2024 Vancouver Sports Highlights
2024 has been a pretty good year for professional sports in BC (so far).
Photo by Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports - 2024 Vancouver Sports HighlightsDespite losing their formerly beloved NBA franchise, the Vancouver Grizzlies, British Columbia, is home to a rich sports culture. While the Vancouver Canucks’ 2024 has yielded some fruitful results, the team still has another two months until regular season play will resume. However, the Canucks aren’t the only Vancouver sports team who has had an impressive 2024 — the BC Lions are eyeing a chance at playing for the Grey Cup in their home city, currently sitting atop the CFL’s Western Conference, tied with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Vancouver Whitecaps FC are fifth in the MLS’s Western Conference and just defeated Club Tijuana to advance in the in-season tournament, the Leagues Cup. With each sports team having positive-looking seasons so far, let’s take a look at how each of them got to these points.
BC Lions
Prior to an upsetting game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers — one that saw BC’s starting quarterback, Vernon Adams Jr., leave the game due to a knee injury — the Lions had flown out of the gates with a 5-3 record in their first eight games of the season. Led by Co-General Manager and Head Coach Rick Campbell, the team looks forward to hosting the 111th Grey Cup, happening on November 17th. With how their season has gone so far, it isn’t unreasonable to hope that they play for the championship in their home stadium. While their match in Winnipeg may have fans shaking their heads, the team still has ten more games to continue cementing their place atop the Western Conference.
BC’s 2023 season resulted in a 12-6 record, placing them second in the Western Conference behind Winnipeg. In the playoffs, the team defeated the Calgary Stampeders to advance to the West Final but were subsequently defeated by the Blue Bombers.
The Lions’ season so far has been marked by the play of their stars. Adams Jr., who joined the Lions in 2022, spent six seasons with the Montréal Alouettes before heading to Vancouver to play for BC. He’s currently second in the league in passing yards (2,469) and touchdowns thrown (14). News has broken that his knee injury will keep him out on a week-to-week basis — something that has Lions fans breathing a collective sigh of relief. Prior to his injury, Adams Jr. looked to be on pace to smash his career record of 4769 passing yards in a season (something he achieved last season).
BC is also looking for wide receiver Keon Hatcher Sr. to make a triumphant return after missing the start of the season with a torn Achilles. Hatcher Sr. made his season debut in the same game in which Adams Jr. sustained his knee injury. With 1226 receiving yards tallied last season, good for second in the league at the end of the season, hopes have been high for Hatcher Sr. as he returns to the lineup.
Headlined by a 50 Cent concert, BC’s home opener saw the team win 26-17 against the Calgary Stampeders. Their next home game is on August 18th, when they will take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Vancouver Canucks
The oldest of these three sports franchises (and the one that hasn’t quite reached the mantle of championship-winning quite yet), the Vancouver Canucks gave this province what was arguably the most exciting championship run in the past few years. Prior to the 2023-2024 season, the only other times that the Canucks had made the playoffs in the past decade were a second-round exit from the 2020 Bubble Playoffs and a disappointing first-round exit to the Calgary Flames in 2015.
2024 started off with a bang for the Vancouver Canucks. When the Canucks registered a 6-2-1 record in October, many fans were hesitant to celebrate. However, by the time the first month of 2024 ended, the team had treated their fans to a startling 10-1-2 record, proving that their successes were not flukes. In the same month, five players and the team’s Head Coach, Rick Tocchet, were selected to participate in the All-Star Game (with the official total at the end being seven members of the Canucks organization, as Elias Lindholm was acquired before the All-Star festivities started).
The team continued its successes into the season, making the playoffs and winning their first series against the Nashville Predators in six games. However, they ultimately lost in seven to the Edmonton Oilers.
2024 was a time for individual success as well for the Vancouver Canucks. Forwards Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua continued their stellar play together throughout the season and into the playoffs. Canucks captain Quinn Hughes’ strengths were finally recognized, as he won his first James Norris Memorial Trophy. Also, after years of 30-goal-scorer expectations, Brock Boeser decided to shoot for higher than projections and tallied his first 40-goal season.
The Canucks’ regular season begins again on October 9th at Rogers Arena, where they’ll take on the Calgary Flames. They will be holding the Young Stars tournament (September 13-16) and training camp (September 19-22) in Penticton, BC.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Coming off a friendly match against the Ryan Reynolds-owned Wrexham AFC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC beat Club Tijuana 3-1 on Saturday to move on within the League Cup. They will take on Pumas UNAM on Wednesday, August 7th, at BC Place. After that, they will resume play in Vancouver on August 24th.
Previously, the Whitecaps won the Canadian Championship in 2022 and 2023 and were most recently eliminated in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. They finished last season with a record of 12 wins, ten draws, and 12 losses.
The team is currently enjoying a top-five position in the Western Conference, which, if upheld until the end of the regular season, will result in yet another appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Their record as of now is 11-5-8, good for 38 points (three behind the next team in the standings).
Outside of Vancouver and MLS, the Whitecaps have also seen some success. Defender Ali Ahmed was selected for Team Canada’s roster in the 2024 Copa América. While the team surprised many, they ultimately lost to the Lionel Messi-led Argentina, the star of which failed to present himself in Vancouver upon his club, Inter Miami’s, visit to BC.
With Head Coach Vanni Sartini at the reins, the team has been helped along by the play of some of their stars. Midfielder Ryan Gauld leads the team in assists with nine and places himself in second with the same amount of goals. Forward Brian White is first on the team for goals, with 12 on the season, as well as a tally of 51 shots. Goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka has played nearly every game, with 68 saves on the season. Notably, the Whitecaps also welcomed newcomer Midfielder Valter Sedin to the team — a name not unfamiliar to the die-hard Vancouver sports fandom.
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