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:
O'Connor Commits To Chilliwack Chiefs:
The Chilliwack Chiefs are thrilled to announce the commitment of 2001-born defenseman Kennedy O’Connor. O’Connor, a native of Springfield, Massachusetts, played last season for the Yale U18 Bulldogs and Loomis Chaffee Prep programs. A physical defender with great size (6’2 195 lbs), O’Connor was the captain for the Loomis Chaffee team in the USHS-Prep league. In 32 games at Loomis, he registered 3 goals, and 14 assists for 17 points. Best known for his physicality and leadership, O’Connor also possesses high hockey IQ, great edges, and the ability to break pucks up ice and join the rush. “We are very excited that Kennedy has decided that Chilliwack is the best fit for his development prior to his college career.” Said Chiefs GM and Head Coach Brian Maloney of the UMASS-Amherst commit before adding “he will be a welcome addition to our program, and his game will allow him to become a quick fan favourite here in Chilliwack.” When asked about his commitment to Chilliwack, O’Connor made a point to thank the two programs that really helped push his development over the years. “I appreciate Coach Maloney and Coach Rihela for believing in me and extending me this opportunity. I’d like to thank my coaches from the Loomis Chaffee and Yale Jr Bulldogs for helping me prepare for this next step. I’m extremely excited to put on a Chiefs jersey next season.” Welcome to Chilliwack, Kennedy
Rose Commits To Nanaimo Clippers:
Anyone following the Nanaimo Clippers for the 2019-2020 season realizes they probably had one of the best defence corps in the league if not the country. With the departure of Devon Mussio, Aiden Hansen-Bukata and Mike Kennedy, the Clippers have some very large shoes to fill on the backend for the 2020-2021 season. The Clippers are one step closer to solidifying the backend with the acquisition of Carter Rose, a New York born 2002 defenceman. Rose is already committed to Clarkson University in the NCAA Division 1 for the 2022-2023 so the Clippers have a two-year defenceman that will be a large impact on the backend. Last year, he played in the US High School prep league for Holderness School and had 7 goals and 22 assists for 29 points in 28 games. He also had a stint with the US hockey development program in 2017-2018. Coach Birkas, Associate Coach for the Clippers, commented that “Carter is a strong skating two way defenceman that projects to be not only a good junior player but a very good college defenceman. I’m expecting, with his offensive ability, that Carter will step in and fill some pretty significant gaps in our backend as a result of the graduation of some 20-year-old players. “ Darren Naylor, Head Coach and Vice President of the Clippers, stated; “I’m at defence first type of hockey coach as defence wins championships. Carter was a highly sought after prospect by many teams in the BCHL as he is the coach’s dream when it comes to a defenceman. Not only is he a big strong shutdown type D but also he has good offensive instincts which should help create offence from the backend this coming year. I’m very pleased with the commitment.”
Surrey Eagles: Graduating Players And Eligible Returnees:
After finishing one point out of second place in the Mainland Division and home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, the Surrey Eagles have five players moving on to college and two who played out their final year of junior hockey. In the forward group, the loss of the BCHL’s second-leading scorer Christophe Tellier to Quinnipiac obviously hurts, but UConn commit Brandon Santa Juana is slated for one more season in the league. The Langley product was third in scoring on the Eagles with 40 points in 56 games. In fact, Santa Juana, Gabe Schovanek, and Carter King represent one of the strongest returning trios in the league. Schovanek and King had 39 and 33 points respectively. The blueline will be anchored by Kieran O’Hearn, who is one of only two Eagles players going into their 20-year-old seasons. Brett Bliss and his 19 points are also back in Surrey before heading to Brown University in September 2021. Thomas Scarfone is the other overage player returning to the Eagles in 2020-21. He played 33 games this past season with a 14-11-0 record, a 2.69 goals-against-average, a .920 save percentage, and one shutout. The depth chart is based on coaches going with a 23-man roster of 13 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders. All college commitment years are collated from each player’s profile on the Eagles roster on the BCHL website.
