Royals Name Jake Heisinger As Associate General Manager
The Victoria Royals have named Jake Heisinger as Associate General Manager.
“For me, it was an easy decision to join the Royals. They are in a fantastic market, with a great fan base,” stated Heisinger. “Our goal is for the Victoria Royals to be one of the top programs in the entire CHL.”
Jake joins the Royals organization from the Winnipeg Ice in the WHL, where he served as the Vice President of Hockey Operations and Assistant General Manager since 2020. Heisinger started as the Hockey Operations Coordinator with the Ice organization in 2017 when the team was originally in Kootenay.
Heisinger will work closely with newly appointed Vice President of Hockey Operations, Joey Poljanowski. While the two will work collaboratively, Heisinger will have a primary focus on scouting and player development; a role he is very familiar with, having been an integral part of the group in Winnipeg that scouted first-round NHL Draft Picks such as Connor Geekie, Matthew Savoie, Carson Lambos, and Zach Benson.
Heisinger made his way into the Hockey Operations aspect of the sport following the conclusion of his playing career at the end of the 2016-17 season. He spent three seasons with the Winnipeg Blues (MJHL) in which he would play 179 games. Following his time playing major junior, he would move on to play four seasons with Curry College (NCAA III).
“We are extremely excited to have Jake join and help lead the Victoria Royals. Jake is an excellent talent evaluator and has a significant background in building winning franchises, as was showcased in his success as the architect of the Winnipeg ICE,” stated Poljanowski.”Jakes onboarding signifies the emphasis our Club has on scouting, player development and creating a competitive, winning culture for our players, staff and Royals fans in Victoria and across the Western Hockey League”
Heisinger will bring his deep knowledge of the sport to the Royals organization, a vision shared with Poljanowski to help develop Victoria’s team into one that is known for possessing an unmatched competitive culture.
“There are obviously some really exciting players within the organization who will be key contributors now and in the future.” stated Heisinger. “We want to be a fast, skilled team that works hard and competes every night. We’re going to do our best here right out of the gate to make sure that there is some internal competition to ensure that players are pushing each other for ice time.”
About the Victoria Royals Hockey Club
The Royals are Victoria’s Hockey Club, playing in the WHL (a member of the CHL, the highest level of junior hockey in Canada) out of the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre since 2011. The Club is owned and operated by GSL Group, and the franchise is known for its strong values and inclusive approach to game day experiences. The Royals are committed to growing the sport of hockey and are active in their community through The Victoria Royals Foundation. The Royals won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as WHL Regular Season Champions in 2016, and each year the organization develops many skilled players who go on to professional hockey careers in the NHL and around the world. The Royals strive to provide the best sports entertainment experience on the Island. For more information, visit victoriaroyals.com.
