The rapidly growing collegiate summer level West Coast League introduced its third new team scheduled to begin play in 2021. The Edmonton Riverhawks are the 15th team in the WCL, and the first outside British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.
The nickname derives from the North Saskatchewan River, which features prominently in the landscape of the city of Edmonton, as well as a preponderance of hawk species that can be found in the city. (I consulted with my bird nerd friends, who tell me that “riverhawk” is a nickname for osprey, and that Canada is home to a full one-third of the world’s osprey population.)
The Riverhawks, who are owned by a group led by former Edmonton Oiler and five-time Stanley Cup champion Randy Gregg, join the British Columbia–based Kamloops Northpaws and Nanaimo NightOwls as new clubs in the WCL.