Graduating Players
Wyatt Schlaht (Brown University)
Hudson Schandor (University of Connecticut)
Christophe Tellier (Quinnipiac University)
Cade Alami (Providence College)
Owen Nolan (U.S. Military Academy at West Point)
JJ Fecteau (aged out)
Reece Klassen (aged out)
Eligible Returnees
(* indicates an open spot – assuming the team goes with 13 forwards and eight defencemen)
Forwards
Buddy Johnson (01)
Hassan Akl (01)
Adamo Santia (01)
Sean Ramsay (01)
Carter King (01)
Kenny Riddett (01)
Gabe Schovanek (01)
Brandon Santa Juana (02)
Christian Fitzgerald (02)
*
*
*
*
Defensemen
Kieran O’Hearn (00)
Brett Bliss (01)
Jimmy Darby (01)
Jordan Hendry (02)
*
*
*
*
Goaltenders
Thomas Scarfone (00)
*
NHL 20 simulation final: Salmon Arm vs. Cowichan
It all comes down to this! Matt Crasa and the Cowichan Valley Capitals go head to head with Ethan Langenegger and the Salmson Arm Silverbacks to see who will be crowned Fred Page Cup champion in the NHL 20 BCHL Playoffs simulation! This simulation is powered by Shaw
Joseph Commits To Grizzlies:
An early exit from the Manitoba U-18 AAA Hockey League combined with the recent COVID-19 pandemic-induced social distancing has forced Colby Joseph to become creative in his workouts as he prepares to make the jump to the B.C. Hockey League and the Victoria Grizzlies next fall. Living on a farm in Elkhorn, Man., 10 minutes east of the Saskatchewan border, makes things a little easier though. “I’m lucky I guess, my chores on the farm keep me in shape,” laughed the 17-year-old Joseph, who signed with the Grizzlies this week out of the Yellowhead U-18 Chiefs. “And I have lots of room on the farm for different workouts so I’m staying in pretty good shape. But hopefully this [social distancing] doesn’t last too much longer.” Joseph is heading west despite having his services in high demand in his home province. He was selected 12th overall in the 2017 Manitoba Junior Hockey League bantam draft by the Waywayseecappo Wolverines and Waywayseecappo is only about an hour and a half drive from his home. And when Joseph put up 71 points in 48 regular season games this season, good for second in league scoring, the Wolverines and WHL teams such as the Brandon Wheat Kings and Red Deer Rebels came calling. “I seriously thought about playing for Wayway because they treated me very well since the draft and had me out to a few camps. “And I went to WHL camps in Red Deer and Brandon, but I want to play Junior A at the highest level so when the Grizzlies and the BCHL called I had to take it. It’s a highly-regarded league that produces a ton of [NHL] stars and [NCAA] scholarships so I’m really excited and can’t wait to get out to Victoria.” Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon is looking to add some skilled forwards after losing veterans Marty Westhaver and Henri Schreifels to NCAA scholarships. He looks to have found one in the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Joseph, who was named the Manitoba U-18 AAA player of the month for October when he started the season with eight goals and 12 assists. “Colby is a pure offensive player. Our scouts in Manitoba have him rated as the top eligible forward for his age in the province,” said Didmon. “We see him coming in as a centre and expect him to make an impact right away. But regardless of how long it takes him to be an impact offensive player, he will be a quality one in this league over the next two or three seasons.” Joseph said he’s never been to Victoria “although my grandma’s cousin lives there” but after doing some research and talking to some hockey friends, he knew the opportunity was too good to pass up. “I know the team was young last year but had a lot of [NCAA] committed players and the organization is known to be first-class on and off the ice with some NHL guys having played there so it looks like a great place to play hockey and I can’t wait to get there.” And he won’t mind the bus rides up and down the Island and around the province as he spent this season travelling from his home in Elkhorn north to Shoal Lake where the Chiefs are based. “It’s about an hour to Shoal Lake and I would do the drive twice a week for practices and another two times for games if we played at home that weekend,” Joseph said. “It wasn’t too bad but got kind of lonely at times during the winter if I was by myself.” The Chiefs had a great regular season, finishing in second place, but their season ended much earlier than Joseph would have liked. “We got knocked out by Southwest in the first round,” added Joseph, who had three goals in the four playoff games. “It was pretty disappointing but they were hosting provincials so they were a very good team as well. And sometimes, that’s just the way hockey goes.” Now, Joseph is hoping his hockey goes from Victoria to the NCAA. LOOSE PUCKS: The Grizzlies also signed three local players this week. Forward Desmond Arthurs, who turned 17 in February, was signed from the Victoria Cougars of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League where he posted 10 goals and 22 assists in 44 regular season games. Luc Pelletier, another recently-turned 17-year-old forward, is moving up from the Peninsula Panthers where he had 18 goals and 17 assists in 48 regular season games. Also joining the Grizzlies is defenceman Andrew Braun. The 18-year-old blue-liner from Victoria played 26 games for Shawnigan Lake Academy this past season, registering two goals and 12 assists. He also got called up to the Grizzlies for three BCHL games last season where he picked up one goal.
