Pro-rated to 66 games (there are 68 in a normal WHL season), the Royals would have been 9-51-6. That’s barely above the 1989-90 Victoria Cougars (5-65-2), whose CHL record for futility was broken by the 1995-96 London Knights (3-60-3) of the OHL. The Cougars continued stumbling until they left town for Prince George.
But if it’s any consolation for the Royals, the Knights rebounded to become one of the greatest franchises in junior hockey.
Regardless, Royals GM and head coach Dan Price would like to put an asterisk beside Parcells’ quote. He might also mention, in keeping with an NFL theme, that the Dallas Cowboys were 1-15 in 1989 before winning three Super Bowls from 1993 to 1996.