knights' goalie Zakery Babin carries his gear to his car after losing to the Aldergrove Kodiaks 5-3, their 79th consecutive loss in Surrey, B.C.Darryl Dyck/The Globe and Mail