Scouras Commits To Clippers:
The Nanaimo Clippers continue their off-season acquisitions with the signing of 2002 Delta, BC born Alexander Scouras. Over the last five hockey seasons, Scouras has been in the CSSHL, first with Delta Hockey Academy and then with the West Vancouver Academy. Over the last two seasons in the CSSHL, he accumulated 88 points including 35 goals and 53 assistant only 69 games. While in Bantam, he had a staggering 79 points, including 47 goals and 32 assists in 49 games. Therefore, Scouras is projected to be an impact player on the Nanaimo Clippers in the 2020-2021 season. Darren Naylor, Head Coach and Vice President of the Clippers, commented; “Scouras is a highly skilled offensive player who reads the layers nicely. Alec came to our camps last season and impressed us. We continued to monitor his progression throughout last season and after seeing him play in the CSSHL final, we were convinced he had taken steps needed to play and contribute in BCHL.”. Wes Mussio, owner of the Clippers, added; “Alec is an offensively creative type player who creates scoring opportunities for those around him. He plays with a strong work ethic and always competes for loose pucks. There was a lot of interest from other BCHL teams for this player and fortunately, Alec chose our program over others which is a feather in our cap.”
Buhr Commits To Alberni Valley:
The Alberni Valley Bulldogs are excited to announce that they’ve committed to 17-year-old Brandon Buhr for next season. Buhr is a 6’1” 190 pound forward from North Vancouver who spent last season with the West Van Academy Midget Prep team. In 34 games, Buhr posted 33 goals and 38 assists for 71 points, good for 5th in league scoring. Buhr also suited up for 6 games with the West Kelowna Warriors as an affiliate player last season, including 3 playoff games. He picked up a pair of assists in those 6 games. “Brandon is a player we’ve had an interest in for a while,” said Joe Martin. “He brings some size upfront and we really like his decision making. We think Brandon has the potential to be an impact player for us and we can help move him on to college hockey.” “I’m so happy and grateful to be given this opportunity,” said Buhr. “It wouldn’t have been possible without the help of all my former coaches, teammates, and most of all my parents. I’m excited to join the Bulldogs and get started in the BCHL” Welcome to the Bulldogs Brandon!
Campbell Commits To Rivermen:
The offseason continues to be busy for the Langley Rivermen. On Saturday, they announced they have a commitment from forward Seamus Campbell for the 2020-21 season. Campbell is a 6’1″ 185-pound forward from St. Louis, Missouri who suited up for three different teams this past season. Most of his games were with the St. Louis Jr. Blues of the NA3HL where he picked up 15 goals and 16 assists in 47 games. He suited up in five games for the Springfield Blues of the NAHL, scoring once. Campbell also scored seven goals and added nine assists for Kirkwood High in the USHS-MO.His on-ice play caught the eye of some US colleges and he was offered a scholarship to Quinnipiac University for 2021-22. With his commitment to Quinnipiac, Campbell became the first NA3HL player to commit to an NCAA Division 1 program since 2016. The 2002-born forward is the son of former NHLer Jim Campbell who played for the Ducks, Blues, Canadiens, Blackhawks, Panthers and Lightning organizations. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as Campbell’s talent caught the eye of NHL Central Scouting, naming him to the mid-term watch list for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. With his ability to put up numbers and his playmaking, he should slide right into the Rivermen’s top six next season. “We’re really excited about adding Seamus. He has natural offensive instincts and displays creative playmaking ability. Seamus has a good size frame to build on and is a smooth skater.” Rivermen Coach Bobby Henderson said. “When you watch him play, his hockey IQ is what really stands out. He has a tremendous upside.”As a quick fun fact, Campbell played with former Rivermen players Ryan Helliwell and Kalen Szeto on the BC Junior Canucks at the Brick Tournament in 2012.
Quinn Commits To Cranbrook Bucks:
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