Why the Vancouver Warriors are the Canucks' 'test kitchen' (2024)

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The Warriors (2-6) host the Saskatchewan Rush (2-4) on Saturday at Rogers Arena. The Warriors had an announced crowd of 9,844 for their last home game, a 14-8 setback to the Colorado Mammoth on Jan. 26.

Vancouver’s announced attendance average at home so far this season is 7,177, which puts them eighth in the 15-team NLL. The Buffalo Bandits, who won the NLL title last season, lead at 16,137. The Calgary Roughnecks, who lost in the West finals last year and have at least 10 wins in the past three full regular seasons, are next best at 11,296.

That’s what the Canucks are looking at. The Warriors have just one playoff game to show for the franchise’s past nine seasons, including finishing five wins out of the post-season last year at 4-14.

The Canucks invested heavily in the off-season on the Warriors. They recruited reigning NLL coach of the year Curt Malawsky away from the Roughnecks and gave him a reported five-year contract to be both bench boss and general manager of the Warriors. The team then attracted notable free agents like forward Kevin Crowley and defenders Ryan Dilks and Matt Beers.

This is arguably the best roster on paper the franchise has had. There’s no word out of the Warriors where they sit with the league’s $556,500 salary cap but it’s easy to assume they’re butting up against it.

“Curt has been given all the necessary tools to do what he sees fit. We’re excited about where this is going. That gives us some runway over the next couple of years to create a championship team,” Doyle said.

“Curt’s not happy with our record. He knows he has some more work to do with making some moves and getting some other pieces. He certainly has the full support of the organization and ownership to do that.”

Warriors tickets are cheaper than Canucks tickets. It’s a younger demographic. It’s bringing a new clientele into Rogers Arena. That’s an obvious plus.

The Warriors also offer the Canucks a test kitchen to try out things for their own game-day presentation.

“The NHL has a little more strict guidelines on what we can do versus what we can do in lacrosse,” Doyle said. “Part of that is ice quality and you get it. You don’t want to risk the quality of the ice for the play of the game.

“There are things we’ve been trying in lacrosse that we plan to take to hockey. We test them out to make sure they’re going to fit the hockey side.

“It’s a benefit. I would say it’s the same with Abbotsford (Vancouver’s AHL affiliate). We have Abbotsford, the Warriors and the Canucks and we learn from all three of them. You can try things out and it has worked with lacrosse and the AHL.”

Doyle has seen such things before. He was with Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment before coming to the Canucks and says there was an exchange of game-day ideas between the Leafs and the Toronto Raptors.

Brian Burke was the Leafs’ general manager then and he was a traditionalist who wanted strictly classic rock music at games, Doyle said. The Raptors were playing a variety of tunes then, and the Leafs adopted that as a result.

“It drove Burkie nuts but the (hockey) demographic was getting younger,” Doyle said.

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