The idea of starting a junior hockey team in Fruitvale was born when Shirley Levesque, manager of the Beaver Valley Midgets, and Darrell Dickson, their coach, hosted a Beaver Valley Minor Hockey Tournament. During this tourament they noticed people from the valley, who had never before been inside the 10-year-old building, coming to games at six in the morning to watch the young talent. This was a good indication that there were many local hockey fans just waiting for some exciting and entertaining hockey; Darrell suggested to Shirley that they start a junior team, and the work began.
          First they had to convince the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League that there were enough young hockey players in the area to man another junior team. This was not an easy task, as many KIJHL teams at the time were situated within a half-hour of Fruitvale, and a new team might cause them to lose players they had counted on—but on the other hand it was also appealing to them: they knew that great rivalries would begin, bringing new fans to their arenas. Since BVMH was one of the strongest minor hockey programs around at the time, it seemed fitting they should have their own junior team to go with it.
          Once the KIJHL accepted, an exceutive was formed consisting of Darrell Dickson, Shirley Levesque, Roy Taylor, Noel Smith and Stuart McPhee. There was a contest to choose the name, and when Robbie Taylor of Fruitvale suggested Nitehawks the executive knew they had a winner. Kim Campbell of Trail designed the hawk for the jersey crest, the first coaches were Tom Gawryletz and Murry Price, Darrell Dickson was the manager, and the trainers were Barry Marshall and Leo Campeau.
          The 1981/1982 KIJHL season saw the first Beaver Valley Nitehawks hit the ice, led by captain Tyler Bolduc. The first year was very successful: the team went into a wild playoff with the Trail Junior Smoke Eaters, and additional bleachers had to be brought into the arena for these exciting games. The Nitehawks were up two games to none, but when Trail came back to win the series they set the tempo of rivalry for years to come.
          Over the next two decades the Nitehawks won their division championship five times, the KIJHL championship five times (in 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003,and 2004 ), and two provincial championships for the Cyclone Taylor Cup (in 1997 and 2001). When they won the Cup in 2001, their playoff win-loss record was a perfect 16-0.
          They set a record in junior hockey for the longest winning streak, which started in the 1997 season and ended in the 1998 season after 39 straight wins. Many players receive scholarships and continue on to play college hockey but, of course, the pride of Fruitvale and the Nitehawks is Adam Deadmarsh, who not only won the World Cup with team USA but also brought the coveted Stanley Cup home to the Beaver Valley Arena in 1996. Other players drafted by the NHL teams were Ed Cristofoli from the 1983 team, Neil Eisenhut from the 1985 team, and Barrett Jackman from the 1997 team.
          Currently three jerseys have been retired: #12 belonging to Adam Deadmarsh, #2 belonging to four-time KIJHL all-star goalie Rocky Dickson, and #6 Barrett Jackman the NHL rookie of the year for 2002/2003.
          Coaches have included Tom Gawryletz, Roy Casler, Ed Wyatt, Doug Jones, Hank Deadmarsh, Terry Hanik, Ken Koshey, Dwayne Bouliane, Pat Corrado, Terry Jones, Paul Matteucci, Dennis McKinnon, Jamie Freiss, Jamie Cominotto, and Craig Mohr