BCHL Makes Minor Changes at AGM

The BCHL held its AGM last week in the lower mainland. The full information below, but here’s the big points in my opinion:

• 58 games, up 2 from last year. I suspect this was done to accomodate a Wenatchee team into the league, but that won’t happen this year. I haven’t seen anything official to confirm this, but I imagine those extra two games will be divisional ones. Last year the Kings played 8 games against Victoria/Nanaimo/Cowichan/Alberni. I suspect that the Kings will see 2 of those teams 9 times.
• Trade deadline coverage will catch up with ‘the times’ by reporting things as they happen. For the Kings, who are traditionally quiet on deadline days, this isn’t that big of a deal, but from a coverage of the league standpoint, I like this move. As long as players find out before the media, it’s a good thing. With social media, etc, many of the trades were broken well before January 10th with the old 10am deadline on the 11th.

More or less everything else we knew about prior to the AGM. No on-ice changes is no surprise, many of the changes made last year worked. The media timeout mid-way through the period for example, and the way it was called vastly improved throughout the year.

Here’s a release from the league:

The British Columbia Hockey League completed its 2013 annual general meeting last week in Richmond with a number of changes made to the administration of the league moving forward.
 
First, the league will conduct a 58-game season in 2013-14. Each club will play two games that count in the standings at the Bauer BCHL Showcase Sept. 6 to 8 in Chilliwack and then play 28 home and 28 away dates to complete the regular season.
 
There is currently no playoff structure that has been agreed upon for the upcoming campaign. Teams are being asked to submit their ideas and a format will be announced prior to the Showcase.
 
Second, the BCHL has changed its media policy surrounding the Jan. 10 roster deadline. For any given transaction, teams will be allowed to release information to media as soon as they have made the league office aware that all players involved in that transaction have been notified.
 
Third, with the BCHL signing an equipment agreement with Bauer, all players must use the Bauer Supreme Team Stick. Failure to comply will result in severe financial penalties to the club. These will escalate with repeat offences. For protective gear, teams are allowed to use up remaining new equipment from previous seasons with the understanding that future orders will be made through Bauer.
 
Finally, NHL linesman Brad Lazarowich has officially joined the league’s officiating program as the associate director of officiating to head director Derek Adams. Lazarowich was able to monitor and provide mentorship to young officials last season during the NHL lockout and will continue to be a resource to the BCHL in developing the officiating program.
 
The BCHL regular season schedule was formed tentatively among the coaches and governors at the AGM; as there are several dates that need to be rearranged between teams, the league hopes to have the final schedule out before the end of June.

Kings Open Season Against Chiefs/Silverbacks

The BCHL has released the Bauer BCHL Showcase Schedule for the September 6/7/8 weekend. For the 2nd straight year, all 16 BCHL teams will open the year in Chilliwack at a Showcase event, with each team playing 2 games. The Kings will open the year on Saturday September 7th against the Chilliwack Chiefs at Prospera. They’ll then have a 12 hour turnaround before playing on Sunday morning against Salmon Arm before returning home.

Here’s the full schedule (home team listed 2nd):

 

Friday, Sept. 6:
3:30 p.m. – Secondary Rink – Penticton Vees vs. Victoria Grizzlies
4:00  p.m. – Main Rink -  Merritt Centennials vs. Coquitlam Express
7:00 p.m. – Secondary Rink – Trail Smoke Eaters vs. Langley Rivermen
7:30 p.m. – Main Rink – Surrey Eagles vs. West Kelowna Warriors

Saturday, Sept. 7:
11:30 a.m. – Secondary Rink – Vernon Vipers vs. Surrey Eagles
12:00 p.m. – Main Rink – Victoria Grizzlies vs. Salmon Arm SilverBacks
3:00 p.m. – Secondary Rink – West Kelowna Warriors vs. Nanaimo Clippers
3:30 p.m. – Main Rink – Alberni Valley Bulldogs vs. Penticton Vees
6:30 p.m. – Secondary Rink – Prince George Spruce Kings vs. Cowichan Valley Capitals
7:00 p.m. – Main Rink – Powell River Kings vs. Chilliwack Chiefs

Sunday, Sept. 8:
10:30 a.m. – Secondary Rink – Salmon Arm SilverBacks vs. Powell River Kings
11:00 a.m. – Main Rink – Coquitlam Express vs. Alberni Valley Bulldogs
2:00 p.m. – Secondary Rink – Nanaimo Clippers vs. Prince George Spruce Kings
2:30 p.m. – Main Rink – Cowichan Valley Capitals vs. Trail Smoke Eaters
5:30 p.m. – Secondary Rink – Langley Rivermen vs. Merritt Centennials
6:00 p.m. – Main Rink – Chilliwack Chiefs. vs. Vernon Vipers

For the full schedule, the Kings will play 58 games this year, 2 more than 12/13. The two games at the Showcase WILL count for points in the standings, but won’t count against the 28 home and away games the Kings play this year. The schedule has been drafted and it being ironed out at the moment, expect it released in the coming days/weeks.

Dalrymple Named OSU’s Top Rookie

Former Kings defenceman Craig Dalrymple has been named Ohio State University Men’s Hockey Rookie of the Year.

The Kippen, Ontario native was one of only two defenceman to play in all 40 Buckeye games this past season, where he had 3 goals and 17 points to lead all defencemen in scoring. He was also a +6 in overall play, and a +9 in CCHA league play, which was good enough for 2nd among the CCHA’s freshman class.

In March, he was named an honourable mention in the CCHA All-Rookie Team.

