I found these press releases off team websites, twitter accounts, blogs or online. All Vipers news-trades are posted on this blog as soon as released-announced.
BCHL News & Trades:
BCHL Commissioner Tips Cap To Spruce Kings Community:
A new head of the BCHL was named this offseason and now, 6 weeks before the puck drops on the new season, the new Commissioner is making his rounds. Chris Hebb paid a visit to the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena Wednesday, where he'd meet with Spruce Kings head office staff. Hebb says with the league seeing 7 former BCHLer's in the NHL Draft this last year and 155 players declaring for university, he's not so concerned about the level of play in the league. More so, Hebb wants to focus on the business side of things. He sees the Spruce Kings as a good example of how a community-supported organization is to be operated.
Vees Captain Rizzo Injured In Off-Season Training:
After losing more than 200 man games to injury last season, the Penticton Vees have another one to worry about with training camp just five days away. New captain Massimo Rizzo sustained an upper-body injury during off-season training and Vees GM/head coach Fred Harbinson said the first-line centre will probably miss training camp and the four pre-season games. “We’re in a wait-and-see mode right now,” said Harbinson. “It looks like a similar thing to what Massimo went through last season. But he’s going to physio, it looks like it’s progressing really well and right now the goal is to hopefully have him back for Sept. 7 (the Vees’ regular-season opener in Langley).” The injury kept Rizzo from attending the Canadian under-18 team tryout camp in Calgary for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup international tournament in Edmonton. Canada ended up winning the gold medal with a 6-2 win over Sweden this past Saturday. “Obviously that was tough for Massimo to miss out on such a high-profile competition, especially with this being his (NHL) draft year,” said Harbinson. The Burnaby native did play for Team Canada Black at the World Under-17 Championship in Fort St. John and Dawson Creek last year, scoring a goal and four points in five games. Rizzo is committed to play for the University of North Dakota for either 2019 or 2020. Rizzo finished his rookie season in the BCHL with 13 goals and 39 points in 50 games. In the playoffs, Rizzo found another gear by scoring four times and assisting on six other goals in 11 games as the Vees fell to Trail in seven games in the second round. The Vees will also be without another key top-six forward as Cassidy Bowes continues to recover from off-season shoulder surgery. The 19-year-old from Kelowna will miss the first month of the regular season. “The rehab is coming along really well,” said Harbinson. Bowes had 16 goals and 33 points in 49 regular-season games and had an assist in three playoff games before going down with the shoulder injury. Harbinson said everyone else will be ready to go when camp opens on Monday. The Vees play their first pre-season game, an all-rookie affair, Wed., Aug. 22 in West Kelowna. He said Bowes will be placed on injured reserve enabling the Vees to add one more player to the roster in the interim. “Other guys are going to have the opportunity to step up,” said Harbinson. The Vees play their first home pre-season game Aug. 29 against West Kelowna.
Cowichan-Bonnyville Trade:
The Cowichan Valley Capitals transfer the CJHL playing rights to Daine Dubois(99)(D) and future considerations to the Bonnyville Pontiacs of the AJHL in exchange for the CJHL playing rights to Austin Chorney(00)(D)
2018-19 Outlook With New Vees Recruit LaFontaine:
Jack LaFontaine got his start in hockey later than most kids, and it wasn’t even on ice. “I was around six or seven years old and at a birthday party,” LaFontaine recalled. “We were playing road hockey and nobody wanted to be the goalie. I strapped on the pads and absolutely loved it. After that I pleaded my parents to play and it took off from there.” Some parents are concerned with their kids playing in net as opposed to forward or defence, for a multitude of reasons, but LaFontaine’s father was a goaltender and helped his son prepare for life in the crease. “He warned me before hand that it’s a tough position and you’ll face a lot of criticism,” LaFontaine said. “But as a seven year old you aren’t thinking about that, you just want to play. They were fully supportive of me, they always tell me during games they get more nervous than me. It always makes me laugh because I feel like they’re right there in the crease with me.” Growing up in Ontario, the Ontario Hockey League is a big draw for a large portion of young hockey players. While LaFontaine had an opportunity there, being drafted 42nd overall by the Kitchener Rangers in 2014, he made a mature decision at a young age on which route in hockey was the right one for him. “I think it was around grade 10 or 11 where I wanted to nail down the route I had to take in order to become an NHL player,” LaFontaine explained. “It just made more sense for me to go NCAA. I knew I was a late bloomer and I wanted my degree. School is massive for me. As a goalie it sometimes takes a little longer