BCHL News & Trades:
Centennials Camp Set To Begin With COVID Restrictions:
The Merritt Centennials are set to host their first camp of the off-season this weekend at the Rinks at the Summit Centre in Abbotsford. The Cents had to cancel their Spring Camp slated for Merritt in early April and postpone their Summer Camp scheduled for early June in Abbotsford before the province lifted restrictions to make a hockey camp a possibility. The camp is forced to be held a little differently in the face of the pandemic. The province’s return to play task force VIA Sport still has not cleared contact so the typical form of scrimmages will not be able to happen. Instead, Head Coach Derek Sweet-Coulter and staff will have to create drills and get creative to get the most out of potential recruits. Among the hopefuls will be some of the new faces that were committed to or traded for throughout the off-season including: Chris Fortems, Alek Erichuk, Jacob ‘Cubby’ Myers, and Zack Dallazanna. It will be the Centennials staff first chance to see the new skill in person and up close. Head Coach and General Manager Derek Sweet-Coulter says he’s excited to be back on the ice and see some talent in person. “Hockey connects us all and it will be great to be back at the rink to see some familiar faces and also to begin those new relationships in person. The zoom calls and video sessions we have conducted as a staff to get to this point has prepared us for this ID camp. We are excited about the possibilities that could come from this weekend and look forward to evaluating all the prospects.” The Centennials camp will start tonight with a goaltending session before wrapping up on Sunday afternoon.
‘Everyone is very excited to get going’ says Surrey Eagles GM of BCHL’s planned return
The BC Hockey League has a return date in sight, which is good news for the Surrey Eagles and their fellow junior ‘A’ teams that have been sidelined due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, the BCHL announced that the 2020/’21 season is planned to start Dec. 1, pending approval from the provincial health office, and that individual teams have been given the option to open training camps as early as Sept. 8, which would give players an extended period to get their legs back underneath them after a months-long layoff. In a news release, the league said it’s communications with the province and health officials suggested that waiting until December to hit the ice “gives us the best chance at ensuring we have an uninterrupted season, while also maximizing the amount of regular-season games we’ll be able to play,” said Chris Hebb, the BCHL commissioner and Semiahmoo Peninsula resident. Divisional exhibition games would be able to start once the province moves to Phase 3 of ViaSports’s return-to-play plan, the release notes. The December start date aligns with the NHL’s plan to start its 2020/’21 season, and also gives the BCHL the best opportunity to be able to play in front of fans, even if arenas have strict limits on the numbers of fans that can attend. “The reality is that, for us to be able to operate, we need to have fans in our buildings,” said Graham Fraser, the chairman of the BCHL Board of Directors. “It became clear from our discussions with the PHO that the best way to accomplish this would be to delay the start of our season to give them time to assess the effects of a potential second wave of COVID-19 during flu season.” Nanaimo Clippers GM Tali Campbell told Black Press Media that league governors anticipate that by Dec. 1 they’ll be able to fill arenas to at least 50 per cent capacity. Though the Dec. 1 start date is still months away, Surrey Eagles general manager Blaine Neufeld said he was excited to see a date and a plan put in place after months of uncertainty. “There have been countless (phone) calls about what way to go… but things were always changing – some days were really good and you think maybe we’ll start on time, and then other days you’d think, ‘Wow, I don’t know if we’re ever gonna get going. The swings were crazy right at the start,” he said. “Now we have this date of Dec. 1… and everyone is very excited to get going.” The Eagles haven’t yet set a timeline for when they would open a training camp, Neufeld said, though he said the longer-than-usual training camp period could be good for all teams, even if some on-ice sessions are informal and only involve players currently in the area. “I look at it like (Sept. 8) is the start of the off-season, and instead of guys training alone (in their home cities), there is an opportunity to work on skills with the team, and work on team concepts. It could be really good for player development,” he said. “Coaches always complain they don’t get enough practice time during the season, so now you’ve got this two-month period to get the team ready to go.” The Eagles – who advanced to the second round of BCHL playoffs last season before play was stopped due to the pandemic – are in a unique position of having most of last year’s roster return for 2020/’21. Neufeld suggested that familiarity will help them when a new season eventually begins. As well, the layoff – which came just days after a dramatic Game 7 road win over the Chilliwack Chiefs – may actually spur the returning veterans forward this year, as they look to build on last season’s success. “Their playoff (run) was cut short, but that experience really enabled our kids to believe that they can come out and contend for a championship this year.”
BCHL Next Generation: Wenatchee Wild
All summer we’ll be going team-by-team to profile new players coming in for the 2020-21 season with recaps of offseason commits and acquisitions. We will also have interviews and scouting reports from the coaches.
Next up is the Wenatchee Wild.
After winning the Fred Page Cup in 2018 and making the Interior Division Finals the following season, the Wenatchee Wild proved that their crop of talent can compete with the best teams in the BCHL and across Canada. As the lone American team in the BCHL, the Wild are in a unique position when it comes to recruiting. “Our under-agers can come from Arizona, California, Colorado or Washington, whereas they wouldn’t be eligible to play for a team on the north side of the border,” said Leigh Mendelson, the team’s Associate Head Coach and Director of Scouting. “Just like Canadian under-agers can’t come down and play for us. There are a lot of good young players in our region and we try to do our best to find the ones that we feel we’ll have for a few years and develop them into good players and hopefully move them along to college.” This year’s new recruits are mostly forwards and that’s because a large number of the team’s defencemen from last season are eligible to return to the team in 2020-21. “It’s a good feeling knowing we’ve got a lot of experience and good hockey players back there,” said Mendelson. “At the same time there’s potential to lose just about all of them at the same time, so we’ve got to do some planning to make sure we don’t get caught with seven or eight new defencemen the following year. We have to make sure we add a good mix of some younger guys back there and make sure that we don’t just load up for one year, but keep this thing going and keep developing guys and have them work their way into the lineup.”