BCHL’s Off-Season Tweaks

Over the past week or two there have been little nuggets of rule changes or other impacts to the BCHL. Here’s a quick summary:

Wenatchee Out
After apparently being a lock for the 13/14 season, the Wenatchee Wild are moving south, not north. According to a local newspaper, the team will move to Texas and become the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, resurrecting an old identity. What this means for the BCHL is not known. There had been rumours the Wild would slot into the mainland division, but nothing official came out that I saw. Officially, through everything I’ve seen, we’ll still have 16 teams next season in a similar, if not identical divisional structure.

Tack on Two
This from a Vernon newspaper, and re-posted on a recognised Junior hockey blog, the BCHL is considering adding 2 games to the schedule in 13/14. I first head about this in the same breath of the Wenatchee conversation, so I don’t know if this is a leftover from that, or if the league is still going ahead. Last year the Kings played 8 games (4 home, 4 away) against divisional opponents (Nanaimo, Cowichan, Alberni and Victoria), then 2 each (1 home, 1 away) against everyone else. That totalled 54 games, with the two showcase games against Surrey and Vernon added on. Schedule will apparently be out in mid-June, so we’ll see what happens then.

CJHL Annual General Meeting
The Canadian Junior Hockey League had their AGM recently, and a couple of interesting things came out of that. You can read the full list here. Many rule changes focused on player movement, or lack thereof. The creation of a “not in good standing” list for players who fail to report is one, as well as penalties associated with player transfer agreements.

As for the Kings off-season, I suppose it has fully begun. The coaching staff and scouts are returning from the Interior and will whittle down 100+ names from two camps, into 40 for main camp in August. 17 players from the 2012/2013 team are eligible to return, however Kent Lewis has not been shy in saying that not everyone will return, and every spot is up for grabs.

Alumni News: Cox Wins, Garbowsky Captains

Couple of small alumni tid-bits.

The Reading Royals of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) have won the Kelly Cup in 5 games. They beat the Stockton Thunder 6-0 to clinch the victory. Former King Ethan Cox was part of the Championship winning team.

Click here for the release from Reading about the win. Congratulations Ethan and the Royals!

Also, former Kings forward Matt Garbowsky will don the ‘C’ in 3rd year of college hockey. The Rochester Institute of Technology Junior was elected to the position by his team mates, and was an alternate last season. He led the team in scoring as a sophmore, and through 2 years of college hockey, he has played 75 games, scoring 20 goals and adding 33 assists.

Click here for the full release on that

Kings Hold 1st Camp

The Powell River Kings staff were over on the Island during the May long weekend, trying to find the next generation of Kings. I had a chance to catch up with Kings Head Coach and GM Kent Lewis for his thoughts on the camp.

The Kings are holding a similar camp this weekend in Kamloops.

Waugh/Villeneuve Commit

The Powell River Kings are proud to announce that two of its players have committed to post-secondary institutions for the 2013/2014 season.

2012/2013 Captain Teagan Waugh is joining a host of Kings alumni in New York State, by committing to Manhattanville College for next season. Manahattanville is a NCAA Division III program and are a member of the very competitive ECAC West Conference. Waugh played 202 regular season and playoff games with the Kings over 4 seasons, scoring 45 goals and 114 points.

“Kent Lewis bought it up to me, as well as Chad Van Diemen because he used to go to Manhattanville, and then I got in contact with the Head Coach” says Waugh. “We were back and forth for a while before he decided the best way for me to see the school was to fly down to New York. I went down there a few weeks back and it was a great experience.”

“Manhattanville has a great Finance program, which is what Teagan wants to study” says Kings Head Coach and GM Kent Lewis. “Chad graduated from Manhattanville and was able to paint a pretty clear picture for what Manhattanville has to offer. He will be very close to New York City and he’s going to have an incredible experience over the next four years.”

It will be the first time Waugh has worn a different jersey in a competitive game since 2009, when he was with the North Island Silvertips of the BC Major Midget League. During the visit Teagan got to see a snapshot of life in New York, for both schooling and hockey. “I was able to attend a class and check out the facilities, so it was a great time. After going there and seeing it all, there was really no way I could say no” says Waugh.

The school provides a good balance between academics and athletics, something which will be a good fit for Waugh.

“At this stage for kids, it’s also about going to a place where the academics are a priority” says Lewis. “The good thing about Manhattanville is that there’s a good combination of both quality hockey and quality education. Teagan will use his work ethic to earn a degree and enjoy his time both on and off the ice. We are very happy for him.”

“That was a huge factor (in the decision), the schooling part. They have a great business program which offers a lot of internship programs in New York City and around the campus. After graduation there are a lot of job opportunities” adds Waugh.

Also securing his future for next season is forward JP Villeneuve. Villeneuve joined the Kings mid-way through the 2011/2012 season and excelled during his time in Powell River. He will remain in BC and attend Trinity Western University in the BC Intercollegiate Hockey League this upcoming season. Trinity Western is located in Langley.

“Everything I’ve heard from people that I know who have been there say it’s a great school, and I’m just really excited to be a part of the Christian community and continue to grow my faith” says Villeneuve.

The decision to join Trinity, was likely influenced by factors away from the rink.

“Spiritual growth is what matched (Trinity with Villeneuve) and I think that’s what lured him there. It’s obviously an outstanding Christian school, and we’re happy he’s found that match for himself” says Lewis. “It bodes well for our program here, where we offer the chapel program to our guys. JP is very happy, and that’s the bottom line for our club. We’re very happy he’s found a place where he wants to go.”

Villeneuve will focus on business courses during his time at the school. “I’m going to take it year by year now, and I’m just looking forward to being part of the school and joining the community for now” says Villeneuve.

The Kings wish Teagan and JP the best in the rest of their hockey and academic careers.