to develop.” Following the draft out of midget, LaFontaine made the jump to junior hockey with the Georgetown Raiders of the Ontario Junior Hockey League posting an impressive 20-6-0 record with a 2.13 GAA and .923 save percentage. He then played in eight playoff games as the Raiders reached the league final, but ultimately fell to the Trenton Golden Hawks in five games. The following year, LaFontaine went south of the border and joined the Janesville Jets of the North American Hockey League. It was a big change compared to his experience in Georgetown. “They were polar opposites in my opinion,” he said. “In Georgetown I was still living at home, I was still going to my same high school. The farthest road trips we made were like three hours away. But Janesville was a huge awakening for me. Living away from home, going to a different country, road trips were 10 or 12 hours. It was much more focused on the NCAA route.” With the Jets, LaFontaine’s workload increased substantially as he appeared in 41 games going 24-8-7 with a 2.16 GAA and .921 save percentage to go along with four shutouts. His performances over his first two years of junior hockey made him a player to watch heading into the 2016 NHL Draft, though LaFontaine says it was easy for him to let it roll off his back. “I wouldn’t say there was too much of a spotlight on me,” he said. “I was never seen as one of the top guys, and we had a really good team which I think was a blessing in disguise because the microscope wasn’t on me the whole time. I wasn’t doing interviews on TSN or anything like that throughout the year so I didn’t have to worry about it too much.” When draft day came, LaFontaine was in Buffalo, New York to hear his name called by the Carolina Hurricanes with the 75th overall pick. While it was a very special moment for LaFontaine and his family, he knew being drafted didn’t guarantee anything about the future. “It’s one day out of my entire career where you’re able to reflect on all the things you’ve sacrificed and accomplished with the people you love,” LaFontaine recalled. “A lot of kids are drafted but it’s one footstep in the right direction. It let me know that everything I had done was for something and a huge motivating factor.” After two years at the University of Michigan in which he appeared in 22 games, LaFontaine had to make the difficult decision on whether to stay with the Wolverines for his junior season or return to junior hockey for his final year of eligibility before returning to Michigan. While he eventually decided on leaving the school, he stressed that it wasn’t due to frustration with the program. “I love Michigan. I bleed blue,” he stated. “It was probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. It was discussed a lot with the coaching staff and my family, but going back to the reason I decided to play college hockey, it’s a process. Rome wasn’t built in a day and I think this extra year is going to help me out down the road. The plan is to eventually return to Michigan and prove that I’m worthy of being a Wolverine.” After making the decision to leave school, LaFontaine then had to decide where he wanted to play one year of junior hockey. After the Vees acquired his CJHL rights from the Raiders, an old friend helped convince him it was the perfect place for him to go. “I did my research and Mat Robson, who I grew up with, had nothing but good things to say about the place,” he said. “I’m a big believer in if you surround yourself with good people, good things will happen. After speaking with coach Harbinson I got a good vibe from him and felt like he and the rest of the staff were good people which was something I gravitated towards.” LaFontaine knows his time in Penticton is limited to just one year, which makes his goal for this year an easy one. “Just win,” he stated. “Stats are nice and icing on the cake, but just winning is the number one job for a goalie. I’m the last line of defence and I want to lead this team to some victories.” Vees fans may not have to wait long to see the victories come once LaFontaine and the rest of his teammates arrive in late August.
Nanaimo-Cowichan Trade:
The Nanaimo Clippers are pleased to announce the acquisition of 2000 born defenceman Austin Chorney. The 6’1”, 215-lb., 18-year-old, has been acquired in a multiple-team deal that sees veteran forward Vincent Millette moving on. Chorney has already played in 107 BCHL games and put up 31 points. Last season Chorney played for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks and he split the 16-17 season between Salmon Arm and the Chilliwack Chiefs. Chorney also spent time with two well known prep schools before playing junior, those being the Edge School and the Yale Hockey Academy. Clippers coach Darren Naylor says Chorney is a key addition to the Nanaimo blue line. “Austin is still a young player but he brings a wealth of experience to our back end. He is a high-end player and I feel he’ll be an excellent fit with our D corps this season.” Chorney has already earned an NCAA commitment, he’s slated to attend Ohio State University in the 2019-2020 season. The Nanaimo Clippers want to thank Vincent for his time and energy as a Clipper and wish him well in the future.