New Recruits:
Sullivan Mack (2000, F)
- Hometown: Anchorage, Ala.
- Previous team: Kimball Union Academy (USHS-Prep)
- College commitment: Cornell University (2021-22)
Mack played last season at Kimball at a pace of over two points per game, with 70 in 34 contests. He also potted an astonishing 44 goals to lead his team, which was 26 more than the second-leading sniper.
Mendelson’s scouting report:
“He’s a dynamic player with really good speed who is creative off the rush. He’s a smart hockey player who competes at both ends of the rink. We expect him to be a go-to guy right away. He’s very responsible at both ends of the ice, but also very creative at the offensive end. He was one of the better players in New England prep last year in terms of production.”
Cy Leclerc (2002, F)
Hometown: Brentwood, N.H.
- Previous team: Islanders Hockey Club (NCDC)
- College commitment: University of New Hampshire (2021-22)
Leclerc topped all Islanders players with 55 points last season, including a team-best 22 goals and was named the NCDC’s Rookie of the Year at 17-years-old.
“Cy is an extremely talented, highly-skilled forward. He’s got a really good nose for the net. He scored a lot of goals from within 15 feet of the net last year. He’s very creative with the puck and has a really high skill level. He’s a competitive young man as well. We’re excited to have him in our program and help him get ready to go to UNH and be a productive college player.”
Aidan Cobb (2002, F)
- Hometown: Ridgefield, Conn.
- Previous team: Kent School (USHS-Prep)
- College commitment: Cornell University (2021-22)
Yet another player who led his team in scoring last year, Cobb notched 30 points in 26 games for Kent, including a team-high 21 assists. He also played six games for the Yale Jr. Bulldogs last season and scored three goals.
Mendelson’s scouting report:
“Aidan is very dynamic. He’s really competitive and good on the forecheck when he’s hunting the puck down. We think he’s going to be a guy we look to in all situations, whether it’s 5-on-5, powerplay or penalty kill. He’s going to produce for us through his hard work and his relentlessness on the forecheck.”
Peter Lajoy (2002, F)
- Hometown: Evergreen, Colo.
- Previous team: Shattuck St. Mary’s Midget Prep (USHS-Prep)
- College commitment: University of Denver (2021-22)
The 18-year-old moved through the Shattuck St. Mary’s program over the last four seasons, finishing up his final year with 26 points in 46 games for the prep team.
Mendelson’s scouting report:
“He’ll bring a lot of energy to our lineup and he’s not afraid to stir it up a little bit. He’s got some good tools, but I think his biggest asset as a first-year player will be bringing energy to the ice and energy to our dressing room. He’s a really infectious young man and we’re really excited about having his personality in our locker room.”
Aidan Carney (2001, F)
- Hometown: Paradise Valley, Ariz.
- Previous team: Phoenix Jr. Coyotes U18 (T1EHL U18)
Carney, who is the son of former NHL defenceman Keith Carney, led the Jr. Coyotes in goals with 10 and points with 14 last season. He also played another 12 games for Chaparral High in Arizona alongside his brother Kade, where he put up 17 points in 12 games. Carney already has some brief BCHL experience, having played one game with the Wild last season as an affiliate and registering one assist.
Mendelson’s scouting report:
“He’s a guy we’ve had at camp the last couple summers. He has a big body and he’s a very smart player. We feel he’ll grow into a really good two-way centreman. We anticipate him being on our penalty kill and playing a regular shift right off the bat. He’s strong on the puck down low and he thinks the game well.”
Dawson Milliken (2002, F)
- Hometown: Canmore, Alta.
- Previous team: Okanagan Hockey Academy Red Prep (CSSHL)
The 2002-born forward had 26 points in 32 games for the Okanagan Hockey Academy in 2019-20. Milliken also played one game for the West Kelowna Warriors last year as an affiliate.
Mendelson’s scouting report:
“As a young guy on our roster, we expect him to play with a ton of energy and bring some physicality. His brother played in Wenatchee a few years back as well. They’re a really good family – real quality people. We expect him to be a good piece of the puzzle. He’s a player we can have for a few years and help develop into a Division I college hockey player.”
Spruce Kings Plan For 2020-21 Season:
The Prince George Spruce Kings are excited with today’s development as the BC Hockey League announced that is planning to start the 2020-21 regular season on December 1st, 2020, pending approval from the Provincial Health Office (PHO). “This is obviously good news for us as a league and organization today,” said Spruce Kings Business Operations Manager Kyle Anderson, “having a date to plan for will allow us to release new ticket packages, sponsor packages, and will let us re-launch as we normally would do in March of a normal season.” While details of those packages are not yet available, the Spruce Kings staff are working hard to make the process as efficient as possible, while understanding there will be unknown parameters around capacity and physical distancing at that time. “We don’t want to rush into these plans given that we are not sure how many seats we’ll be allowed to sell at that time,” added Anderson, “but we are also confident that our fans will fill the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena to whichever capacity it’s allowed.”
Bois Returns To West Kelowna Warriors:
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