2018-19 Outlook With New Vees Recruit Steele:
Sammy Steele’s hometown of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania may not ring any bells to casual hockey fans. The Hershey Bears, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Washington Capitals, may sound a little more familiar, however. Hershey is less than a 10-minute drive from Hummelstown, which allowed Steele to have an early outlet to discover the game. “I’ve been a season ticket holder since I was young with the Bears,” Steele said. “[Hummesltown] is a small town, but lots of people go to the Bears games so I’d say it’s a hockey town.” In the beginning, Steele found himself enjoying roller hockey more than ice hockey, not playing on ice full time until he was around eight years old. As he got older, the lack of high-level rep teams in the immediate area of Hummelstown forced Steele to drive for hours each weekend, for years, to be able to get the practice and game action each weekend to he needed to grow. “I’ve had to commute to my teams ever since I was about 11,” the 18-year-old Steele said. “I played on a team in Richmond, Virginia, which is about a three-and-a-half-hour drive, and I played on that team for four years. Then I played in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton which was an hour and 45 minutes away and finally for a team in New York which was another three hours away.” Safe to say, there’s no lack of passion for Steele when it comes to improving his game. He was quick to thank his dad who did the majority of the driving each weekend for all those years. The next step in his development was to make the jump to junior hockey. This time there would be no commuting, as he landed with the Fargo Force of the USHL, over 19 hours from his hometown. “I think the change was a little more than what I was expecting,” Steele admitted. “I was a young guy and I had to get used to all the older players. The pace of the game was a whole lot different. I was scratched for the first 10 or 15 games and then finally got a chance to play. Once I got in there I got set on a line that I stayed with throughout the whole year. Steele played in 46 of the Force’s 60 games last season scoring 11 goals and 13 assists. When the playoffs came around, the Force sat third in the Western Conference, but were just three and two points behind the top two seeds respectively. The Force cruised through the Clark Cup playoffs, finishing with a record of 11-3 to capture Fargo’s first ever USHL title. “We knew we were good all season and we had a bit of a target on our back heading into the playoffs,” Steele said. “When we won everyone on the ice was just saying ‘we finally did it’ because it was such a long year.” Steele was prepared to return to Fargo for the 2018-19 season, but two days into a camp of theirs he was traded to the Madison Capitols. After attending a Capitols camp, Steele says he received word of another team that was interested in him. “My college coach got a call from Fred and they helped set up a visit for me to come to Penticton,” Steele said. “It was unbelievable when I got there. The way they treated me, I just felt like I was a priority. I had a lot of questions about the league when I got there because as an East Coast kid we’re taught more about the OHL and the USHL.” After a strong intro to junior hockey with a league championship, and an NCAA scholarship to Arizona State University already under his belt, Steele hopes to be an impact player during his time with the Vees, both on and off the ice. “Being a leader is something I’d like to do,” he said. “If the team is struggling I want to be one of the guys who helps get us going. When it comes to my personal game I want to be able to help the team by putting up a lot of points.” Now that he’s got a taste for winning, Steele wants to be a part of another championship run. “I think it almost makes me more motivated to win another championship,” he said. “I know what it takes to get that far and know that it’s worth it in the end you put all that work in over the course of the season. I think I can talk to all the guys about what it takes and help get the message through.” The rest of Steele’s teammates surely feel the same levels of motivation to bring a championship back to Penticton.
Centennials Sign Fetter:
The Merritt Centennials are proud to announce the signing of ’99 defenseman Jaydon Fetter. A native of Windsor, Ontario, Fetter played the last two seasons for the Leamington Flyers of the GOJHL. Along with being an Assistant Captain and being named to the GOJHL’s West All Star Team, last season with the Flyers was Fetter’s most prolific at the Junior ‘A’ level tallying 10 goals and 21 assists for 31 points over 45 games. In 2016-17, he recorded 7 goals and 18 assists for 25 points. Head Coach and General Manager Joe Martin doesn’t expect there to be much of an adjustment period for Fetter. “The Merritt Centennials are excited to have Jaydon and his family join us here. He’s got two years of experience in the GOJHL, he was a leader, he was on the All Star Team, so even though he’s technically a rookie in our league, we consider this like trading for an experienced player. We expect him to come in and be ready to slide into our defensive group pretty seamlessly.” The signing of Fetter is the first of the offseason for the Merritt Centennials.
Vees Launch New Season As Training Camp Opens:
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